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Striker Liam Delap is recovering from a muscle issue at a time of need for Chelsea.

The Blues lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at their stadium on Saturday, with boss Enzo Maresca blaming "limited inventiveness" and his side's crossing being "not the best".

Chelsea's forwards are having difficulty finding the net and goal contributions as Delap makes his comeback in the Carabao Cup against bottom-half Wolves on Wednesday (evening kickoff), having sat out 10 fixtures since suffering the setback in the victory over Fulham in last month.

Maresca said the emerging talent will be phased in "carefully", and the summer signing's return is vital for a side facing questions over their unpredictability, which has left the cup competitions their most realistic chance of winning a trophy this campaign.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea signed Delap from Ipswich Town for a £30 million fee despite attention from Manchester United, Newcastle United and Goodison Park team.

Yet the Three Lions prospect was behind £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the selection hierarchy at this global competition - and with valid cause.

Joao Pedro found the net three times in three matches as Chelsea claimed the first edition in the America. The Brazilian forward scored another two and three assists in his first four Premier League games after joining from Brighton.

More recently, however, Joao Pedro has been goalless in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca said he is one of a trio of players - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who currently need to be "handled carefully".

When queried about Joao Pedro's decline in performance, Maresca said: "Definitely the conditioning element is vital. When you are not 100% it's hard to perform, notably in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to score 20 goals each year. Joao's a superb talent, he's going to get goals and provide assists but he's a alternative type of striker to ones that score 20 to 25 goals each year like the Polish striker, the PSG forward or [Erling] Haaland."

Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Offense

Chelsea deal with additional challenges in addition to their strikers and Joao Pedro's goalless run.

Winger Cole Palmer has completed two games all campaign and is unlikely to be back from a lower body issue until next month.

Winger Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has zero strikes and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m recruit from Manchester United, has one goal in seven outings and induced an opposition error against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, 18, has impressed since joining from Palmeiras for a fee rising to £51m, but has just two strikes and one setup - matching homegrown talent Tyrique George.

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

Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from left-back last campaign, is still to score this campaign. Attacking player Pedro Neto has one goal and two goal contributions in his previous two fixtures, but earlier found the net just once in the first 10 games.

After thirteen fixtures in various cups no striker has above two scores, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four.

Questioned whether a absence of prolific strikers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca commented: "Absolutely, yes. We said many times that the quintet of attackers at the front, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the way we have done last term."

Maresca has found ways to compete despite attacking inconsistency. Chelsea are runner-up in free-kick and corner scores in the top flight, one less than Arsenal. In addition, the West London club are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the Premier League this campaign.

Will Chelsea's Number Nine Curse Be Broken?

Some Chelsea supporters believe the center-forward number - taken by Delap in the off-season - is jinxed. It had been available since last year, and squad members who sported it since 2006 have had goal droughts, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in 21 appearances
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in 82 appearances
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 appearances
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in seventy-two matches
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 appearances
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 scores in one hundred seventy-two matches
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in 16 games
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - no goals in 20 games

A midfielder and defender are among those listed, and some would argue Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his achievement, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink thrived with the number nine.

But Delap was unfazed when questioned about the jinx. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he commented at the international tournament.

"At the end of the day it's a number on the back of your kit. It's just a number that has always been related to attackers so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."