Wolves v Chelsea preview: Bruno Lage looking for ways to stop one of world’s best

The Italian international – who recently finished third in the 2021 Ballon d’Or – is a mainstay in the Chelsea midfield and is expected to start against Wolves if he can pass a late fitness test.

And Lage is a huge admirer of the 29-year-old – and also praised Chelsea’s system and defensive organisation.

Lage said: “They are very good to play in their system. The three centre-backs, the way they defend and start the build up is very good.

“I know all the player are important but I like midfielders, they are very important to play a good game.

“Jorginho is one of the best in that position at the moment.

“When we try to press them, every time their concern is to find Jorginho because he gives them a solution to come out of the pressure and find the right spaces.

“Jorginho is one of the key players for them to play in that system.”

But Wolves also carry a threat in midfield with Ruben Neves currently in impressive form following his superb assist for the winning goal at Brighton in midweek.

Joao Moutinho has often been his midfield partner and has also impressed, while Leander Dendoncker has largely done well when called up.

And with some passing praise for youngster Luke Cundle, Lage insists he is pleased with his midfield options as they aim to prevent Jorginho from dictating play at Molineux.

He added: “I talk about Jorginho but also I can talk about Ruben, Joao and Leander. I put Luke also with these three players.

“They know everything about the game. They are very clever, experienced also.

“It’s very important to have these three players with me. With them I can play in different ways.

“If I choose to play with two I can because they give me a lot of things.

“They are different and we can also play with three in midfield. I am very happy with our midfielders.

“For sure, they want to play this game and compete against these players.”

Meanwhile, Lage could be without more first team players as his squad takes another hit.

Hwang Hee-chan and Rayan Ait-Nouri both suffered injuries in midweek at Brighton and are doubts for tomorrow’s game.

Speaking yesterday in his press conference, Lage refused to confirm whether they would be available and insisted they were still waiting to hear the extent of the injuries from the medical department.

Covid-19 cases have also crept into the camp with Yerson Mosquera and Fabio Silva both testing positive on initial tests.

The club were then giving the pair second tests to ensure it was not a false positive. Mosquera is currently injured while Silva has been a mainstay on the bench.

Wolves will, however, have Raul Jimenez back from suspension.

Opposition view

Chelsea will be without a number of key first-team players after a spate of Covid-19 cases.

Romelu Lukaku, Timo Werner and Callum Hudson-Odoi all tested positive ahead of their 1-1 draw with Everton on Thursday, while Ben Chilwell also tested positive but is already out with a knee injury.

Kai Havertz also missed the Everton fixture with illness and Chelsea were waiting on test results to determine whether it was Covid-19. If he tests negative then he may be available for the trip to Molineux.

Mateo Kovacic may also make the squad after he finished isolating from Covid-19 yesterday, but whether he features against Wolves will depend on his fitness levels and ability to train ahead of kick-off.

Chelsea missed a number of gilt-edged opportunities against Everton to slip four points behind leaders Manchester City in the Premier League title race, and have now picked up just 12 points in seven top-flight matches.

Asked if Chelsea find themselves in a blip or a rut, Thomas Tuchel replied: “I would be more concerned if we were totally out of form and always conceding the first goal and struggling to come back.

“Maybe that would be easier to analyse; I don’t think it’s so easy to analyse our situation.

“I saw teams struggle at West Ham, but for us all our huge problems came more or less out of nothing, for all three goals.

“I can go on: against Leeds we were under control, a good first half, then we score, and then the game gets out of our hands.

“Today, please: it’s a freak result for this kind of match. So where to point the finger and where to start?

“There are some facts that we concede too many goals, that we give away too many leading positions, this is a part of that.

“But we are very honest and very critical. But for me, it’s not so easy to analyse why we’re dropping points.

“It was the same against Burnley at home, the investment we put in for getting goals is so huge.

“I can never say we don’t play with full effort, discipline and ambition, we do. And especially throughout first half and big periods of second half we do.

“But it slips and we get punished for not getting a lot wrong. It’s a bit awkward and strange to analyse.

“We could be sat here talking about a 3-0 win that would be fantastic because of the players we missed, but again it is mistakes that has cost us.”