Wolverhampton Wanderers

We asked for your thoughts after Saturday's Premier League game between Chelsea and Wolves.

Here are some of your comments:

Chelsea fans

Mark: Still not good enough with teams which lie deep. Estevao Willian is consistently dangerous so he needs to start. Enzo Maresca needs to decide his strongest team and rotate just a few players every game, not half the team.

Tristan: In the first half, I was bemused as to how we didn't score and that concerned me. But luckily for the Blues, we got the win.

Lee: Typical game from this Chelsea team. Played for 45 minutes against a definite relegation side and eventually broke them down. Good three points, but it plasters over cracks.

James: Bit on the slow side first half but second 45 much better. Will do Joao Pedro the world of good to get a goal and the international break arrives at a good time for anyone injured to hopefully recover. Clean sheet was a nice bonus too.

Wolves fans

Simon: Really hard to watch. There seems to be a disconnect between the team and this is showing with the amount of goals we are letting in and the attempted shots on goal. It is going to be a tough number for the next manager, but we still have a tiny bit of time to turn it around.

Rick: They were just going through the motions. No threat. Mistakes. Sloppy. Once again, it was like watching two teams from different leagues. Particularly frustrated to see Hwang Hee-chan and Jorgen Strand Larsen given yet more chances. Tolu Arokodare is quicker, more skilful and can score. Staggering.

Steve: In the first half we dug in and showed some fight, but created nothing. Once the first goal went in, you knew that was it. Even Pep Guardiola or Arne Slot wouldn't keep this lot up. Good luck to the next coach, be it Rob Edwards or whoever. Let's get behind him and the team and at least go down fighting.

Kieron: The players cannot hide behind Vitor Pereira with that performance. They showed little fight and even less attacking threat! Too many players strolling around, jogging instead of sprinting. I can accept losing but performances like that boil my blood! Embarrassing and shameful.

Jason: Lack of quality and lack of strategy. They would struggle in the Championship. Dismal.

Match of the Day pundits Wayne Rooney and Danny Murphy believe Rob Edwards faces a big struggle to keep Wolves in the Premier League, with the Middlesbrough manager set to take over at the club he spent four years at as a player.

Speaking on the show, Rooney said: "I wouldn't say it's impossible [they avoid relegation], but it's unlikely.

"Their form this season has been horrendous really.

"That's why they've changed manager, and it's a tough job for Edwards."

Wolves will back prospective new manager Rob Edwards in the transfer market in January, with an ambition to sign young, domestic-based players. (NBC), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Monday's full gossip column

Follow the gossip column on BBC Sport

Nizaar Kinsella
Football reporter

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The Wolves job is seen as a dream role for incoming manager Rob Edwards as he arranges his departure from Middlesbrough.

The 42-year-old made more than 100 appearances for Wolves between 2004 and 2008, and his family still live in the Midlands.

But this is a tough time to join a bottom-of-the-table club who have not won since April.

They lack quality in the squad and only stayed competitive at Stamford Bridge until Chelsea scored.

Wolves took 61 minutes to register a shot on goal. They managed just three shots in the match - none on target - and had only 35.5% possession.

However, they showed resilience until conceding in the 51st minute.

That could give Edwards a foundation to build on, but the challenge is huge. No club has survived with as few as two points after 11 games in Premier League history.

Their spirit could help, but Wolves face major problems and potentially lack that underlying quality from their players to survive.

Wolves interim boss James Collins speaking to BBC Sport after the 3-0 defeat to Chelsea: "I felt we showed real spirit in the first half. We did a lot of work on being tight, connected and hard to beat. The boys really focused on that and maybe didn't do as well in possession as we planned.

"The early goal rocked us a bit because then you're chasing the game. We chased the game - we were doing better on the ball - but then we were too much out of structure and open at back and they took advantage.

"The boys have got a real togetherness and spirit. They are willing to work from a gameplan. That's a good basis to work on. There's a real base of players willing to have a right go, work on the game and get better.

"The spirit in the dressing room, I've seen this week. There's 27 games left, plenty of football. Our season won't be decided on Chelsea away. The players have shown drive and determination. If we can add a bit of quality who knows?"

Listen to more from Collins on BBC Sounds

Pundits Alan Shearer and Theo Walcott join host Kelly Cates to bring you the action and talking points from Saturday's Premier League fixtures.

Watch on BBC iPlayer here

And listen back to full match commentaries on BBC Sounds:

• Everton 2-0 Fulham

• West Ham 3-2 Burnley

• Sunderland 2-2 Arsenal

Whether you were at the game or following from elsewhere, we want to know what you learned.

Have your say on Chelsea's performance

What did you make of Wolves' display?

Come back on Monday for a selection of your replies

Chelsea XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, Caicedo, Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Joao Pedro, Garnacho, Delap.

Subs: Jorgensen, Tosin, Hato, Acheampong, James, Andrey Santos, Gittens, Estevao, Guiu.

Wolves XI: Johnstone, Tchatchoua, Bueno, Krejci, Toti, Bueno, Andre, Gomes, Bellegarde, Hwang, Strand Larsen

Subs: Sa, Munetsi, Arias, Wolfe, Arokodare, Mosquera, Chirewa, However, Mane.

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca said after Wednesday's draw with Qarabag that he is rotating his team so much because the Club World Cup is taking its toll on his squad.

That must be a factor in their inconsistency, but I don't think it will matter here because Wolves have been such a rabble recently.

He has gone now but after last weekend's 3-0 defeat by Fulham, their former boss Vitor Pereira said that technically, tactically and physically they were not at the required level, and I don't expect anything to change at Stamford Bridge.

Sutton's prediction: 2-0

Read the full predictions and have your say here

There are five games in the Premier League on Saturday and BBC Sport will bring you every moment.

• Tottenham v Manchester United (12:30)

• Everton v Fulham - listen on BBC Radio 5 Sports Extra

• West Ham v Burnley - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Sunderland v Arsenal (17:30) - listen on BBC Radio 5 Live

• Chelsea v Wolves (20:00)

Kick-off times 15:00 GMT unless stated

Follow all of the action and reaction here

You can also listen to today's 5 Live Premier League commentaries on most smart speakers. Just say "ask BBC Sounds to play Everton v Fulham" or "ask BBC Sounds to play Sunderland v Arsenal", for instance.

Find out more about how to listen to Premier League football on BBC Sounds

Noel Sliney
Senior journalist

Chelsea seek a return to the top four when they host winless and managerless Wolves on Saturday night (20:00 GMT). BBC Sport explores some key themes surrounding the fixture.

Chelsea always under scrutiny

Six wins in eight games across all competitions should be cause for optimism, yet Chelsea seem to be always one misstep from negative scrutiny.

Questions about defensive lapses and team selection have been heightened by Wednesday's failure to beat Qarabag, an Azerbaijani side who have spent less than £7m on transfers since 2020 – in stark contrast to Chelsea's £1.8bn outlay over the same period.

Chelsea were vulnerable once more at the back throughout that 2-2 draw, with summer signing Jorrel Hato culpable for both Qarabag goals but not helped by his team-mates. Head coach Enzo Maresca described them as "silly goals". A week earlier, defensive errors meant they nearly blew a three-goal lead away to Wolves in the Carabao Cup.

It's a trend that has afflicted them all season. The Blues have lost possession in their defensive third on 47 occasions in the Premier League, one short of Aston Villa's league-high tally. In all competitions, Chelsea have made the most errors leading to goals among English top-flight sides, ahead of Wolves, while only Spurs have faced more shots as a result of their own mistakes.

By way of mitigation, Maresca said in midweek that playing in the summer Club World Cup has affected his team selections as he seeks to manage the players' workloads. Chelsea's 3-0 win over PSG in the final of that tournament came just five weeks before the start of the 2025-26 season; the 85 changes subsequently made to their starting XI in all competitions is by far the most of any Premier League side.

Expect plenty more on Saturday, with the squad only arriving back in London at 06:00 on Thursday after a 5,000-mile round trip.

Wolves seeking great escape

This will be Wolves' first match since Vitor Pereira was sacked as head coach in the wake of a 3-0 defeat by Fulham which left them eight points adrift of safety.

They are the first English side in history to start consecutive seasons without a victory in their opening 10 top-flight matches. Wolves achieved a near-miraculous escape from relegation last season after having only three points at the same stage. They're a point worse off this time – only two sides have ever preserved their top-flight status after making such a poor start: Stoke City in 1951-52 and Leicester City in 1983-84.

Wolves don't appear close to naming a replacement for Pereira, whose departure was swiftly followed by that of director of football Domenico Teti after just four-and-a-half months at the club. Gary O'Neil, who was sacked last December, has opted against a potential return after initial talks, while Middlesbrough have turned down an approach for their manager Rob Edwards.

Whoever they appoint, Wolves can twice point to recent successful managerial changes made while they were in the relegation zone. Pereira comfortably kept them up last season, as Julen Lopetegui had done after arriving midway through 2022-23.

Nonetheless, recent Premier League history does not reflect kindly in general on a club's decision to change the manager while stuck in the relegation zone. Across the previous 10 seasons, 37 managers have parted ways with a club in the bottom three – only 13 of those sides stayed up.

Karan Vinod
BBC Sport journalist

Wolves interim boss James Collins has been speaking to the media before Saturday's Premier League game against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge (kick-off 20:00 GMT).

Here are the key lines from his news conference:

• On team news: "We've got a couple of injuries. Matt Doherty is injured, and so is Rodrigo Gomes. The rest are fully available. We might get a couple of young boys around the group and make our decisions from there."

• Collins believes "this group has been tinkered" with so often that it has lost its "continuity and shape", but said that establishing those elements is now the new manager's job to "work out and implement".

• On the club's chances of avoiding relegation: "I told the players on the first day - when you're in it, you feel like you are listening to the outside noise. But there are 28 games to go, nearly 90 points to play for, and if you listen to everybody out there, it's like Wolves are down. I don't see it that way. We just need to put some results together. It starts now - 28 games to go and let's get some points."

• Collins revealed that the message from the board is that he will be "taking the game this weekend", but said he is unsure how long that arrangement will last, adding that his "focus is on the team and our week's work".

• On former manager Vitor Pereira: "Vitor and his staff were brilliant with me. They welcomed us to watch training, they welcomed us to be around it, they welcomed us into meetings. They were enthusiastic about the under-21s and getting players through. I can't speak highly enough of them. They were brilliant people and good coaches. Sometimes in football, it is dictated by results. In the end, if you keep losing, you lose your job. They understand that, but they did their job diligently. Great people and they treated me with great respect. I wish them well."

• Collins also said he has held conversations with players and coaching staff, explaining that "you have to take the bits from that" and use them to improve the team. However, he reiterated that "you can't do everything in a week", so his priority has been to ensure that "at least three or four main principles are added to their week".

• On his hopes for this weekend's match at Chelsea: "We were determined it's not a week's holiday and a new manager comes in. We had to make sure that we prepared properly for the game this weekend. It's a Premier League game that can be won. That was the message to the players and they've responded brilliantly. They've been unbelievably receptive to what we've done with them."

Hear more from James Collins on BBC Sounds

Follow all of Friday's Premier League news conferences and the rest of the day's football news

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With the countdown to the Celebrity Traitors final under way, we asked you which Wolves player or manager - past or present - would make the best traitor and faithful.

Here are some of your comments:

Jack: The best faithful out of the current squad is Matt Doherty. He is the only player at the moment giving it 100%. The traitor in the ranks is Jeff Shi.

Jim: Traitor - Matheus Nune. How can we forget him going on strike. Faithful - Steve Bull. Had many opportunities to leave and play in the Premier League or abroad but he stayed faithful to the club.

Ian: Traitor - Gary O'Neil. He nearly sent Wolves down to the Championship. Faithful - Bull. Has stood by the club through the good times and the bad. Bull should be made either manager or football director.

J: Traitor is Henri Camara, who refused to play for the club and forced a transfer. Faithful is Bull, who declined offers from other clubs, instead wishing to stay at Wolves.

You can watch the final of Celebrity Traitors live from 21:00 GMT on BBC iPlayer

Daz Hale
BBC Radio WM presenter

Image source, Getty Images

Plenty of people will be wanting an update on what is going on at Molineux.

As we know, 48 hours after Vitor Pereira's sacking, the club announced that the director of football Domenico Teti had also parted ways after just four and a half months at the club. He was instrumental in overseeing the player recruitment this summer.

The main update managerial appointment-wise is that nothing is imminent.

I have been told that the club are currently meeting a variety of candidates for the role, which I'm told was always the plan despite all the noise around Gary O'Neil's appointment being imminent.

The club have confirmed that they did speak to O'Neil, but they are also talking to a number of other candidates.

The process is being led by executive chairman Jeff Shi alongside members from the football leadership group that was announced last summer, notably Matt Wild and Matt Jackson.

There is decent interest in the vacancy at Molineux, but I have been told that there is no massive rush to appointment someone.

The club are hinting that there isn't going to be a manager in place before Saturday because they want a thorough and thought-through process in line with their longer-term vision, rather than rushing an appointment just to get someone in the dugout for this weekend.

Listen to Daz here

Mike Taylor
BBC Radio WM reporter

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Wolves supporters have done plenty to make themselves heard over the past few days. Whether their opinions have changed, or will change, the course of events within the club is not yet clear. But they have left no doubt about their strength of feeling, and that merely changing the coach is by no means enough to address it.

You could tell that Saturday at Fulham was more than just another defeat simply by observing the away section.

The travelling supporters occasionally taunted Vitor Pereira and the club's executive chairman Jeff Shi, but spent much of the afternoon working wistfully through their back catalogue of songs, celebrating former heroes like Ruben Neves or Sylvain Ebanks-Blake.

Even the Patrick Cutrone song was heard at one point, while Raul Jimenez felt moved to applaud the away fans while he was still playing, so passionate was their rendition of "Si Senor".

The other clue was that, even after the third Fulham goal put the result beyond any conceivable doubt, nobody went home. They all stayed, and not just to jeer at the end; it was a far more compelling show of unity and defiance than their team had managed over the previous two hours.

That unity continued yesterday with an open letter issued by a collection of fan groups and podcasters. It expressed the deep concerns of many Wolves supporters, but did so in six firm but measured paragraphs, a quiet fury which somehow seemed to give the words more weight.

The letter did not mention Gary O'Neil, whose short-lived candidacy received such an appalling verdict on social media and fan forums that it came as a relief to hear that his interest in the job had ended, after just 24 hours.

O'Neil did not really deserve to have his name maligned like that. Before things turned sour, he did well enough in his first few months at Wolves to suggest he may go on to coaching success in other circumstances.

But it should have been obvious that these were not the right circumstances. The idea of returning to a coach the club had dispensed with less than a year earlier was widely read by fans as a statement of surrender, or even contempt.

Is any of this reaction being heard, or making any difference? Listen to the songs and read the letters, and you feel the supporters trying to assert that the club still, despite everything, belongs to them.

Their underlying fear must be that the owners' actions will demonstrate that it does not.

Listen to live commentary of Chelsea v Wolves at 20:00 GMT on Saturday on BBC Radio WM (all frequencies except online)

And tune into The West Midlands Football Phone-In from 18:00 on weeknights

Explore Wolves content on BBC Sounds

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Challenges. Leaders and followers. Tactics. Second guessing and wondering where to turn next.

This could be any game of football in the Premier League this weekend.

It is also the plot to any episode of BBC's hit show - The Traitors.

The countdown to the end game of the Celebrity series is on, but, while we wait for that, we want to know which Wolves player (or manager) - past or present - you think would make the best traitor, and who would be more suited to the role of a faithful.

Was it the way they could appear at the back post without anyone noticing? Or could they stop anybody getting past them?

Get in touch with your choices and the reasons why here

The Celebrity Traitors final will air on Thursday, 6 November on BBC One and iPlayer

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves will not rush to appoint a new manager this week with the club likely to still be under caretaker charge against Chelsea.

Under-21 coach James Collins and Under-18 boss Richard Walker are currently taking the side after Vitor Pereira's sacking on Sunday.

With the international break coming after Saturday's trip to Stamford Bridge Wolves are unwilling to push through an appointment just for the sake of Saturday, although the situation could still change quickly.

Former manager Gary O'Neil pulled out of talks on Monday, ending a shock chance of a return, while appointing ex-Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is unlikely.

Middlesbrough manager Rob Edwards is of interest but Boro would be due compensation. Edwards was previously Under-23 manager at Molineux and had a two game spell in interim charge in 2016.

Wolves are bottom of the table with just two points, a total no side in the Premier League has survived from after 10 games.

Noel Sliney
BBC Sport senior journalist

Image source, Getty Images

Wolves are looking for a third manager in less than 12 months after becoming the first side in history to start consecutive seasons without a victory in their opening 10 top-flight matches.

They achieved a near-miraculous escape from relegation last season after having only three points by this stage of the campaign - but no side has stayed up in the Premier League with two points after 10 games.

Wolves' owners have opted to act quicker than they did last term, when Gary O'Neil was sacked after 16 matches with the team 19th in the table and four points from safety. Vitor Pereira replaced him and Wolves earned 33 points from their remaining 22 games to finish 16th.

The fact Pereira's appointment produced the desired short-term effect in ensuring Wolves stayed up was vindication of the decision taken by the club's owners. It echoed similar success in late 2022 when Bruno Lage was replaced, eventually, by Julen Lopetegui.

Nonetheless, recent Premier League history does not reflect too fondly in general on a club's decision to change the manager while stuck in the relegation zone.

Across the previous 10 seasons, 37 managers have parted ways with a club in the bottom three. Only 13 of those sides stayed up.

That equates to a 35% success rate. Wolves have twice beaten the odds in recent seasons - will a hat-trick be beyond them?

• Find and follow your club here

Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

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Wolves have parted company with the club's head of professional football Domenico Teti.

The former Sampdoria technical director only joined in June to work with Vitor Pereia, with the pair having previously been together in Saudi Arabia with Al Shabab.

However, after Pereira was sacked on Sunday following a 3-0 defeat at Fulham that left Wolves bottom of the Premier League with just two points from 10 games, Teti has followed the Portuguese out of the door.

The decision comes after amicable talks between the club and Teti, who replaced previous sporting director Matt Hobbs.

Executive chairman Jeff Shi said: "Domenico approached his role with total professionalism and built strong working relationships across the club during his time with us.

"He made a positive contribution to our football processes and has carried himself with integrity throughout.

"We thank him for his efforts and support and wish him every success in the future."

Wolves continue to search for a new manager with former boss Gary O'Neil having pulled out of the running on Monday.

Meanwhile, any appointment of ex-Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is unlikely.

Pat Nevin
Former footballer and presenter

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Vitor Pereira was sacked at the weekend with his Wolves side propping up the table.

The question is, was he sacked because they are bottom or are they bottom because he and other Wolves managers have been sacked too quickly?

The next Wolves boss will be the fifth in five seasons. Does that really give anyone the time to develop a squad, especially if someone else is choosing the players?

West Ham are on a measly seven points from 30 so far, with a record of three managers in the past 18 months after foolishly getting rid of David Moyes.

With the spirited victory against Newcastle, Nuno Espirito Santo showed that there is a team in there somewhere but will they stick with him?

The other team currently in a relegation spot is Nottingham Forest. They have gone through more than a manager per year in the eight since Evangelos Marinakis got hold of the club, surpassing himself lately with three different managers this season alone.

This many changes can be made to work in the short term. Chelsea did it brilliantly for years with some of the greatest coaches in the world but it cost a huge amount of money. Roman Abramovich had the dosh and was willing to spend it. More crucially, he was allowed to spend it back then with different rules in place.

I would hazard a guess that the three currently at the bottom will each get relegated if they change managers yet again and destroy the last vestiges of stability and any remaining facade of intelligent planning at their clubs.

Any one of them might still go down anyway because of rash decision-making in the past that has finally caught up with them.

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Nick Mashiter
Football reporter

Image source, Getty Images

There are other contenders, and Wolves have always had open dialogue with other contenders apart from Gary O'Neil. There was a framework in place, a large part of the framework was agreed upon for O'Neil's return, but ultimately, he has decided that he has pulled himself out of the running.

There is interest in Rob Edwards at Middlesbrough, and he's got a really big connection with the club, having coached the Under-23s, first team and had two games in interim charge in 2016 when Walter Zenga was sacked.

But we understand that former Manchester United manager Erik ten Hag is of interest to Wolves, and obviously, he is available, having been sacked by Bayer Leverkusen in September after just three games in charge there.

Obviously, though, there needs to be mutual interest for that to happen. He is the name that has been mentioned to me by more than one person."

Listen to Nick speak about Wolves on BBC Radio WM here