For the first time in 28 years, the Premier League will have a fixture played on Christmas Eve as Wolverhampton Wanderers host Chelsea at the Molineux on Sunday.
Bookmaker Betfred expects to see plenty of Christmas cards in the contest, offering odds at 2.00 for 60 or more booking points. The odds are at 2.00 for 55 or less booking points, with each yellow card counting for 10 points and a red card for 25 points.
※ Current Odds Date & Time: December 23rd, 6:30 P.M. (EST)
Both teams are looking to gain momentum after going through some tricky times lately. Wolves have won only one of their last five outings, losing three, and Chelsea’s season continues to be a rollercoaster ride. Mauricio Pochettino saw his men beat Sheffield United in the previous round of action, but the Blues are still on a bad run, having won just two times in their last six league outings while suffering three defeats.
Wolverhampton’s bad run of results has coincided with Pedro Neto’s injury, and the team could have its talisman back on Sunday. After kicking off the season in impressive form, Neto got sidelined by a hamstring injury for two months. Despite missing seven games, Neto shares the league lead with seven assists, and he boasts eight goal involvements in total in 10 Premier League appearances this season.
Wolves are also set to get help at the other end of the pitch as goalkeeper Jose Sa is ready to return from a one-game absence. Sa has kept only one clean sheet in 15 outings this season, but he boasts a solid 70.4 save percentage and should be a calming presence at the back with his experience.
Meanwhile, Chelsea continues to get bad news on the injury front. Reece James has just undergone surgery to fix a hamstring issue and won’t be playing for a while, and there are 12 players on the team in total carrying various health issues. The lengthy list includes No. 1 goalkeeper Robert Sanchez.
Djordje Petrovic is set to make his third Premier League appearance between the sticks on Sunday as Sanchez’s replacement. He registered a clean sheet in his first start against Sheffield, but the Blades are by far the lowest-scoring team in the league. A meeting with the hungry Wolves promises to provide him with a much sterner test, and Chelsea will likely need to get a good performance out of Petrovic to have a happy Christmas.
