WOLVERHAMPTON Wanderers will be hoping Chelsea's misfiring stars continue to shoot blanks as the Molineux men look to ease their Premier League relegation fears by beating the Blues.
A chronic failure to take chances led to the poor run of results that saw Graham Potter lose his job at Stamford Bridge and it was a similar story when Liverpool came calling in midweek.
I thought the bookies had blundered by pricing under 2.5 goals at evens for that clash and cashed in as the teams ground out their fourth 0-0 draw in succession.
That stalemate left Chelsea sitting 11th in the table but they still have something to play for with a Champions League quarter-final against Real Madrid just around the corner.
Frank Lampard looks set to be in charge for that match after the club moved to bring their former gaffer back as interim boss until the end of the season. He will be keen to get off to a flying start in this game but won't get it easy against a Wolves side desperate for points.
It looked like the Molineux men would move clear of the drop zone when new manager Julen Lopetegui came in and got the team back on the up. But a slump that has seen them win just one of their last seven games has Wolves back in the dogfight again as nine teams battle to stay in the top flight.
Daniel Podence saved Lopetegui's side from suffering a third successive defeat last time out as he grabbed a late leveller in a bad-tempered 1-1 draw with drop rivals Nottingham Forest.
Wolverhampton Wanderers badly need to string a few victories together but having star man Ruben Neves suspended for their next two games is a huge blow. They will need others to step up if they are to claim a morale-boosting victory over the Blues.
How the bookies view it
Despite their poor form, Chelsea are favourites for this one at a best 21/20 with BetUK. Wolverhampton Wanderers are as big as 31/10 at VBet and the draw pays 5/2 with Bet365.
Recent head to head
There hasn't been much between these teams since Wolves returned to the Premier League in 2018. Chelsea have won three of the nine meetings, with Wolves claiming two victories and all the other matches ending in draws. It was a 0-0 stalemate when the Blues came calling last term but Chelsea won 3-0 at Stamford Bridge earlier this season.
Players to watch
Lopetegui has been chopping and changing his forwards but Podence should get the nod to start after his leveller last weekend. The Portuguese has netted six times this term and is 11/2 at Bet365 for another goal here.
With N'Golo Kante back to fitness again, it has given Mateo Kovacic more licence to get forward from midfield. The Croatian came within a whisker of scoring against Liverpool in midweek and is 12/1 at Unibet for a goal here which looks pretty generous.
Anything else catch the eye?
Both these teams have been struggling to score so it's no great surprise to see under 2.5 goals a best 8/11 with Bet365 but betting against BTTS is a little better at 9/10 with BetVictor.
Chelsea have been winning lots of corners in recent games and I cashed in by backing them in the handicap against Aston Villa. Wolves haven't won more than five corners in their last six matches so I fancy Chelsea -1 in the corner handicap here at 21/20 with Bet365.
With the Molineux side battling against the drop they should be tougher in the tackle than Chelsea. That makes the 10/11 at Bet365 on Wolves to get most cards look pretty good while over 2.5 Wolves cards is 27/25 with Unibet.
This English Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea will be played on Apr 8, 2023 and kick off at 15:00. Check below for our tipsters best Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Chelsea prediction. You may also visit our dedicated betting previews section for the most up to date previews.
