'%20x='0'%20y='0'%20height='100%25'%20width='100%25'%20%0A%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20%20xlink%3Ahref='data:image/jpg;base64,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'%3E%3C/image%3E%3C/svg%3E)
Former Celtic striker Chris Sutton has predicted the result of Chelsea's Premier League game at Wolverhampton Wanderers on Sunday (August 25). The Blues are coming off a 2-0 home defeat to Manchester City in their opener.
Goals from Erling Haaland and former Blues boy Mateo Kovavic made it a winning start to their quest for an unprecedented fifth straight Premier League title for Pep Guardiola's men.
Meanwhile, Enzo Maresca - who succeeded Mauricio Pochettino at Stamford Bridge this summer - has work to do with a bloated squad following another busy summer of acquisitions and the removal of Raheem Sterling from the squad.
"It will be interesting to see the Chelsea team," Sutton wrote in his prediction column for the BBC. "Enzo Maresca has a big squad to pick from. But there will be no Raheem Sterling. He's taken the number seven off him.
Predicting a 1-1 draw for the Blues, he concluded:
"Chelsea also play in the Conference League on Thursday night, and I thought they were well beaten by Manchester City. But it has to click at some stage for them. Wolves had their moments against Arsenal and this one has draw all over it."
Before the Wolves game - like Sutton said - the Blues host Servette at home in the first leg of their UEFA Europa Conference League play-off on Thursday (August 22).
"My best years are ahead of me" - New Chelsea signing Joao Felix
Joao Felix said on his arrival at Chelsea that he's yet to reach his peak. The 24-year-old had spent the second half of the 2022-23 campaign on loan at Stamford Bridge.
A year later, he arrives permanently on a reported £45 million transfer from Atletico Madrid, where he reportedly had a fallout with boss Diego Simeone and spent the last 18 months out on loan. On his decision to return to the Blues, Felix said (as per the BBC):
"It was a little bit of a lot of things that made me want to come back; the project, the club, the league, the fans, the time I spent here that I loved. I felt really good when I was here, despite the results we had. I'm really happy to be back."
"I've developed as a player in a lot of ways; the perception of the game and the spaces the ball can arrive easily where I can make more impact, I try to figure it out by watching some videos of me of my games."
He concluded:
"I've kind of changed since I was last here. I'm 24 now. I feel like I grew up as a player. That's normal with age. I'm more prepared for the Premier League.
"I feel like my best years are ahead of me. I have no doubt about that. The best years are still to come. And this year is going to be a good year, because now I am permanently at home, and I can enjoy home."
Felix spent the last season on loan at Barcelona before returning to his parent club this summer.
