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Forward Liam Delap is coming back from a thigh problem at a important period for Chelsea.

The West London club lost 2-1 against unexpected challengers Sunderland at Stamford Bridge on Saturday, with head coach Enzo Maresca blaming "insufficient imagination" and his squad's passes being "below standard".

Chelsea's strikers are struggling for goals and key passes as Delap returns in the League Cup against struggling Wolves on this week (evening kickoff), having sat out 10 fixtures since sustaining the injury in the victory over Fulham in the summer.

Maresca stated the emerging talent will be slowly integrated "slowly", and the recent acquisition's availability is vital for a team facing criticism over their mixed results, which has left the cup competitions their most realistic chance of winning a trophy this term.

Delap to Share Load With Joao Pedro

Chelsea brought in Delap from the Championship side for £30m despite interest from Manchester United, the Magpies and Everton.

Yet the young English striker was below £55m signing Joao Pedro in the pecking order at this recent international tournament - and with valid cause.

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

More recently, however, Joao Pedro has been goalless in his previous seven fixtures. Maresca revealed he is one of three players - along with central players Enzo Fernandez and Moises Caicedo - who at the moment demand to be "protected".

When queried about Joao Pedro's drop in output, Maresca said: "Certainly the fitness aspect is important. When you are not 100% it's hard to perform, especially in this division."

"Joao Pedro is not a number nine that is going to net twenty times each year. Joao's a excellent footballer, he's going to score and create chances but he's a distinctive forward to ones that score 20 to 25 goals annually like the Polish striker, the French superstar or the City striker."

Additional Concerns in Chelsea's Forward Line

Chelsea deal with broader problems in addition to their strikers and Joao Pedro's drought.

Forward Cole Palmer has featured for ninety minutes twice all season and is not anticipated to feature from a groin injury until the winter.

Wide player Jamie Bynoe-Gittens, signed from Borussia Dortmund for a potential £52 million deal, has no goals and a single assist in ten games. Alejandro Garnacho, a £40 million signing from Manchester United, has one score in seven outings and induced an opposition error against Benfica.

Estevao Willian, eighteen, has entertained since joining from Palmeiras for a £51m package, but has only two goals and a single assist - equaling youth product Tyrique George.

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

Marc Cucurella, who scored seven from full-back last term, is yet to find the net this term. Winger Pedro Neto has a single strike and two assists in his last two games, but before that found the net just once in the first 10 games.

After thirteen games in all competitions no forward has over two strikes, with central players Fernandez and Caicedo Chelsea's shared top goalscorers with four goals.

Questioned whether a shortage of clinical finishers means duties need distributing, Maresca stated: "Definitely, yes. We repeatedly stated that the five players 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 offensive unpredictability. Chelsea are runner-up in set-piece goals in the English top division, trailing by one Arsenal. In furthermore, the Stamford Bridge side are the pioneering side to have 10 different scorers in the Premier League this term.

Is the Number Nine Hoodoo About to Lift?

Some Chelsea fans believe the number nine shirt - assigned to Delap in the summer - is cursed. It had been unoccupied since recently, and footballers who wore it since 2006 have found scoring difficult, including:

• Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (2022-23) - three strikes in 21 games
• Romelu Lukaku (2021-22) - 15 scores in 58 games
• Tammy Abraham (2019-20, 2021-22) - thirty strikes in 82 games
• Gonzalo Higuain (2018-19) - five goals in 19 appearances
• Alvaro Morata (2017-18) - twenty-four strikes in 72 appearances
• Radamel Falcao (2015-16) - a single strike in 12 games
• Fernando Torres (2010-11, 2014-15): forty-five strikes in 172 appearances
• Franco di Santo (2008-10) - no goals in sixteen matches
• Steve Sidwell (2007-08) - one score in twenty-five matches
• Khalid Boulahrouz (2006-07) - zero strikes in 20 games

A central player and defensive specialist are part of this selection, and some would suggest Abraham lifted the hoodoo with his achievement, while famous attackers such as Peter Osgood and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink excelled with the striker's jersey.

But Delap was unconcerned when questioned about the hoodoo. "I'm not the type of person [who believes in curses]," he stated at the global competition.

"Ultimately it's a digit on the shirt of your shirt. It's just a number that has always been related to strikers so it's something that I enjoy and there's no pressure."