Premier League Matchweek 2 Preview And Prediction
Wolves vs Chelsea Preview and Prediction
Chelsea travel to the west Midlands to take on Wolves on Sunday looking to give new head coach Enzo Maresca a win in his second Premier League game in charge.
It’s certainly been a chaotic start to Maresca’s tenure after joining Leicester City. After a troubled pre-season, Chelsea were beaten 2-0 at home by reigning champions Manchester City on the opening weekend.
Much has been made of the size of Chelsea’s squad, and though Maresca tried to downplay such concerns this week by saying over 15 players are training away from the first team, defeat in his second game will only lead to more questions.
Chelsea handed four Premier League club debuts to players against City (Marc Guiu, Renato Veiga, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, Pedro Neto), taking their total to 23 debuts since the start of last season, five more than any other club who haven’t been promoted in that time.
Experienced players such as Raheem Sterling and Ben Chilwell look set to leave Stamford Bridge, and defeat this weekend at Molineux would be the first time since the 1973-74 campaign that Chelsea have lost their opening two matches of a season.
Maresca, meanwhile, would become the first Chelsea boss to lose his first two matches in charge since Gianluca Vialli in 1998.
However, hope will come in the form of Wolves’ opening weekend defeat at Arsenal, losing 2-0 after goals from Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka.
Further encouragement for Chelsea will stem from their hosts’ poor record at home in 2024, with Wolves losing six of their nine Premier League home games this calendar year.
No side has lost more in what is a stark comparison to 2023, where Wolves lost just four of their 20 league games at Molineux.
Chelsea, though, have conceded at least once in their last 16 Premier League away games, their longest run without a clean sheet on the road since a run of 24 between January 1993 and February 1994.
They also recorded their first victory of the season on Thursday when a Christopher Nkunku penalty and another goal from Noni Madueke gave Chelsea a 2-0 win over Swiss side Servette in their UEFA Conference League play-off first leg at Stamford Bridge.
In terms of team news, Chelsea will be without Reece James until at least September, while Wolves will again miss Nelson Semedo through a continued suspension from the final day of last season.
Wolves vs Chelsea Head-to-Head
Wolves have won their last three Premier League games against Chelsea, as many as they had in their previous 17 (four draws, 10 defeats). Only once before have they won more consecutive league games against the Blues, a run of five between November 1938 and September 1947.
Chelsea is also winless in four away league games against Wolves (one draw, three losses), since a 5-2 victory in September 2019 under Frank Lampard. The last meeting between the sides came back in February when a Matheus Cunha hat-trick and an Axel Disasi own-goal helped Wolves to a 4-2 victory at Stamford Bridge.
PREDICTION: 2 DNB @1.34
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Preview and Prediction
Arsenal fell just two points short of ending their 20-year Premier League title drought last season, and Aston Villa were responsible for six of the points dropped by Mikel Arteta’s men. On Saturday, the Gunners are plotting revenge over their former boss Unai Emery in a blockbuster early evening kick-off at Villa Park.
Emery’s Villa were responsible for 40% of Arsenal’s Premier League defeats in 2023-24 (2/5), triumphing 1-0 at Villa Park last December and 2-0 at the Emirates Stadium in April. They could now win three straight Premier League games against the Gunners for the third time, having previously done so in November 1993 and February 2021.
They will face a mammoth challenge against Arteta’s side, though, after they kickstarted their latest title bid with a comfortable 2-0 win over Wolves on Matchday 1, with Kai Havertz and Bukayo Saka on target.
Villa is the only team to beat Arsenal in the Premier League in 2024, with the Gunners managing 17 victories in 19 games this calendar year (one draw, one defeat). In Football League history, the most wins ever managed by a team through their first 20 matches in a calendar year is 18, achieved by Liverpool in 1982 and Manchester City in both 2019 and 2021.
The Gunners have been particularly strong on the road this year, winning eight of nine Premier League away games with the only exception being a goalless draw at Manchester City. Arteta’s side have kept seven clean sheets in those matches, only conceding three goals from an expected goals against (xGA) total of 5.89. City have the next-best defensive record on the road in 2024, and they have given up 12.39 xGA in 10 away matches.
Further forward, Arsenal will again lean on the brilliance of Saka, who contributed a goal and an assist last time out and has been on the winning side in 99 of his 171 Premier League games with them. Another win would make him just the fourth player to reach 100 victories in the competition before turning 23 years old, after Wayne Rooney, Cesc Fàbregas and Phil Foden.
Fellow forward Havertz, meanwhile, has 17 Premier League goal involvements (10 goals, seven assists) since February 17, when Arsenal trounced Burnley 5-0. No player has more contributions in that time, though Havertz is yet to score or assist in seven games against Villa, for both Chelsea and Arsenal.
Villa also started their campaign with a win, as Jhon Durán came off the bench to score the winner in a 2-1 triumph at West Ham after Lucas Paquetá’s penalty had cancelled out Amadou Onana’s debut goal.
Villa’s Matchday 1 victory was their first since 2020-21 (1-0 versus Sheffield United), and they could now start a Premier League season with back-to-back wins for the fourth time, previously doing so in 1995-96, 1999-00 and 2020-21.
Emery will again be without long-term injury absentees Boubacar Kamara and Tyrone Mings but otherwise has a full squad available to choose from.
Aston Villa vs Arsenal Head-to-Head
Villa have won five of their last nine Premier League meetings with Arsenal (four defeats), keeping a clean sheet in every victory.
That is as many wins as they had managed in their previous 46 league matches against the Gunners (14 draws, 27 defeats).
Arsenal, though, have won 14 away Premier League games against the Villans, their joint-most wins at a single away venue in the competition, having also triumphed 14 times at Crystal Palace’s Selhurst Park.
The Gunners have also scored 98 Premier League goals against Villa in total, only netting more against Everton (124), West Ham (109) and Tottenham (105). Only Liverpool and Manchester United (five opponents each) have netted 100 or more Premier League goals against more different clubs.
PREDICTION: OVER 1.5 @1.23
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Manchester United: BTS @1.49
Manchester City vs Ipswich Town: OVER 2.5 @ 1.28
Tottenham Hotspur vs Everton FC: HOME WIN @ 1.44
Liverpool FC vs Brentford FC: HOME WIN @ 1.26
