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Striker Liam Delap is returning from a hamstring injury at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club suffered a 2-1 defeat against shock contenders Sunderland at their stadium on the weekend, with manager Enzo Maresca attributing "limited inventiveness" and his team's delivery being "below standard".

Chelsea's strikers are having difficulty finding the net and goal contributions as Delap is back available in the Carabao Cup against struggling Wolves on Wednesday (19:45 GMT), having missed 10 games since suffering the setback in the victory over Fulham in the summer.

Maresca commented the emerging talent will be gradually introduced "carefully", and the summer signing's return is crucial for a team facing criticism over their inconsistency, which has left the cup competitions their primary hope of claiming silverware this campaign.

Delap to Ease Burden On Joao Pedro

Chelsea signed Delap from the Tractor Boys for thirty million pounds despite pursuit by Manchester United, the Magpies and Goodison Park team.

Yet the Three Lions prospect was behind expensive recruit Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this summer's Club World Cup - and with good reason.

Joao Pedro registered a trio of strikes in three matches as Chelsea won the inaugural tournament in the USA. The Brazil striker notched additional strikes 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 previous seven fixtures. Maresca stated he is one of three players - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who currently need to be "protected".

When asked about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca remarked: "Definitely the physical part is crucial. When you are not 100% it's hard to perform, particularly in this competition."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to score 20 goals every season. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to score and give assists but he's a different kind of nine to players who get 20 to 25 goals every season like the Polish striker, the French superstar or the City striker."

Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Attack

Chelsea confront broader problems in addition to their strikers and Joao Pedro's scoreless streak.

Forward Cole Palmer has completed two games all term and is unlikely to be back from a lower body issue until December.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has no goals and one goal contribution in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40m acquisition from Manchester United, has a single strike in seven matches and induced an opposition error against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, the teenager, has shown promise since arriving from Palmeiras for a potential £51 million deal, but has just two strikes and a single assist - paralleling youth product Tyrique George.

Striker Marc Guiu and loan signing Facundo Buonanotte have a single strike apiece.

Marc Cucurella, who got seven from left-back last season, is without a goal this season. Winger Pedro Neto has one goal and two goal contributions in his previous two fixtures, but earlier got only one goal in the opening ten matches.

After 13 matches in every tournament no striker has above two scores, with midfielders Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's joint top scorers with four strikes.

Questioned whether a lack of natural goalscorers means goals must come from multiple sources, Maresca commented: "Absolutely, yes. We frequently mentioned that the front five at the front, we need multiple goals per player, in the manner we achieved last season."

Maresca has developed approaches to challenge despite offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are second place for dead-ball situations in the English top division, one less than Arsenal. In addition, the Stamford Bridge side are the first team to have 10 different scorers in the first division this term.

Is the Number Nine Hoodoo About to Lift?

Some Chelsea fans feel the number nine shirt - claimed by Delap in the summer - is hexed. It had been unoccupied since last year, and squad members who wore it since the mid-2000s have struggled for goals, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - a trio of scores in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 goals in fifty-eight matches
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in 82 appearances
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five scores in 19 appearances
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in 72 games
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - one goal in 12 appearances
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): 45 goals in 172 games
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 games
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in 25 games
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - failed to score in 20 appearances

A central player and backline player are included in this group, and some would argue Abraham broke the curse with his achievement, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the striker's jersey.

But Delap was unfazed when queried about the curse. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he commented at the Club World Cup.

"At the end of the day it's a number on the back of your uniform. It's just a number that has historically been connected to forwards so it's something that I like and there's zero expectation."