Chelsea will be hoping to capitalise on their rivals dropping points and boost their chances of Champions League qualification when they host relegation-threatened Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League on Monday night.
Enzo Maresca's side needed Cole Palmer to score a 95th-minute equaliser to avoid losing against Bournemouth last time out on Tuesday, and have in fact dropped points in their five most recent league outings, drawing their past two.
Vitor Pereira's Wolves side were beaten 3-0 by Newcastle United on January 15, though they were arguably unfortunate to have not at least scored given they created a number of chances on the day.
Here, Sports Mole takes an in-depth look at the head-to-head record and previous meetings between the two sides.
© Imago
Head-to-head record
Previous meetings: 118
Wolves wins: 43
Draws: 30
Chelsea wins: 45
Very little can separate the two clubs in regard to their head-to-head record, with Chelsea winning 45 of their 118 clashes against the visitors compared to Wolves' 43 victories.
Wolves will be looking for revenge having been thrashed 6-2 by Chelsea on August 25 in the reverse fixture.
Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer stole the show that day, with the former scoring a hat-trick and the latter registering three assists and scoring a goal.
A victory on Monday would see Chelsea leapfrog fourth-placed Newcastle United, and would also be the first time that the Blues would have done the double against Wolves since 2019-20 when they beat Monday's visitors 5-2 at Molineux and 2-0 at home.
Though Pereira has only been in charge of the club for six games, he will take confidence from the fact that his side won both league games against the Blues last season, and have in fact drawn three and won once in their six matches at Stamford Bridge since their first season back in the top flight in 2018-19.
However, Wolves have failed to win any of their last three games in the league, losing their past two by a cumulative score of 6-0, and they find themselves in 17th place with just 16 points.
The visitors are only above 18th-placed Ipswich Town due to having scored more goals and could find themselves in the relegation zone should they lose by a bigger margin than Ipswich Town, who play Manchester City on Sunday.
Perhaps Chelsea forward Pedro Neto could have a point to prove against his former side having left Molineux for Stamford Bridge in the summer window, though he has only started 10 times for his current club in the Premier League.
Neto may be concerned that his team have only triumphed twice in their last nine games against Wolves in the top flight, drawing three and losing four in that period.
Jimmy Greaves remains the highest scorer in this fixture with a tally of nine goals for Chelsea, though Jimmy Murray netted eight times for Wolves.
Last 20 meetings
Aug 25, 2024: Wolves 2-6 Chelsea (Premier League)
Feb 04, 2024: Chelsea 2-4 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 24, 2023: Wolves 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Apr 08, 2023: Wolves 1-0 Chelsea (Premier League)
Oct 08, 2022: Chelsea 3-0 Wolves (Premier League)
May 07, 2022: Chelsea 2-2 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 19, 2021: Wolves 0-0 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 27, 2021: Chelsea 0-0 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 15, 2020: Wolves 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jul 26, 2020: Chelsea 2-0 Wolves (Premier League)
Sep 14, 2019: Wolves 2-5 Chelsea (Premier League)
Mar 10, 2019: Chelsea 1-1 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 05, 2018: Wolves 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Feb 18, 2017: Wolves 0-2 Chelsea (FA Cup Fifth Round)
Sep 25, 2012: Chelsea 6-0 Wolves (League Cup Round Three)
Jan 02, 2012: Wolves 1-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
Nov 26, 2011: Chelsea 3-0 Wolves (Premier League)
Jan 05, 2011: Wolves 1-0 Chelsea (Premier League)
Oct 23, 2010: Chelsea 2-0 Wolves (Premier League)
Feb 20, 2010: Wolves 0-2 Chelsea (Premier League)
Last 10 Premier League meetings
Aug 25, 2024: Wolves 2-6 Chelsea (Premier League)
Feb 04, 2024: Chelsea 2-4 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 24, 2023: Wolves 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Apr 08, 2023: Wolves 1-0 Chelsea (Premier League)
Oct 08, 2022: Chelsea 3-0 Wolves (Premier League)
May 07, 2022: Chelsea 2-2 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 19, 2021: Wolves 0-0 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jan 27, 2021: Chelsea 0-0 Wolves (Premier League)
Dec 15, 2020: Wolves 2-1 Chelsea (Premier League)
Jul 26, 2020: Chelsea 2-0 Wolves (Premier League)
Lewis Nolan
