
Chelsea have dropped off in the Premier League title race recently with a run of five league matches without a victory. They should have no problem taking three points from a struggling Wolves side who are nervously looking over their shoulder near the foot of the table.
Chelsea have gone from genuine title contenders to sitting outside of the Champions League places as they look to pick up their first Premier League win in 2025.
The Blues last picked up a win back on December 15 when they defeated Brentford 2-1. Since then, they have played five, lost two and drawn three.
That poor run of form has seen them drop down to fifth with Newcastle United overtaking them in the race for a top four finish.
They needed a late Reece James free kick to rescue a point against Bournemouth in midweek, but they should have too much for Wolves.
Defender Wesley Fofana has been ruled out of action until the end of May with a hamstring injury, while Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended after failing a drugs test last year.
It looked like Wolves had turned a corner when they replaced Gary O’Neil with Vitor Pereira. He won his first two matches against Leicester City and Manchester United before holding Tottenham Hotspur to a 2-2 draw.
Since that point at Spurs, they have lost two from two against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United - with both games ending 3-0.
They were brushed aside quite convincingly by the Magpies with Alexander Isak and Anthony Gordon both getting on the score sheet - something we predicted before the game.
The Wanderers are not inside the relegation places just yet, but they are level on points with Ipswich Town and are only safe because of a better goal difference.
Boubacar Traore has been cleared to return following a knee problem, but Sasa Kalajdzic is still a month or so away from making his Wolves return following an LCL knee injury.
These two have played 93 times over the years, and surprisingly it is Wolves who have the upper hand. They have won 39 of those meetings with Chelsea being victorious 32 times.
Wolves might have the upper hand in the head to head meetings, but it was Chelsea who dominated when they met in August. Chukwunonso Madueke scored a hat-trick for the Blues in a 6-2 triumph.
Wolves have won three of their last four meetings against Chelsea. They claimed a 4-2 success on their last trip to Stamford Bridge in February 2024.
Chelsea know they have some work to do if they are to get back in the title race, although their main objective at the moment is to get back into the top four and give themselves a chance of playing Champions League football next season.
Pereira has already shown he can get his Wolves team to play decent football. They need to try and find the form they were in at the start of his tenure. If not, they could soon find themselves in the drop zone.
Chelsea might not be in the best form at the minute, but they should have no real problems seeing off a struggling Wolves team.
The Blues are the favourites to win this Premier League match and can be backed at 3/10 with Betano. Wolves are the 7/1 outsiders with the draw on offer at 9/2.
Cole Palmer is without doubt one of the best players in the Premier League. Eyebrows were raised when he left Manchester City in a bid to secure first team football.
He is now the first name on the Chelsea team sheet and very rarely has a bad game. If he stays fit and in form, he could be the man who finally brings success to the England national team.
The 22-year-old has scored 14 goals in the Premier League this season and has scored three goals in his last five matches in all competitions.
He has scored two or more goals twice in a game this season with two against Spurs in December, as well as scoring all four in a 4-2 home success against Brighton & Hove Albion.
We expect Palmer to be in fine form under the lights on Monday. We are backing him to score at least two goals and Chelsea to win the match to nil.
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