Wolves will be without the suspended Nenad Milijas, who will serve the second of his three- match ban against the Blues.
Jamie O’Hara and Ronald Zubar will also be missing for Mick McCarthy’s side as they are currently injured. Stephen Ward stepped into the central midfield role vacated by Milijas in the 1-1 draw with Bolton so expect him to continue in this position on Monday.
David Edwards, who was on the bench at the Reebok Stadium, could be recalled as McCarthy may switch to a five-man midfield against Chelsea with Sylvan Ebanks-Blake missing out.
Chelsea will stick with the same formation they used against Aston Villa in their 3-1 defeat. However, the personnel will probably change. Jose Bosingwa could be in line for a recall at right-back replacing Paulo Ferreira.
With Branislav Ivanovic still injured and Alex out-of-favour, David Luiz and John Terry will continue at centre-back despite the Blues’ defensive frailties. Frank Lampard should return in midfield replacing Raul Meireles, while the Blues’ front three should stay the same – although Fernando Torres could push for a start.
- Striker Steven Fletcher (pictured right) has scored five goals in his last six games, and is the leading scorer for Mick McCarthy’s side this season with eight goals in total.
- Wolves have won just three games at Molineux this season and have the sixth worst home record in the division.
- Mick McCarthy’s side beat Chelsea in this fixture last season with a Jose Bosingwa own goal being the difference between the two sides.
- In 102 meetings between the teams Chelsea and Wolves have both won 38 times, and there have also been 26 draws.
- Chelsea have not won in four Premier League games, their longest period without a win this season; their last victory was the 2-1 win over Manchester City on the 12 December.
- This is the first time since 2001-02 season that the Blues have started a calendar year outside of the top four.
- Chelsea have the third best defensive record in the Premier League away from home, having conceded just eight goals. Only Liverpool (seven) and Manchester United (three) have conceded fewer.
- The Blues have the same amount of points as they had after the same number of games last season, but this term they have scored four more goals and conceded nine more.