Enzo Fernandez misses out on the Christmas Eve trip to Wolves after being pictured in tears following Chelsea's win over Newcastle in the Carabao Cup.
The 22-year-old midfielder was substituted in the 32nd minute and stayed in the dressing room for most of the match, before re-emerging just as Chelsea reached the semi-finals of the League Cup via a penalty shootout.
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Mauricio Pochettino revealed post-game that the midfielder had been suffering from illness and asked to be substituted, amid rumours come out of Argentina that he is suffering from a more serious groin injury, and he is not involved at Molineux.
In better news, midfield duo Romeo Lavia and Lesley Ugochukwu along with winger Noni Madueke are all in the squad, with Ugochukwu starting alongside Conor Gallagher in the middle of the park. Lavia is in contention to make his debut, after Christopher Nkunku did likewise after playing for just over 20 minutes in midweek
The Blues are still contending with a sizeable absentee list. Carney Chukwuemeka, Trevoh Chalobah, Ben Chilwell, Marc Cucurella, Robert Sanchez, Reece James and Wesley Fofana remain out. Chilwell is back in partial team training, but a return is not imminent.
Penalty hero Djordje Petrovic continues as the goalkeeper, with Malo Gusto's return after he excelled from the bench in midweek confirmed.
He slots in at right-back alongside Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva and Levi Colwill in defence, while Armando Broja and Nicolas Jackson both start up front.
Chelsea XI: Petrovic; Gusto, Disasi, Silva, Colwill; Ugochukwu, Gallagher; Sterling, Palmer, Jackson; Broja.
Subs: Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Badiashile, Maatsen, Lavia, Matos, Madueke, Mudryk, Nkunku
Time and date: 1pm GMT on Sunday December 24, 2023
Venue: Molineux
TV channel: Sky Sports
