Chelsea v Wolves: Premier League – live | Premier League

43 min: Cunha, having stolen the ball off Madueke, has the opportunity to send Sarabia clean through on goal down the inside-right channel, but hopelessly shanks a simple pass.

41 min: Andre is spun way too easily by Palmer, and responds by crudely hacking the Chelsea star to the ground from behind. That’s a no-brainer of a booking.

40 min: Ait-Nouri sashays in from the right and one-twos with Cunha. They nearly pick their way through the Chelsea back line, but Chalobah is on point to clear. Better from Wolves.

39 min: Yep, Caicedo’s back in. While he was getting treatment, Cunha was given another tactical pep-talk by the Wolves bench.

38 min: Caicedo is thankfully back up again. He limps to the sideline but looks prepared to come back on again.

37 min: Caicedo comes off second best in an old-school 50-50 with Andre. There didn’t look to be too much in it, but the Chelsea midfielder is thrashing around the turf in a lot of pain. On comes the physio.

35 min: Wolves enjoy some possession in the Chelsea half. They don’t do a great deal with it, but baby steps.

33 min: The free kick’s no good. Some relief for Wolves, who have now conceded 18 goals in the Premier League this season from a set-piece situation. Manchester United and Southampton are next on the list with 11.

32 min: Madueke drifts past Joao Gomes on the right and is brought down just outside the box. James prepares to send the free kick into the mixer.

31 min: Dewsbury-Hall sprays a delightful crossfield pass towards Neto on the left touchline. Neto comes infield and reaches the edge of the box, only to lose all ambition and turn tail.

29 min: Cunha slaps the corner straight into the side netting. What an anti-climax.

28 min: Wolves try to hit back immediately, Semedo’s presence down the left winning their first corner of the evening. Some pushing and shoving before it can be taken. The referee comes across to issue a few stern words.

27 min: It was fair to say that goal had been coming. Doherty can be thankful that it was only an indirect result of his miscommunication with Sa. That’s probably not going to make him feel much better, is it?

26 min: … but once VAR has a long look, Tosin is found to have taken possession of the pass while clearly onside. The goal stands!

GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Wolves (Tosin 24)

23 min: A speculative ball down the Chelsea left. Sa comes to the edge of his area to claim, but Doherty heads it past him! Neto is lurking but can’t get to the ball ahead of Doherty, who makes up for his error by blootering out for a corner. From which …

22 min: Semedo, who had started the game on the right, is now operating on the left. He’s found on the edge of the D by Cunha, but opts against shooting. Cunha takes up possession again and drags a shot wide left.

21 min: Jackson barrels down the left and enters the box, but takes too long to get his shot away.

20 min: To the surprise of absolutely nobody, Sa is fine to continue. The game restarts. Let’s see if Wolves take a different tack.

19 min: Sa goes down holding his left foot. That gives Wolves the opportunity to go en masse to their boss on the touchline for tactical guidance. Vítor Pereira flips open his notepad and dispenses some beneficial advice.

17 min: Palmer gets them going, though, dribbling into the box from the left and threading a low drive towards the bottom right. Sa extends fully to parry and Wolves clear their lines. So close to the opener.

16 min: The atmosphere at Stamford Bridge is a little muted right now. Everyone struggling to shake off the Monday blues.

15 min: Agbadou takes a heavy touch under pressure from Jackson, clanking out for a corner … that isn’t awarded. Goal kick.

13 min: Palmer curls an effort past the left-hand upright. This game is pretty open and surely won’t stay goalless for long.

11 min: A weird slow-motion ruckus in the Wolves box as Neto crosses from the left. Sa can’t claim, Dewsbury-Hall can’t connect, Doherty can’t clear. All tangled up on the floor. Eventually Agbadou clatters the ball clear.

10 min: Chelsea have enjoyed 62 percent of possession so far, taking seven touches in the Wolves box. Wolves haven’t made it into Chelsea’s yet.

9 min: Madueke already looks to have the better of Ait-Nouri. He steams past him again, looping a cross in from the right. Sa claims. Could be a long evening for the Wolves left wing-back.

8 min: Strand Larsen again attempts to make good down the inside-right channel. Again it’s Chalobah who stops him, the defender copping a whack upside the head in doing so. The whistle goes for the foul and the pressure is off.

6 min: Now it’s Wolves’ turn to go again, and Cunha nearly releases Strand Larsen down the inside-right channel with a forensic pass. Chalobah extends a leg to put a stop to Strand Larsen’s gallop. A fine saving tackle, though he’s moving a big gingerly having made it.

5 min: Neto sends the corner in from the left. Wolves clear their lines, and suddenly Ait-Nouri is bombing down the middle. He’s got options either side, though having made it all the way to the edge of the D, you’d expect him to shoot. He doesn’t, though, and the move breaks down. What a run, though.

4 min: Dewsbury-Hall cuts in from the right and crosses deep. Agbadou and Doherty combine to bundle the ball out for a corner with Jackson lurking.

3 min: Chalobah creams a lovely pass down the left to release Neto. Another loose touch; another opportunity goes begging. This is an impressive start by Chelsea, however.

2 min: James hits the corner long and Jackson gets on the end of it at the far stick, albeit to little effect. Sa claims the ball. But Chelsea come back again, Madueke out-powering Ait-Nouri down the right and entering the box. He’s got the opportunity to shoot, but takes one touch too many and a glorious chance is gone.

1 min: Chelsea are immediately on the front foot. Neto crosses from the left, the Wolves old boy’s ball earning the first corner of the evening. James to send it in from the right.

Chelsea get the ball rolling. Wolves will be kicking towards the Shed in this first half.

The teams are out! Chelsea in blue, Wolves in old gold. We’ll be off after a quick blast of this.

Pre-match postbag. “This is an incredibly odd starting 11 and bench for Chelsea (bless Trev for not telling them all to do one after the way he’s been treated); evidence of the wildly misprofiled and inconsistent squad-building despite the insanity of the spend. Could see this being another nervy and unpleasant one, particularly if it’s not comfortable by the 60th minute” – Matt Muir

“Wonder if Wolves will get revenge for what Madueke did to them in the reverse fixture. Surely Chelsea isn’t THAT much nicer than Wolverhampton for his statement, and then scoring a hat-trick against them, to go unpunished” – Kieran McKintosh

Wolves boss Vítor Pereira talks to Sky. “We conceded goals we cannot concede [in the 3-0 losses against Forest and Newcastle] … but we must look what we did in the game … we did things well … we need to correct defensively … the players believe in what they are doing … the last two results were not what we expect but we try to play with our qualities … this is very important … I am expecting Chelsea to be strong … I am looking for my team to improve … try to increase the level … [Matheus Cunha] can bring us different approaches in attack … different skills … experience … one against one … goals … to create identity you cannot change each game … we must have our model … try to play our game … we know what we need to do.”

Chelsea coach Enzo Maresca speaks to Sky Sports. “We had some problems … we tried to find different solutions and adapt … in this moment of the season many teams have problems with injury … [Trevoh Chalobah] can help us get the three points … I know [Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall] quite well and how he can help us … for sure he is going to play well … we have many important players … [Wesley Fofana] is a big loss … hopefully he can come back soon … the reason I said we were not in the title race is because I work every day with the players and can see we are not ready for many reasons … you cannot compete when you finish 12th then suddenly first or second … hopefully we can start again to win games and see where we are.”

The big news for Chelsea: Cole Palmer, who had been an injury doubt, is good to start. They make five changes to the XI that started the 2-2 draw with Bournemouth. Reece James, Trevoh Chalobah, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Tosin Adarabioyo and Pedro Neto are in. Jadon Sancho and Josh Acheampong drop to the bench, while Enzo Fernández, Ben Chilwell and Roméo Lavia miss out altogether.

Wolves make three changes in the wake of their 3-0 defeat at Newcastle United. Pablo Sarabia, Matheus Cunha and captain Nélson Semedo come in for Gonçalo Guedes, Rodrigo Gomes and Hwang Hee-chan, who all drop to the bench.

The teams

Preamble