On the special day of Christmas Eve, the match between Wolves and Chelsea is not only a Premier League match, but also carries the weight of history - it is the second time in the history of the Premier League that a match is held on Christmas Eve.
Garry O'Neill's Wolves have impressed their fans this season, and but for a couple of controversial VAR decisions, they would have had the chance to move further up the table.
Wolves' success has been built on solid home form, as they have lost just two of their eight league home games, and are unbeaten in their last six fixtures after defeats to Liverpool and Bailiffon.
I attribute Wolves' success to their unique way of organization. Unlike most Premier League teams, they use a tailor-made 3-4-3 formation, which has allowed them to get decent results against possession-based teams such as Tottenham Hotspur, Manchester City, Aston Villa, and Newcastle, and was even quite compact against Arsenal, even drawing with Liverpool for long periods of time.
As simple as defensive soccer may seem, the key is being able to capitalize on it when the opportunity presents itself. Hwang Hee-Chan and Mafiosu Gencia have been invaluable to the Wolves this season, combining for 13 goals and breaking deadlocks for the Wolves at crucial moments. The Wolves have been struggling with a lackluster offense since losing the core of their frontcourt in Diego Sousa and Raul Jimenez. In addition, Berdunitu leads the assist charts with 7 assists, and with so many assists in 887 minutes of game time, the Wolves look forward to him recovering from his injury soon and continuing to energize the team.
Chelsea, on the other hand, are eager to end the week on a three-game winning streak, even though that may be just the tip of the iceberg in terms of their all-time accomplishments.
Medilli scored a crucial goal in the last eight of the EFL Cup in midweek, while the much-anticipated starlet Nicholas Negancourt finally made his official debut, which is expected to boost the team's morale. However, with the unfortunate loss of Ansel Fernandes, Chelsea's injury list may be even longer than their transfer list. The Pucettenu leader hopes to have more luck and fewer injuries in 2024 to be able to flexibly deploy his squad.
Despite Chelsea's poor results this year, two of the players they brought in from Manchester City have been impressive this season. Galpenma has contributed nine goals (six goals and three assists) in the Premier League as an under-21 player, becoming only the fifth Chelsea under-21 player ever to contribute double-figure goals in a single season. Staines has been consistent this season and has been involved in six goals (four goals and two assists) in six Premier League matches against Wolves, five of which have come at home to Wolves.
