Wolves vs. Chelsea Premier League Betting Odds, Picks & Predictions (Tuesday, Dec. 15)

Wolves vs. Chelsea Odds

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Things are destined to get a little crazy in the Premier League this month, with the congested festive period of fixtures upon us.

The holiday-season insanity commences Tuesday when Wolves welcome Chelsea to Molineux Stadium in what should be an interesting match.

The host side enters the contest off back-to-back shutout defeats, the most recent coming via a 1-0 loss to Aston Villa on the weekend.

On the other side, the Blues suffered a 1-0 road defeat to Everton and missed a chance to move into first in England's top flight. The Blues had their impressive 18-match unbeaten streak end in that disappointing effort at Goodison Park.

Let's take a look at these clubs and see what could be on deck for this game.

Wolverhampton Wanderers

This hasn't been the best of starts for the host, which is 5-2-5 (W-D-L) overall and currently in 13th place on the table.

Wolves have struggled to get anything going offensively as of late, largely due to the absence of standout Raúl Jiménez, whose return is unknown after suffering a brutal head injury in a 2-1 over Arsenal four matches back.

When looking at the data and statistics, Wolves has put together the kind of numbers you'd expect from a club floundering in the middle of the table.

The clubs boasts a subpar 12.0 expected goals for, which puts it in 16th place in the 20-team league. In contrast, Wolves' 14.2 expected goals against is quite respectable and good enough for a spot in the top six overall.

Those numbers translate into a disappointing -2.2 xGDiff and -0.18 for xGDiff/90 minutes. And suffice it to say, that's not good enough at this level.

Expected goals (also known as xG) is an advanced statistic that gives an indication of whether results are based on sustainable factors like a steady creation of scoring chances, or whether it is down to aspects such as luck or outstanding goalkeeping.

Chelsea

Manager Frank Lampard has to be pleased overall with his powerhouse side, despite the defeat to Everton that snapped that brilliant run of performances.

Chelsea, led by Olivier Giroud and Timo Werner, have been a model of consistency in the league thus far. Offensively and defensively, the Blues have it together. The clubs' goals for/goals against ratio of 25:12 is second to Tottenham Hotspur, which sits in first place on 25 points. Liverpool has the same point total, but Spurs holds the tiebreaker over the defending champion.

As you probably guessed, Chelsea's overall advanced metrics are some of the best in the league. The Blues sit on a stellar 20.6 xGs and stingy 12.4 expected goals against, resulting in an +8.2 xGDiff and +0.68 for xGDiff/90 minutes.

Chelsea is only second to Liverpool in xG, xGDiff and xGDiff/90 minutes, solidifying it as one of the top clubs in all major statistical categories.

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Betting Analysis & Picks

I really like Chelsea to get things back in order after that minor hiccup against Everton at Goodison Park. Lampard's side has been one of the best across the continent this season, which has me fully expecting a solid rebound effort.

That said, I am backing Chelsea to secure the win and bag all three points. I think we're getting a fair price on the moneyline at minus-143, so grab it while you can. I expect this to jump as we get closer to kickoff at Molineux.

I will also play the total to stay under the number as well. The total has stayed under 2.5 goals in Wolves' last five home league fixtures, so I see that trend continuing in the quick turnaround.

Picks: Chelsea ML (-155) | Total Under 2.5 Goals (-127)