Chelsea vs Wolves: Preview, predictions and lineups | OneFootball

Chelsea are looking to end their miserable run of five Premier League matches without victory when they host Wolverhampton Wanderers on Monday evening.

The Blues have stumbled to draws or defeats in fixtures with Everton, Fulham, Ipswich Town, Crystal Palace and Bournemouth, with the brief title contenders now looking to hold on to their spot in the Champions League qualification spots.

While Chelsea are enduring a rough patch, they can take solace from their most recent meeting with Wolves. Having suffered three straight defeats to the Midlands side, Noni Madueke's hat-trick inspired the Blues to a 6-2 win at Molineux back in August.

The six-goal defeat came under Gary O'Neil and new manager Vitor Pereira will be keen to improve upon that result and performance on Monday evening. Two losses on the bounce mean that Wolves are still frantically battling relegation, but they have shown signs of life under the Portuguese coach.

Here is 90min's preview of the clash.

Chelsea vs Wolves head-to-head record (last five games)

Current form (all competitions)

How to watch Chelsea vs Wolves on TV and live stream - UK & US

Chelsea team news

Cole Palmer is doubtful to feature / Sportsphoto/Allstar/GettyImages

Enzo Maresca has revealed that talisman Cole Palmer is one of several doubts ahead of Monday's fixture. The attacking midfielder, alongside Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia and Enzo Fernandez, didn't train on Friday and will be assessed closer to kick-off.

The Blues are still without long-term absentees Wesley Fofana and Benoit Badiashile in defence, the former likely to miss the rest of the season, and Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is also missing in the engine room.

Mykhailo Mudryk remains suspended after failing a drugs test.

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Wolves

Chelsea predicted lineup vs Wolves (4-2-3-1): Sanchez; James, Chalobah, Colwill, Cucurella; Caicedo, Fernandez; Neto, Palmer, Sancho; Jackson.

Wolves team news

Matheus Cunha returned against Newcastle / Naomi Baker/GettyImages

The good news for Pereira was that Matheus Cunha returned from suspension against Newcastle, even if the Wolves star was unable to prevent his side from falling to a 3-0 defeat at St James' Park.

In worse news, Wolves remain without a host of players for the trip to Stamford Bridge, with Toti Gomes and Yerson Mosquera missing in defence. The latter will miss the remainder of the season.

Enzo Gonzalez and Sasa Kalajdzic are long-term absentees, while Boubacar Traore is yet to make his comeback despite nearing a first-team return.

Wolves predicted lineup vs Chelsea (3-4-3): Sa; Doherty, S. Bueno, Agbadou; Semedo, Andre, J. Gomes, Ait-Nouri; Guedes, Cunha; Strand Larsen.

Chelsea vs Wolves score prediction

Chelsea have proven unpredictable in recent weeks, failing to win five on the spin despite heading into each encounter as favourites. They will be expected to triumph on Monday evening as well, although their home record is not particularly inspiring (W4, D4, L2).

However, their defensive issues and potential absentees heading into the clash could prove prosperous for their visitors, who have attacking threats of their own in the form of the returning Cunha and powerful striker Jorgen Strand Larsen.

It will likely be an entertaining affair, with Chelsea perhaps sneaking an important victory.