A second consecutive Premier League outing under the Stamford Bridge floodlights awaits Chelsea on Monday evening. Wolves are the visitors to SW6 and the task for Enzo Maresca and his players is simple: end a run of five top-flight matches without a win.

Last time out, Reece James' late free-kick earned the Blues a point against Bournemouth. It could have been more had chances been taken as Maresca's side recorded an expected goals total of 2.5, our fifth-highest figure in the Premier League this season.

The Blues did showcase clinical finishing in the reverse fixture with Wolves in September. Maresca's side ran out 6-2 winners at Molineux – our biggest away tally for two years – with Cole Palmer assisting each of Noni Madueke's treble, getting on the scoresheet himself, and celebrating strikes from Nicolas Jackson and Joao Felix.

Gary O’Neil coached the Old Gold in that September meeting but has since been replaced by Vitor Pereira. The Portuguese coach has overseen six matches since being appointed, with the last two in the top flight against Nottingham Forest and Newcastle United ending in defeat.

Wolves' visit is the first of two Monday Night Football appearances for Chelsea in the next three weeks; the second will come against West Ham United on February 3. The Blues have a good recent record in the slot, with eight wins from our previous nine outings.

Victory on Monday night at the Bridge would see us record our 400th all-time league ‘double’ and 14th over Wolves.

Chelsea team news

At his pre-match press conference on Friday, Maresca revealed Levi Colwill, Romeo Lavia, Enzo Fernandez and Cole Palmer were doubts for Wolves.

The Chelsea head coach said: ‘We were without Cole today, he was not in the session. Levi was also not in the session today, Enzo wasn’t in the session today, and Romeo wasn’t in the session today. So we have three or four players who are doubts for Monday’s game.

‘Cole had a kick in the ankle in the first half [against Bournemouth]. He didn’t train today and we don’t know if we’ll train tomorrow or in two days. It’s the same situation with Enzo, Levi and Romeo.’

Club captain Reece James is available once more after his stoppage-time equaliser against Bournemouth while Trevoh Chalobah was this week recalled from his loan spell at Crystal Palace. The Blues head coach said the Academy graduate could feature on Monday evening.

'We have a few injuries, as you know, so we were looking for a solution,' said Maresca. 'We thought the best solution would be to call back Trev. Firstly, because we know him very well and secondly because we know he can help us. So we went for that solution.

‘He knows the house better than me! He was very happy, I could see his face and I had a chat with him a few days ago and again this morning. You can see he is happy and we are happy that he is here.’

Pedro Neto joined the Blues earlier this season from Wolves and made an instant impact against his former side in August. The Portugal international fashioned Joao Felix's goal at Molineux and will want to make a similar impact if selected on Monday.

Chelsea combined goals and assists 2024/25 (all competitions)

The history

Our 4-2 defeat to Wolves at Stamford Bridge last season was our first at home since we were beaten 2-1 in 1979.

Of the ten league encounters in SW6 between those two fixtures, six ended in home victories and four were draws.

Second-half substitute Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink grabbed a 14-minute treble in our 5-2 triumph in March 2004, while a Michael Essien brace helped settle the next meeting 4-0 in November 2009.

Wolves registered just three goals in their next eight visits, a run which concluded with a 3-0 defeat in October 2022. Wanderers were between managers that day and Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja did the damage.

Of the current Premier League clubs, Wolves have proved the third-hardest for Chelsea to beat at Stamford Bridge. Our all-time league win percentage is 41, just ahead of Arsenal (35 per cent) and Man United (33 per cent).

Know this…

Nicolas Jackson and Cole Palmer have combined to score or assist 12 goals for each other. Only four Chelsea partnerships have recorded more in the Premier League era: Didier Drogba/Frank Lampard (36), Cesc Fabregas/Diego Costa (14), Drogba/Nicolas Anelka (13) and Hasselbaink/Eidur Gudjohnsen (13).

James’ late equaliser against Bournemouth means Chelsea have notched two of the seven direct free kicks in the Premier League this season. Tuesday’s other goalscorer, Palmer, did so against Brighton in September.

Palmer has now set up a Premier League-leading 116 shots for teammates this term, eleven more than the next in line, Tottenham’s Dejan Kulusevski. Moises Caicedo, meanwhile, has made more passes into the final third (139) than any other player.

Wanderers defender Craig Dawson is responsible for the joint-most own goals this term (two, same as Palace’s Marc Guehi).

Wolves and Chelsea have both committed six fouls leading to a penalty kick this season – the most in the top flight – and conceded five of those taken.

On this day in 1997, goalscorer Dennis Wise lifted his shirt to show unused substitute Gianluca Vialli a message on his vest which read ‘Cheer up Luca, we love you’ as Chelsea beat Derby 3-1 at the Bridge.