Chelsea’s search for consistent excellence took another stumble this week as we managed just a draw away to Qarabag in the Champions League, but we have an excellent opportunity to get back on track this weekend,
as Wolerhampton wander into town.
Wolves remain the only winless team in the league, sitting bottom with just two points from their first ten games, already eight points adrift of safety. Since we beat them in the League Cup ten days ago, they’ve sacked Vítor Pereira and promoted U21 head coach James Collins (not the former West Ham United and Aston Villa defender) to take interim charge. This will be his first match in charge, so beware the new manager bounce.
Date / Time: Saturday, November 8, 2025, 20.00 GMT; 3pm EST; 1:30am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Andrew Kitchen (on pitch); Anthony Taylor (VAR) — Kitchen made his Premier League debut late last season and this will be just his fourth match at this level; he did referee our 5-0 FA Cup third round win against Morecambe last season
Forecast: Temperatures starting to drop
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBC, Universo (USA); Star Sports Select HD1 (India); SuperSport Premier League, Canal+ Sport 3 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo (USA); Disney+ Hotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: We came back from Azerbaijan with one new injury, with Roméo Lavia heading back into the treatment room for the manyeth time. His time at Chelsea, now nearly two and a half seasons, has so far consisted of little else than injuries unfortunately. There’s no timeline on his return yet, just as there are no hard dates set for the returns of Cole Palmer, Benoît Badiashile, Levi Colwill, or Dário Essugo. But it’s probably going to be a while for all of them.
Pedro Neto was the only first-team player to not travel midweek; he’s been dealing with a knock and was held back as precaution. Enzo Maresca stopped short of confirming that Neto would be available this weekend, but he did return to training on Friday.
The draw against Qarabag required a bit more effort than it would’ve been ideal, but this is the last game before the next international break, so hopefully we can scrape together a solid effort for the full-90 (and not just for 45 minutes like in the League Cup encounter).
Wolves team news: Wolves had no injury issues of note heading into said encounter, but then saw two of their full backs go off injured in the game — Matt Doherty gut hurt; was replaced by Rodrigo Gomes; then Gomes himself also got hurt! — and those two are set to miss a bit more time including this weekend. They will also be without starting center back Emmanuel Agbadou, who was sent off last weekend against Fulham for denying a goalscoring opportunity as the last man with a clumsy tackle.
Collins, who’s being assisted by the Wolves U18 head coach also pulling double duty, isn’t treating his Premier League coaching debut as anything too special. He may be in charge for only this one game, so he’s sure to try to make the most of it.
“It’s been no different than any other week, in truth, other than the fact that it’s a level up. I’ve been coaching a long time, for 30 years almost, and I’m used to coaching, I’m used to preparing teams for games, I’m used to trying to find faults in opponents and weaknesses and strengths, and this week has been no different.”
“[For the players] it’s not a week’s holiday and then a new manager comes in. We had to make sure that we prepare properly for the game this weekend. It’s a Premier League game that can be won and that was the message to the players. They’ve responded brilliantly. They’ve been unbelievably receptive to what we’ve done with them, and hopefully you’ll see some of that on Saturday.”
“[…] People keep saying to me that it’s a free hit, but I’m not sure it is a free hit because we don’t want to waste a game. It might be a point, it might be a winner, but we’ve got to try and get something there, and we’ve got to be brave enough to go there and give it a right go.”
-James Collins; source: Wolves
Experience can be a dangerous asset.
Previously: Barely ten days ago, Chelsea played and excellent first half, then a horrendous second half, crowned by a “stupid” red card to Liam Delap (he’s available!) and a wondergoal by Jamie Gittens.
