Chelsea 3 Wolves 0

Sorry Wolves crashed to their eighth defeat in 10 games as they proved little more than fodder for Chelsea.

First-half goals from John Terry, Daniel Sturridge and Juan Mata had the game wrapped up by half-time for Andre Villas-Boas' side.

Wolves were simply no match for their hosts, who went into the game with four defeats in seven and back-to-back home losses.

But Chelsea never looked like surrendering this game as they quickly established control and didn't have to get out of second gear to inflict a fifth straight away defeat on Wolves.

The result, though not unexpected, was every bit as emphatic as it sounded and was as one-sided as the 4-0 thumping Chelsea dealt Wolves two years ago.

It cranks up the pressure on Wolves and boss Mick McCarthy for next Sunday's home clash against the manager's former club Sunderland.

They will have to do it without midfielder Karl Henry, whose fifth booking of the season on his 29th birthday means he is suspended.

A rare bright spot for Wolves was the debut of 17-year-old Anthony Forde as a 75th minute substitute for Ronald Zubar.

McCarthy made four changes from the side that lost 2-1 at Everton last week.

In came Zubar, George Elokobi, Matt Jarvis and Steven Fletcher as Richard Stearman and suspended duo Jamie O'Hara and Stephen Hunt made way.

Kevin Doyle joined the latter two in losing his record as a Premier League ever present in 2011-12 after being ruled out with a knee injury picked up in training on Thursday.

McCarthy's selection meant there were changes to all four flank positions, with Stephen Ward pushed on from left-back to wide midfield to accommodate Elokobi.

It looked a solid enough line-up, but the players themselves down hugely with some awful defending for the first goal.

Goalkeeper Wayne Hennessey made a superb, full-length save to deny Raul Meireles from 20 yards and, from Juan Mata's resulting corner, Terry got away from Roger Johnson to guide a tame header that somehow squeezed into the bottom corner of the net.

Ward had Wolves' only effort of the first-half with a firm, rising header from Jarvis' centre that flew over.

But Chelsea were always in control and doubled their lead when Sturridge, who broke Wolves' hearts in the 94th minute at Bolton in February, tapped home after Mata beat Zubar far too easily to cross from the left.

Sturridge was next to threaten. Showing all the hallmarks of a player oozing confidence, he unleashed a rasping, angled shot from 25 yards that was fumbled over by Hennessey just before the half hour mark.

With seemingly nothing to lose, McCarthy sent on Sylvan Ebanks-Blake after just 35 minutes for Nenad Milijas and reverted to a 4-4-2 formation in an effort to ask more questions of Chelsea.

But instead it was the Blues who were next to threaten, as they made it 3-0.

This time it was the unmarked Mata who was allowed time and space to steer home left footed after Johnson got caught napping on the halfway line to lose a challenge to Didier Drogba.

Drogba retrieved the rebound off Christophe Berra from his own shot and passed back to Ashley Cole for the cross.

The second-half continued in much the same vein as the first - with Chelsea well on top.

A full-blooded volley from Ramires brought a fine diving catch from Hennessey, before an angled drive from Drogba spun wide as the space opened up in front of him.

In between, the lively Ward, now playing right midfield, poked just wide with Petr Cech to beat after Fletcher superbly split Chelsea's defence.

Yhere was action at both ends and Hennessey produced successive point-blank blocks from Sturridge then Mata before Ward, who again ended the game at right-back, saw a goalbound shot go the same way against Cech's legs from Jarvis' cross.

But it was too little, too late for Wolves in a game where they probably haven't been as outclassed all season.