Wolverhampton Wanderers manager Gary O’Neil is currently preparing his side to face Chelsea tomorrow in a Christmas Eve showdown.
Wolves host Chelsea on Sunday afternoon at Molineux Stadium in the Premier League.
Wolves are enjoying a steady campaign during O’Neil’s first year in charge, sitting 13th in the league table with 19 points from 17 games.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are underachieving in 10th spot and are only three points above of tomorrow’s opponents. There’s pressure on Blues head coach Mauricio Pochettino to get a lot more out of his group.
Premier League prediction
Wolves boss O’Neil has showered praise on Chelsea as he gets ready to face them.
Interestingly, he’s predicted that the Blues will climb the division table and end the season finishing much higher than 10th.
“They’re a good side, obviously, and I know they’ve had something like 11 injuries and they’re in a difficult spell, but watching their games and you see the amount of depth they have, even in the cup the other day, when they needed a goal – even with the injuries – they still had hundreds of millions of pounds worth of talent to bring on, so they’ve got a good squad that are finding their way,” O’Neil said via Wolves’ official website.
“It’s clear now what they’re trying to do and they’ll definitely finish higher in the league than where they are now. They’re a team who’s improving and will continue to improve as they’ve got a good coach as well.”
If Chelsea want to start climbing the division and aiming for the European spots, they need a decent points return in their final three games of 2023. They face Wolves, Crystal Palace and Luton Town in the upcoming days.
Wolves vs Chelsea
We’re expecting a tight game between two sides with very little to separate them in the league table.
Chelsea will need to find a way to win without some key players.
Speaking via the Blues official website, Pochettino has confirmed that Enzo Fernandez is unavailable against Wolves due to illness.
Meanwhile, Reece James is now back on the treatment table while he recovers from surgery on a hamstring injury.