Predicted Chelsea team to face Wolves: Tuchel forced to remain with Loftus-Cheek in midfield

Chelsea’s form has been up and down of late. The Blues have been third for much of the season, but could be at risk of giving that place up.

They currently sit just three points ahead of fourth-placed Arsenal, following a few poor results. Chelsea lost to the Gunners a few games back, but bounced back with a 1-0 victory over West Ham.

They failed to beat Manchester United the following match, drawing 1-1. The Blues then suffered a shock 1-0 defeat at the hands of Everton last time out.

They were missing a number of players during that game, one of the most notable was N’Golo Kante. That blow has been worsened, as another central midfielder, Jorginho was injured in that game.

Tuchel confirmed that the pair would be missing for this game in his pre-match press conference. He said it is “too early”for Kante, and that Jorginho “is out”.

That means they will likely have to stick with Loftus-Cheek. While he is not a bad option, Chelsea would prefer to have all their options in the side.

Edouard Mendy started in net. The three centre-backs were Antonio Rudiger, Thiago Silva and Cesar Azpilicueta.

Reece James and Marcos Alonso occupied the wing-back roles. Between them, Jorginho – who suffered an injury – started alongside Loftus-Cheek, making his 12th league start of the season.

 Mason Mount and Timo Werner offered support to the main forward.

Kai Havertz played through the middle – he has failed to score in the last four.

With some injury concerns, Chelsea will have a limited pool of players to pick from, particularly in the midfield.

Mendy is likely to remain in net. Andreas Christensen could return at centre-back after illness. He could play alongside Silva and Rudiger, with Azpilicueta potentially dropping to the bench – he