Wolverhampton Wanderers vs Chelsea

Led by new manager Frank Lampard, out-of-form Chelsea make the journey to Molineux Stadium to take on hot Premier League relegation candidates Wolverhampton Wanderers.

One shot on target in 90 minutes of play was enough to give Wolverhampton Wanderers a 1-1 draw at Nottingham Forest last time out and keep their heads just above the water. Indeed, Wolves start this round only one point clear of the relegation zone after racking up just one win in their last seven Premier League outings (D2, L4). Julen Lopetegui must find a way to establish some consistency after seeing his side alternate between winning (3) and losing (3) in their last six league matches at Molineux. Chelsea’s upcoming visit to the West Midlands hardly bodes well, considering the ‘Wanderers’ are winless in their last four top-flight encounters against the ‘Blues’ (D1, L3), including an embarrassing 3-0 defeat in the reverse fixture.

But it’s not like Chelsea are having a great time. After parting with underperforming manager Graham Potter following a 2-0 home loss to Aston Villa last weekend and subsequently sharing the spoils with Liverpool in a scoreless away draw, the ‘Blues’ have appointed former boss Lampard as an interim solution until the end of the season. Lampard’s second touchline debut at Chelsea comes amid the club’s three-game winless run in the Premier League (D2, L1), which demoted them to the lower reaches. Faced with the risk of missing out on a top-half Premier League finish for the first time since 1995/96, the Londoners will be desperate to build on a 3-1 demolition of Leicester City on their last league travel. That victory helped them snap a ponderous ten-match winless away run in all competitions (D3, L7), so there’s not much to look forward to from Lampard’s perspective.