Chelsea predicted XI v Wolves: Pochettino faces decision over £170m duo

Chelsea took a step closer to major silverware when they saw off Newcastle United in the quarter-final of the Carabao Cup in midweek.

Mauricio Pochettino's side now lie just 180 minutes away from a Wembley appearance as the former Tottenham Hotspur and Paris Saint-Germain manager looked to guide the Blues to success on several fronts during his first season in charge at Stamford Bridge.

This weekend will see Chelsea turn their focus back towards their attempts to force their way into the race for a place in European competition next season when they travel to Wolverhampton Wanderers for the first Premier League fixture to take place on Christmas Eve since 1995.

Claiming a win at Molineux would round off a satisfying week for Pochettino and his players after they eased to a 2-0 home win against Premier League rivals Sheffield United last weekend before securing Carabao Cup progress at Stamford Bridge in midweek.

Despite the growing confidence and positivity around the Blues squad, Pochettino still has some big calls to make ahead of their meeting with Gary O'Neil's side as there are fitness concerns over several key members of the Chelsea ranks.

Chelsea Team News

It has been a challenging period for Pochettino as he copes with several key absentees in the short and long-term.

Tuesday's win against Newcastle may well have brought some festive cheer to the Stamford Bridge faithful but it also brought more injury concerns as Levi Colwill and Enzo Fernandez were both replaced. The good news for the Blues boss is both players are expected to be available for the trip to Molineux - although whether they are both fit enough to start remains to be seen. Noni Madueke could also be in contention after narrowly missing out on the midweek win.

Midfielder Romeo Lavia is close to a return but next week's home clash with Crystal Palace is believed to be a more realistic target for the former Southampton man. However, Pochettino is without the services of Reece James, Robert Sanchez and Ben Chilwell until January and Spanish full-back Marc Cucurella is not expected to be back in contention until March after he suffered an ankle injury.

Wesley Fofana, Trevoh Chalobah, Lesley Ugochukwu and Carney Chukwuemeka are all long-term absentees and remain on the sidelines for the foreseeable future. One big decision Pochettino has to take is whether to hand a first start to Christopher Nkunku after he made his return from injury as a substitute in midweek.

Chelsea Predicted XI

Petrovic, Disasi, Silva, Badiashile, Colwill, Gallagher, Caicedo, Mudryk, Jackson, Sterling, Palmer