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Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a muscle issue at a important period for Chelsea.

The Stamford Bridge outfit were beaten 2-1 against shock contenders Sunderland at their stadium on Saturday, with head coach Enzo Maresca citing "insufficient imagination" and his team's delivery being "subpar".

Chelsea's forwards are finding it hard to score and goal contributions as Delap makes his comeback in the EFL Cup against lowly Wolves on this week (prime time), having missed 10 games since sustaining the injury in the 2-0 win over Fulham in August.

Maresca said the young striker will be slowly integrated "slowly", and the new recruit's comeback is vital for a side facing scrutiny over their unpredictability, which has left the national tournaments their most realistic chance of winning a trophy this term.

Delap to Take Pressure Off Joao Pedro

Chelsea acquired Delap from the Championship side for £30m despite attention from Old Trafford club, the Magpies and the Toffees.

Yet the England Under-21s forward was behind £55 million acquisition Joao Pedro in the team ranking at this recent international tournament - and with good reason.

Joao Pedro found the net three times in three matches as Chelsea secured the maiden title in the America. The Brazilian forward added two more goals and three setups in his initial four top-flight matches after joining from Brighton.

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

When queried about Joao Pedro's dip in form, Maresca remarked: "For sure the conditioning element is crucial. When you are not 100% it's challenging to excel, especially in this league."

"Joao Pedro is not a traditional striker that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to get goals and give assists but he's a different kind of nine to players who get 20 to 25 goals each year like the Bayern legend, [Kylian] Mbappe or [Erling] Haaland."

Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Offense

Chelsea deal with wider issues in addition to their forwards and Joao Pedro's goalless run.

Forward Cole Palmer has completed two games all term and is not anticipated to feature from a groin problem until the winter.

Attacking midfielder Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, brought in from Borussia Dortmund for a £52m package, has no goals and one assist in ten appearances. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one goal in seven matches and caused an own goal against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, 18, has impressed since joining from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has only two goals and one setup - paralleling homegrown talent Tyrique George.

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

Marc Cucurella, who notched seven from full-back last campaign, is still to score this term. Attacking player Pedro Neto has a single strike and two assists in his past two matches, but prior to that found the net just once in the first 10 games.

After 13 matches in various cups no striker has above two scores, with engine room operators Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four goals.

Queried whether a lack of natural goalscorers means duties need distributing, Maresca commented: "Definitely, yes. We said many times that the front five at the front, we need six, seven, eight, nine, 10 goals each, in the manner we achieved last campaign."

Maresca has discovered methods to compete despite goal-scoring variability. Chelsea are second for set-piece goals in the top flight, trailing by one Arsenal. In moreover, the Stamford Bridge side are the initial club to have ten various goalscorers in the top flight this term.

Can Chelsea's Striker Jinx End?

Some Chelsea supporters feel the center-forward number - assigned to Delap in the off-season - is jinxed. It had been unoccupied since 2023, and players who wore it since the mid-2000s have had goal droughts, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three goals in twenty-one matches
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - fifteen strikes in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - 30 goals in 82 games
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five strikes in 19 games
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - 24 scores in seventy-two matches
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in 172 games
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - zero strikes in 16 appearances
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in twenty matches

A engine room operator and defender are among those listed, and some would suggest Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his record, while legendary strikers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink flourished with the number nine.

But Delap was unfazed when queried about the hoodoo. "I don't believe [who believes in curses]," he stated 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 digit that has always been related to forwards so it's something that I appreciate and there's no pressure."