Delap Back in Action as Stamford Bridge Side Aim to Solve Striker Issues

Attacker Liam Delap is returning from a muscle issue at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club were beaten 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with head coach Enzo Maresca blaming "a lack of creativity" and his squad's passes being "not the best".

Chelsea's strikers are having difficulty finding the net and key passes as Delap makes his comeback in the Carabao Cup against bottom-half Wolves on midweek (19:45 GMT), having been absent for 10 matches since picking up the problem in the success over Fulham in the summer.

Maresca commented the young striker will be slowly integrated "carefully", and the summer signing's comeback is crucial for a club facing questions over their inconsistency, which has left the domestic cups their primary hope of claiming silverware this campaign.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea signed Delap from the Tractor Boys for a £30 million fee despite attention from the Red Devils, the Magpies and the Toffees.

Yet the England Under-21s forward was below £55m signing Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this summer's Club World Cup - and with solid justification.

Joao Pedro found the net three times in three appearances as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the United States. The Brazil striker notched additional strikes and three setups in his first four Premier League games after joining from Brighton.

More recently, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his past seven matches. Maresca said he is one of a trio of players - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who currently need to be "shielded".

When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca commented: "Certainly the physical part is crucial. When you are not at peak condition it's hard to perform, particularly in this division."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes every season. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to find the net and give assists but he's a alternative type of striker to those who net 20 to 25 goals every season like the Polish striker, the French superstar or the Norwegian goal machine."

Wider Problems in Chelsea's Forward Line

Chelsea deal with additional challenges apart from their forwards and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.

Winger Cole Palmer has completed two games all season and is unlikely to be back from a groin injury until December.

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

Estevao Willian, the teenager, has impressed since arriving from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has merely two scores and one assist - paralleling youth product Tyrique George.

Attacker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have one score each.

Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from defensive position last season, is still to score this term. Winger Pedro Neto has one score and two goal contributions in his past two matches, but before that scored only once in the first 10 games.

After thirteen fixtures in all competitions no striker has more than two goals, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four.

Asked whether a absence of prolific strikers means responsibility must be shared, Maresca commented: "Certainly, yes. We said many times that the front five at the attack, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last season."

Maresca has developed approaches to compete despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second for free-kick and corner scores in the top flight, one behind Arsenal. In addition, the Blues are the first team to have ten various goalscorers in the first division this season.

Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?

Some Chelsea followers feel the center-forward number - taken by Delap in the transfer window - is hexed. It had been vacant since recently, and footballers who wore it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in 21 appearances
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 games
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in nineteen matches
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 appearances
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one score in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in 172 appearances
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 games
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 games

A central player and backline player are included in this group, and some would argue Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his achievement, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink excelled with the number nine.

But Delap was unconcerned when queried about the hoodoo. "I'm not one [who believes in curses]," he commented at the global competition.

"Ultimately it's a figure on the jersey of your kit. It's just a figure that has historically been connected to strikers so it's something that I appreciate and there's zero expectation."