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Chelsea vs Wolves predicted XI: Back to winning ways with 3-4-1-2?

By Olaoluwa Nwobodo

WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Reece James of Chelsea battles for possession with Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux on December 19, 2021 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images)
WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 19: Reece James of Chelsea battles for possession with Adama Traore of Wolverhampton Wanderers during the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea at Molineux on December 19, 2021 in Wolverhampton, England. (Photo by Clive Mason/Getty Images) /
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LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Edouard Mendy of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on January 2, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images)
LONDON, ENGLAND – JANUARY 02: Edouard Mendy of Chelsea during the Premier League match between Chelsea and Liverpool at Stamford Bridge on January 2, 2022 in London, England. (Photo by Marc Atkins/Getty Images) /

Chelsea welcomes Wolverhampton Wanderers to Stamford Bridge as it looks to get back to winning ways. The Blues have already lost two points from this tie this season. Thomas Tuchel surely has to realize that the forwards he has been selecting are tired and out of form. Chelsea is only three points ahead of Arsenal and it needs to start working desperately to increase that gap.

Here’s who The Pride of London believes Tuchel selects to do just that:

Edouard Mendy (No. 16) Goalkeeper, Senegal

Chelsea is now at the point in the season where the result is the only important thing. The Blues still have a chance to win the FA Cup against a Liverpool team that can still win a quadruple. Chelsea has just lost to Everton, making it one win in its last five Premier League games. The Blues now have just five games left in the season and they have to make sure that they do all they physically can to make sure they get maximum points. Edouard Mendy has to buckle up as he’s lost as much confidence as the other players in the team due to the recent results.

Cesar Azpilicueta (No. 28) Right centerback, Spain

Cesar Azpilicueta made a costly error against Everton but that should not make anyone forget how good and consistent he has been this season. Azpilicueta might be on his way out of Chelsea but the skipper has given everything to Chelsea, playing a key role in ensuring that the club has won all trophies available to it in football.

Thiago Silva (No. 6) Centerback, Brazil

Though Thiago Silva was poor in the Everton game—then again, who wasn’t?—he’s still Chelsea’s best centerback, which might not be a good thing per se. The Blues will need to be on top of their game distribution-wise, so it’s even more important that the Brazilian plays.

Antonio Rudiger (No. 2) Left centerback, Germany

Antonio Rudiger seems to have agreed to a contract with Real Madrid. He has been at Chelsea since the beginning of the 2017/18 season. Rudiger will also be crucial to this game for distribution purposes. The German international attempts a lot of long passes per game, but not nearly as many switches of play. Switches of play are an efficient way of changing the direction of the attacking play and creating new attacking avenues. For those who like to use Liverpool and Manchester City as reference points for bashing Chelsea’s forwards, those clubs switch play as often as they possibly can. It’s fast and gives the receiving player more time to develop attacks.

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