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

The West London club lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with boss Enzo Maresca blaming "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "not the best".

Chelsea's attackers are finding it hard to score and assists as Delap returns in the League Cup against bottom-half Wolves on midweek (19:45 GMT), having missed 10 games since picking up the problem in the victory over Fulham in last month.

Maresca said the 22-year-old will be slowly integrated "carefully", and the recent acquisition's availability is important for a side facing scrutiny over their mixed results, which has left the cup competitions their best opportunity of securing honors this campaign.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea brought in Delap from the Tractor Boys for £30m despite pursuit by Manchester United, the Magpies and Goodison Park team.

Yet the England Under-21s forward was behind expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this global competition - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro scored three goals in three matches as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the USA. The Seleção attacker added two more goals and three assists in his opening quartet of league fixtures after moving from the Seagulls.

More recently, however, Joao Pedro has failed to score in his past seven matches. Maresca said he is one of three squad members - along with midfielders Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who presently require to be "shielded".

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca said: "Certainly the conditioning element is crucial. When you are not fully fit it's challenging to excel, especially in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to reach twenty strikes each year. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to get goals and give assists but he's a alternative type of striker to players who get 20 to 25 goals every season like [Robert] Lewandowski, the PSG forward or [Erling] Haaland."

Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Offense

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

Attacker Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all campaign and is unlikely to be back from a groin problem until the winter.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has no goals and one assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has a single strike in seven outings and caused an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, the teenager, has entertained since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has only two goals and a single assist - matching academy forward Tyrique George.

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

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

After thirteen games in various cups no striker has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's equal leading marksmen with four goals.

Asked whether a shortage of clinical finishers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca commented: "Absolutely, yes. We repeatedly stated that the front five at the offense, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last term."

Maresca has found ways to be competitive despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are second for dead-ball situations in the Premier League, one less than Arsenal. In furthermore, the Stamford Bridge side are the initial club to have 10 different scorers in the first division this campaign.

Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken?

Some Chelsea fans believe the number nine shirt - taken by Delap in the summer - is jinxed. It had been vacant since last year, and footballers who wore it since 2006 have had goal droughts, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 scores in 82 games
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five scores in nineteen matches
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in seventy-two matches
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 appearances
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in one hundred seventy-two matches
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 games
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - a single strike in 25 games
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in twenty matches

A engine room operator and defensive specialist are included in this group, and some would contend Abraham broke the curse with his record, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with nine on their back.

But Delap was unfazed when questioned about the hoodoo. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he commented at the Club World Cup.

"At the end of the day it's a digit on the shirt of your uniform. It's just a figure that has always been related to forwards so it's something that I like and there's no pressure."