Wolves v Chelsea: Hosts can keep the goal count down at Molineux

Wolves v Chelsea
Tuesday 15th December, kick-off 18:00
Live on Amazon Prime Video

Jimenez blow starting to hit home

The absence of talismanic striker Raul Jiminez is something Wolves manager Nuno Espirito Santo will have to find a solution to as they haven't scored in their last two matches. There are hopes that Jiminez will be watching from the stands this Tuesday as he continues to make progress from the fractured skull he sustained against Arsenal.

That really would be great news and a real fillip for the players.

In place of the Mexican striker, Nuno handed Fabio Silva a first Premier League start in Saturday's 0-1 derby defeat to Aston Villa. It was a lively opening salvo for the teenager and he hit the post with one angled shot from the right-hand side, but his movement in the box isn't quite that of a more experienced forward.

While the Old Gold looked reasonably solid with their four-man defence, they were outgunned on the xG, with a figure of 1.12.

Wolves also have to deal with the absence of the suspended Joao Moutinho for Tuesday following his dismissal against Villa.

Title talk dismissed by Lampard

Chelsea's apparent title hopes took a bash on Saturday too with a 1-0 defeat at Everton. The Toffees were without James Rodriguez - and that enabled Carlo Ancelotti to squeeze the game a bit more down the flanks and not be so vulnerable defensively or exposed.

It was Chelsea's second defeat of the season, but the manner of the defeat was poor as the Blues failed to register a shot on target after the 28th minute at Goodison.

Lampard suggested it was a dose of reality as they missed their chance to go top of the league. An xG figure of just 0.60 despite 72% of the ball against Everton was far from impressive.

Match Odds

Both sides were not at their best on Saturday with those dual 1-0 defeats, but the price of Wolves has been affected more than Chelsea's. The hosts are a pretty chunky 5.49/2, but even with that lofty figure, it's hard to back them with confidence without Moutinho and Jiminez.

And the old adage of never backing odds-on away from home comes into play here with Chelsea at a skinny 1.758/11. The fact they have won three of their six games on the road makes me swerve a back of the visitors in a flash.

The lay of Chelsea looks reasonably interesting if you like taking on teams at that sort of figure. And it's the season with shocks remember. Three favourites were chinned again on Sunday with Liverpool, Spurs and Arsenal all failing to win. It's been that kind of campaign.

Layers of Chelsea on the road this term would have copped in 50% of the games.

Wolves against 'Big Six' teams tend to play deeper on the counter, and with Olivier Giroud isolated from Kai Havertz and Timo Werner on Saturday, the hosts might be able to stifle for the whole 90 minutes. Losing the guile and creativity of Hakim Ziyech is another plus if you are laying Chelsea.

Don't expect many goals at Molineux

My focus for Tuesday will be the "Under" markets.

The 2.5 price is very appealing at 1.8910/11 considering Wolves are five from six at Molineux this term for that bet - with the only loss in the column coming against Manchester City.

Chelsea's record is not quite as impressive as they have dispatched some lesser teams and are the joint-second top scorers in the top flight behind Liverpool, but I do worry about the service minus Ziyech and the potential isolation of Giroud if he starts.

It's the sort of game I can see Chelsea winning 0-1, so I'd rather take a chance on the Under 1.5 at 3.711/4. It's always a slight risk with this bet, but Wolves are without their number one striker, and even Adama Traore is out of nick as he hasn't scored or created an assist in 19 league matches.