🔗 Share this article

Forward Liam Delap is returning from a hamstring injury at a crucial moment for Chelsea.

The West London club suffered a 2-1 defeat against unexpected challengers Sunderland at their stadium on Saturday, with head coach Enzo Maresca blaming "insufficient imagination" and his squad's passes being "below standard".

Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and assists as Delap returns in the League Cup against bottom-half Wolves on this week (evening kickoff), having missed 10 games since suffering the setback in the success over Fulham in last month.

Maresca said the young striker will be slowly integrated "slowly", and the new recruit's comeback is vital for a team facing scrutiny over their unpredictability, which has left the domestic cups their most realistic chance of winning a trophy this season.

Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro

Chelsea acquired Delap from the Championship side for thirty million pounds despite pursuit by the Red Devils, Newcastle United and Everton.

Yet the Three Lions prospect was behind expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this summer's Club World Cup - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro scored three goals in three appearances as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the America. The Brazil striker scored another two and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after arriving from Brighton.

More lately, however, Joao Pedro has been goalless in his last seven games. Maresca revealed he is one of a trio of players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "shielded".

When questioned about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca remarked: "For sure the physical part is important. When you are not at peak condition it's challenging to excel, notably in this competition."

"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to reach twenty strikes annually. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to get goals and create chances but he's a alternative type of striker to ones that score 20 to 25 goals each year like the Polish striker, the French superstar or the City striker."

Wider Problems in Chelsea's Forward Line

Chelsea face broader problems beyond their attackers and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.

Winger Cole Palmer has played two full matches all campaign and is unlikely to be back from a groin problem until next month.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has zero strikes and one assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one score in seven matches and induced an opposition error against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, eighteen, has entertained since joining from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has merely two scores and one assist - matching youth product Tyrique George.

Forward Marc Guiu and Brighton loanee Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.

Marc Cucurella, who got seven from full-back last term, is without a goal this season. Attacking player Pedro Neto has one goal and two goal contributions in his previous two fixtures, but prior to that scored only once in the opening ten matches.

After thirteen games in every tournament no forward has over two strikes, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four goals.

Questioned whether a absence of prolific strikers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca said: "Definitely, yes. We frequently mentioned that the quintet of attackers at the attack, we need numerous strikes from each, in the fashion we managed last campaign."

Maresca has discovered methods to be competitive despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in free-kick and corner scores in the Premier League, one behind Arsenal. In addition, the Blues are the first team to have ten various goalscorers in the first division this campaign.

Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken?

Some Chelsea supporters think the number nine shirt - claimed by Delap in the summer - is jinxed. It had been unoccupied since recently, and players who wore it since the mid-2000s have had goal droughts, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in 82 appearances
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five scores in nineteen matches
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 goals in 72 appearances
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in 172 games
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - failed to score in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in 25 appearances
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in twenty matches

A midfielder and defensive specialist are among those listed, and some would argue Abraham ended the jinx with his performance, while iconic forwards such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.

But Delap was unmoved when asked about the hoodoo. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he stated at the international tournament.

"In the final analysis it's a number on the back of your shirt. It's just a digit that has historically been connected to attackers so it's something that I appreciate and there's zero expectation."