Chelsea head to Wolverhampton Wanderers on December 24 for the first Christmas Eve Premier League game since 1995.
The Blues edged into the Carabao Cup semifinals with a midweek penalty-shootout win over Newcastle United, but they have won just one of their past three Premier League matches and start the day in 10th place in the table.
Wolves have matched that record of one league victory in three, but they have not lost a league game at Molineux since September 16, beating Manchester City and Tottenham Hotspur in a run of six home matches without defeat.
This is just the second time in the Premier League era that a game will be played on December 24 in the UK. It is not something likely to be repeated next year given the backlash from fans around the scheduling.
The Sporting News will be following the Wolves vs. Chelsea match live, providing score updates, commentary and highlights as they happen below.
MORE: How Arsenal held Liverpool to a draw to claim top spot for Christmas
Wolves vs Chelsea live score
| 1st Half | Goalscorers | |
| WOL | — | |
| CHE | — |
Confirmed lineups:
Wolves (3-4-2-1, right to left): Sa (GK) — Kilman, Dawson, Toti — Semedo, Lemina, Gomes, Ait-Nouri — Hwang, Sarabia — Cunha
Chelsea (4-3-3, right to left): Petrovic (GK) — Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill — Ugochukwu, Gallagher — Sterling, Palmer, Jackson — Broja
MORE: Where to watch Wolves’ Christmas Eve game against Chelsea
Wolves vs Chelsea live updates, highlights, and commentary
5 mins to KO: The players are out on the pitch, and it’s almost time for kickoff.
15 mins to KO: Conor Gallagher is captain today, yet speculation persists that he could leave Chelsea next month. Why might the Blues consider cashing in on a midfielder who seems important to Mauricio Pochettino’s plans? Here’s our explainer.
30 mins to KO: After Chelsea reached the Carabao Cup semifinals this week, Raheem Sterling is confident they are making progress despite their lowly league position.
“There’s foundations that always have to be laid. The manager’s doing a great job with that,” he said to Sky Sports. “We’re in a semifinal now. This is a football club that needs to be challenging at the top of the table and winning trophies. We’re making little steps in the right direction.”
Team news
Wolves make two changes from their 3-0 defeat at West Ham a week ago. Jose Sa is back in goal in place of Daniel Bentley, while Rayan Ait-Nouri starts instead of Jeanricner Bellegarde.
✌️ Two changes from #WHUWOL
➡️ Sa and Ait-Nouri into the XIHow we line-up to face @ChelseaFC.
🐺📋 @AstroPay_OK pic.twitter.com/OkM6MEyHx2
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 24, 2023
For Chelsea, Malo Gusto comes in for Benoit Badiashile, meaning Axel Disasi shifts to centre-back. Lesley Ugochukwu starts alongside Conor Gallagher, who is captain today, while Armando Broja joins Nicolas Jackson in attack. Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are not in the squad.
The Chelsea XI is in! 👊@ParimatchUK | #CFC | #WolChe pic.twitter.com/t7270fqjfv
— Chelsea FC (@ChelseaFC) December 24, 2023
1 hour 30 mins to KO: Chelsea start today in 10th place in the table, with 22 points from 17 games — three points worse off than they were at this stage last season, when pressure was building on then-manager Graham Potter.
The gap to the top four this term is already 14 points. Can Mauricio Pochettino really afford another defeat?
2 hours to KO: Hello and welcome to the Sporting News’ live coverage of Chelsea’s trip to Wolves. The Blues will have their work cut out keeping out a Wolves side that has scored in 16 successive home games — their longest such run in 43 years.
Wolves vs Chelsea lineups, team news
Wolves make two changes from their 3-0 defeat at West Ham a week ago. Jose Sa is back in goal in place of Daniel Bentley, while Rayan Ait-Nouri starts instead of Jeanricner Bellegarde.
Pedro Neto is back in training but is not risked, with Nelson Semedo returning from illness.
Wolves (3-4-2-1, right to left): Sa (GK) — Kilman, Dawson, Toti — Semedo, Lemina, Gomes, Ait-Nouri — Hwang, Sarabia — Cunha
Wolves subs (9): Bentley, Doherty, S. Bueno, H. Bueno, Kalajdzic, Doyle, Barnett, Chirewa, Hesketh
Malo Gusto comes in for Benoit Badiashile, meaning Axel Disasi shifts to centre-back. Lesley Ugochukwu starts alongside Conor Gallagher, who is captain today, while Armando Broja joins Nicolas Jackson in attack. Moises Caicedo and Enzo Fernandez are not in the squad.
Chelsea (4-3-3, right to left): Petrovic (GK) — Gusto, Disasi, Thiago Silva, Colwill — Ugochukwu, Gallagher — Sterling, Palmer, Jackson — Broja
Chelsea subs (9): Bettinelli, Bergstrom, Badiashile, Maatsen, Lavia, Matos, Madueke, Mudryk, Nkunku
Wolves vs Chelsea live stream, TV channel
The Wolves vs. Chelsea match in the Premier League takes place at Molineux in Wolverhampton, UK and kicks off on Sunday, December 24 at 1:00 p.m. local time.
Below are the corresponding times, TV channels, and live streams to watch the match in regions around the world
IN CANADA: Watch this match in 4k on Fubo Canada (on 4k devices)
| Date | Kickoff time | TV | Streaming | |
| USA | Sun, Dec. 24 | 8 a.m. ET | NBC USA Network | Fubo, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, NBC Sports App |
| Canada | Sun, Dec. 24 | 8 a.m. ET | — | Fubo Canada |
| UK | Sun, Dec. 24 | 1 p.m. GMT | Sky Sports Main Event, Sky Sports Premier League | Sky GO, Now TV |
| Australia | Mon, Dec. 25 | 12 a.m. AEST | — | Optus Sport |
| India | Sun, Dec. 24 | 6.30 p.m. IST | — | Hotstar VIP, JioTV |
UK: Matches are carried across Sky Sports and TNT Sports streaming and TV platforms, with select matches on Amazon Prime.
USA: Select matches are televised on USA Network (English) and Telemundo or Universo (Spanish), and all three channels can be streamed on Fubo. The rest of the matches are streamed on NBC platform Peacock for subscribers.
Canada: Every Premier League game this season is live streamed exclusively via Fubo in Canada.
Australia: Fans in Australia can stream every match live and on demand on Optus Sport.
India: Star Sports network has the rights to show Premier League matches in India. As well as an English broadcast on Star Sports Select, select matches will be available via regional feeds on Star Sports 3 (in Bengali, English, Kannada, Malayalam), Star Sports 1 (Bangla) and Star Sports 1 (Tamil).