On the back of respective two-goal defeats last weekend, Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea attempt to get off the Premier League mark at the second time of asking at Molineux on Sunday.
Gary O'Neil's men fell to a 2-0 loss to Arsenal in matchweek one, while the Blues succumbed to Manchester City's superiority before making amends in Europe.
Match preview
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Pitting their wits against a side whom they had not kept a clean sheet against since 1979, Wolves conceding first at the Emirates was perhaps the least surprising occurrence of the opening weekend, as Kai Havertz nodded in Bukayo Saka's delivery on the 25-minute mark.
However, Arsenal's initial failure to build on their one-goal lead allowed Wolves back into the battle, but O'Neil's team were also found wanting in the final third and had their defeat rubber-stamped when Havertz and Saka swapped roles for the Gunners' second.
While O'Neil could understandably take pride from Wolves' overall display in North London, he conceded that last year's runners-up possessed the killer touch that his players lacked, as Wolves suffered an opening-day defeat for the fourth season running.
A return to Molineux turf may not provide the Wolves faithful with much comfort either, as the hosts lost four of their final five home matches in the 2024-25 Premier League season, with their only triumph in that sequence being a 2-1 win over relegated Luton Town.
In fact, six losses at home in the whole of 2024 is more than any other Premier League side in the current calendar year, and should O'Neil's men come up short again, the 41-year-old will become the first single Wolves boss since Terry Connor in 2012 to lose five top-flight games on the spin.
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O'Neil and his opposite number Enzo Maresca can empathise when it comes to two-goal losses against Premier League title challengers, as even though Manchester City were only operating in third or fourth gear at Stamford Bridge last weekend, they still travelled home with an expected three points.
Who else but Erling Haaland would open the champions' account for the new season, before a former Chelsea flame in Mateo Kovacic left the Blues' current midfielders chasing shadows before succeeding with an attempt that Robert Sanchez arguably should have done better with.
Discontent around West London grew exponentially in the opening 45 of Thursday's Conference League playoff against Servette too, where Maresca's men were booed off the field following a goalless first half, but Christopher Nkunku's penalty and Noni Madueke's thumping finish spared Blues blushes.
Never far away from the off-field headlines regarding their astounding squad size and ostracisation of celebrated names, Chelsea seek a third straight Premier League away win on Sunday following successes at Nottingham Forest and Brighton & Hove Albion last year, but the jaws of Wolves have often proved too difficult to pry open.
Indeed, Chelsea have been beaten in their last three matches against Sunday's hosts, losing 2-1 at Molineux on Christmas Eve 2023 before a 4-2 home humbling in February, where Matheus Cunha became just the fourth visiting player to score a Premier League hat-trick at Stamford Bridge.
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Team News
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Owing to his red card for violent conduct on the last day of the 2023-24 season, Wolves right-back Nelson Semedo will serve the second of a three-game ban on Sunday, allowing Matt Doherty to take up defensive duties again.
Long-term absentees Sasa Kalajdzic (knee), Leon Chiwone (ankle) and Enso Gonzalez (knee) are no closer to returning either, and there was slight concern over Rayan Ait-Nouri, who was forced off in the dying embers of the loss to Arsenal but should be fine for Sunday.
Stamford Bridge hat-trick hero Cunha was only considered for a second-half run-out at the Emirates, but a recall to the XI surely awaits the Brazilian in gameweek two, where O'Neil could select a starting lineup without a single English player for the second game running.
As far as Chelsea are concerned, Maresca confirmed after the beating of Servette that PFA Young Player of the Year Cole Palmer had complained of hamstring pain, but he does not believe that the issue will render him unavailable for the weekend.
Captain Reece James may therefore be the Blues' only enforced absentee - the right-back is both suspended and nursing a thigh injury - and a plethora of changes can be expected once again after Maresca made nine alterations for the Conference League.
Romeo Lavia - who earned plaudits for his display against Man City - should head the queue for promotion from the bench, but Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell remain out in the cold and are on the lookout for new clubs before the August 30 transfer deadline.
Maresca has suggested that the game will come too soon for Joao Felix to make his second debut for the club, though, while Pedro Neto may be restricted to a place on the bench at his former stomping ground too.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Doherty, Mosquera, Toti, Ait-Nouri; Hwang, Lemina, J. Gomes, Sarabia; Cunha, Larsen
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Sanchez; Gusto, Fofana, Colwill, Cucurella; Fernandez, Lavia; Madueke, Dewsbury-Hall, Nkunku; Jackson
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-2 Chelsea
Each of Chelsea's last 16 Premier League away matches has seen the Blues concede at least one goal, and their defensive deficiencies should be at least momentarily exposed by a Wolves side who have had their number over the past 18 months.
However, with a spring in their step from Thursday's victory and an astonishing squad depth allowing them to call on plenty of fresh legs, we still have faith in Maresca's men to eke out a win over an off-colour Wolves outfit, but it may not be pretty.
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Ben Knapton
