Ex-Chelsea striker Chris Sutton is expecting a stalemate when the Blues face Wolves at Molineux on Christmas Eve.

The home side were very poor against West Ham in their last fixture but Sutton says Mauricio Pochettino’s side’s lack of consistency means he still doesn’t believe they will come away with the three points this weekend:

“Wolves lacked intensity against West Ham last week, which makes me think they will bounce back here – but it really does depend on which Chelsea team turns up.”

“And I’m sorry but I still have absolutely no idea what to expect from Mauricio Pochettino’s side so I am going to sit firmly on the fence with this one.”

Sutton has predicted a 1-1 draw, which would be a disappointing result for Chelsea, who are looking to build momentum after some good recent performances.

Wolves do have a decent home record

It should be pointed out that Gary O’Neil’s team have only lost twice at Molineux in the league and both of those defeats came early in the season against Brighton and Liverpool.

Since then, they have beaten reigning champions Manchester City and Tottenham, as well as drawing 2-2 with Newcastle. Pochettino’s men will certainly not have everything going their way on Sunday.

Chelsea’s injury situation will make things even more difficult

Reece James has had surgery this week on a hamstring injury, and the Blues captain is expected to be out for 2 to 3 months. Pochettino also confirmed in his pre-match press conference that Enzo Fernandez is suffering with a hernia.

It means that the London club have no less than 10 players on the treatment table. That is a sizeable number unavailable, even when you take into account that Chelsea have a very big first-team squad.  Despite their problems, though, dropping points against Wolves would still be seen as a disappointment.