Wolves vs Chelsea live score, result, highlights, lineups from Premier League Christmas Eve game
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
| 2nd Half | Goalscorers | |
| WOL | 0 | |
| CHE | 0 |
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
Second half
We’re off and running again.
Halftime: Wolves 0-0 Chelsea
Hardly a Christmas cracker, but Sterling and Hwang have both missed really good chances.
45 + 1 mins: Palmer wins back the ball outside the Wolves box, but his shot is deflected over the bar. The home defence clear their lines following the corner, and that’s that for this half.
44 mins: HWANG! Best chance of the half for the home side. A simple ball over the top of the Chelsea defence sees Hwang running clear towards goal. The angle isn’t great, but the shot is worse — a rushed effort off the bouncing ball that loops harmlessly over.
Watch in UK:
HUGE chance for Hwang! 😮 pic.twitter.com/hAu9E6KeMT
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 24, 2023
43 mins: Semedo’s hanging cross is glanced away and Sarabia’s shot from the loose ball is deflected wide by Thiago Silva. Wolves are finishing the half well.
39 mins: Lemina, who’s been excellent today, brings down a clearance from Gusto and strikes left-footed towards goal. The ball finds Hwang Hee-chan, but the forward can’t quite work enough space for a decent shot.
32 mins: STERLING! What a chance for Chelsea! Jose Sa’s pass to Joao Gomes isn’t great and Sterling once again wins a 50-50 duel in Wolves’ half. He’s bearing down on goal, with Jackson and Palmer waiting for a tap-in and only Sa to stop him. Sterling tries to score himself, but it’s a poor effort, and Sa makes the save! He’s been Chelsea’s best player this half, but that was a huge opportunity wasted.
Watch in UK:
How have Chelsea not scored here?! 😱 pic.twitter.com/cxICSt7y6X
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) December 24, 2023
Australia:
WOW. RAHEEM STERLING 😱
The Chelsea man squashes a golden chance, choosing to go alone instead of making the pass for a tap in.
Cole Palmer is furious. Nicolas Jackson is furious. And so is Mauricio Pochettino.
LIVE | https://t.co/m1Rt4MuQqc#PL #OptusSport pic.twitter.com/UDhL2yCZzm
— Optus Sport (@OptusSport) December 24, 2023
30 mins: Ait-Nouri, apparently bored on the left wing, takes the ball from out wide and runs right through the heart of Chelsea’s midfield. Gallagher trips him over, gets a booking, and now Wolves have a free-kick around 20 yards from goal. Pablo Sarabia strikes it, but it glances off the wall and out for a corner.
28 mins: Sterling robs Semedo of the ball and charges towards the penalty area. Lemina scythes him down, just outside the box, and takes the yellow card. Sterling lines up the free-kick… and it’s a few yards over the bar.
25 mins: Chelsea are wearing their 2023/24 away strip for the first time in the Premier League today. It’s blue. Alright, it’s a darker blue than their home shirt, but it’s still blue. Nope, I don’t know, either.
Midway through the half and it remains goalless at Molineux.
No major chances to report for either side as yet. #COYW pic.twitter.com/7xDSyObaR7
— Wolves (@Wolves) December 24, 2023
21 mins: Sterling lofts a great pass towards Jackson in the penalty area, but the striker can’t control it and the chance is gone. That’s been the story so far: the visitors have seen final touches letting them down in promising areas, while Wolves have given the ball away far too cheaply in the Chelsea half.
18 mins: Sterling and Nelson Semedo are having a good battle down that Chelsea left. There’s a VAR check after the Wolves man leaves Sterling down holding his shin, but there was nothing in that — Sterling simply caught the base of Semedo’s boot with his lower leg after the full-back cleared the ball away.
15 mins: Rayan Ait-Nouri sits down on the turf as the ball goes out of play. He seems to have a problem with his ankle. Gary O’Neil uses the stoppage to call over four players and run through some frantic instructions.
11 mins: Wolves are hanging on a little bit here. Malo Gusto’s low cross is miscontrolled by Broja, then Sterling just has the ball nudged away from his toe. The home side’s defending is a touch desperate, but it’s doing the job at the moment.
5 mins: Chances at both ends! Firstly, a Wolves break ends in a Gallagher interception when it looked like Hwang was in space awaiting a pass. Chelsea then counter, Sterling sets up Broja in space in the box, but Lemina times his tackle well just when the striker was about to shoot.
1 min: First thing to note is that Chelsea seem to be going 4-4-2 (at least for now), with Sterling on the left wing, Cole Palmer on the right, and Broja up front with Jackson.
Kickoff
We’re off and running in the Midlands!
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).
