Soccer-Nuno says Wolves expect tough Chelsea test, whoever the manager is
(Reuters) - Wolverhampton Wanderers boss Nuno Espirito Santo said on Tuesday that the sacking of Chelsea manager Frank Lampard does not make their Premier League meeting on Wednesday any less tricky.
Chelsea dismissed Lampard following 18 months in charge on Monday after he failed to deliver as coach despite spending more than 200 million pounds ($274.64 million) in the close season.
British media reported former Paris St Germain boss Thomas Tuchel is the favourite to replace Lampard ahead of the game at Stamford Bridge and Nuno said the hosts have plenty of quality in their squad to pose a problem for his team.
"We don't know exactly how Chelsea are going to present themselves. We don't know the manager. What we know is the quality and talent of the Chelsea players," Nuno said.
"We expect a tough match and whoever the manager is, he won't have much time to impose his own ideas, so we think it'll be close to what Frank was doing before.
"We're talking about a good team, a squad full of talented players, so we are aware tomorrow is going to be very demanding and tough for us."
Brazilian striker Willian Jose, who last Saturday signed for Wolves on loan from Spain's Real Sociedad until the end of this season, will not be available.
"We're still waiting on the work permit to be solved. Things are going and it's just a matter of time for everything to be OK," Nuno said.
"Having a work permit has an exception on the quarantine, as long as Willian has tested negative (for COVID-19) in Spain. We are waiting also on that result. I believe after everything is solved, he'll join the group."
Wolves are 14th in the league with 22 points from 19 games, five places below Chelsea.
(Reporting by Shrivathsa Sridhar in Bengaluru; Editing by Christian Radnedge)
