Frank Lampard will begin his reign as Chelsea's caretaker manager with a trip to Molineux to face Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Premier League on Saturday.
While the West Londoners are languishing in 11th place in the table and are at risk of failing to qualify for Europe, Wolves are positioned three places further back in 14th and are fighting against relegation.
Match preview
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Since securing a slender 1-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at the beginning of March, Wolves have picked up just one point from their last nine available and remain embroiled in a hotly-contested relegation battle.
Back-to-back defeats against Newcastle United and Leeds United were followed by a 1-1 draw away against Nottingham Forest last weekend, with Daniel Podence scoring seven minutes from time to cancel out Brennan Johnson's opener and rescue a point for the visitors.
A decline in form has left Julen Lopetegui with plenty to ponder and his side are now precariously placed just above the relegation zone, with only one point separating them from 18th-placed Bournemouth with nine games remaining, including five fixtures against teams in the top half of the table.
Wolves have stepped up for the big occasion in recent matches on home soil, though, as they have won each of their last three Premier League games at Molineux against teams above them in the table, including the aforementioned win over Spurs and victories against Liverpool and West Ham United.
Lopetegui will be targeting improvements from his Wolves side in the final third, as they have scored the joint-fewest goals (23) in the Premier League this season along with Everton and Southampton, and they head into Saturday's clash with Chelsea having failed to score in four of their last six meetings with the West Londoners.
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Five days after parting company with Graham Potter, Chelsea announced on Thursday the appointment of club legend Frank Lampard as caretaker manager until the end of the season.
The 44-year-old returns to Stamford Bridge just over two years after being sacked as head coach in January 2021, and takes his first managerial job since being given the boot by Everton just three months ago.
Chelsea have confirmed that they are continuing their "thorough and exhaustive process" for a permanent manager – with the likes of Luis Enrique and Julian Nagelsmann among the frontrunners to take over in the summer – but in the meantime, Lampard is tasked with helping the Blues climb the Premier League table towards the European qualification places, while the small matter of a Champions League tie with Real Madrid is on the agenda next week.
Lampard was in attendance at Stamford Bridge to watch Chelsea – led by interim coach Bruno Saltor – play out a goalless draw with Liverpool on Tuesday night, in which a wasteful Blues side missed a plethora of chances in front of goal.
The West Londoners have struggled to find the net throughout this season and have scored at least two or more goals in just three of their last 20 Premier League matches, while they have failed to score at all in 10 games during this run.
Chelsea had no problems scoring in their last meeting with Wolves, though, as goals from Kai Havertz, Christian Pulisic and Armando Broja secured a 3-0 home victory in October – their biggest league win of the season to date – and another triumph on Saturday could move them to within four points of the top six.
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Wolves captain and star midfielder Ruben Neves picked up his 10th yellow card of the season against Nottingham Forest and will now serve a two-match suspension, while defender Jonny Castro will serve the second of his three-match ban this weekend.
Sasa Kalajdzic, Chiquinho (both knee) and Hwang Hee-chan (unspecified) all remain in the treatment room with injuries, but left-back Hugo Bueno recovered from a minor hamstring problem to feature as a substitute last time out and will look to force his way back into the first XI against Chelsea.
After coming off the bench to score last weekend, top scorer Podence – who has netted six times this season – could replace either Joao Moutinho or Mario Lemina in the starting lineup, while former Chelsea striker Diego Costa will battle with Raul Jimenez for a place up front.
As for Chelsea, Cesar Azpilicueta, Thiago Silva and Armando Broja are all nursing knee injuries, while Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang is doubtful with a back problem.
Lampard has promised to give everyone in his first-team squad a "clean slate", while he has also labelled Mason Mount a "huge player" for the Blues, and the midfielder could be recalled to centre-midfield to start alongside Enzo Fernandez and N'Golo Kante.
A four-man defence was predominantly used by Lampard during his first stint as Chelsea boss and the same set-up could be deployed on Saturday, with Wesley Fofana, Kalidou Koulibaly and Benoit Badiashile battling to start at centre-back, while Reece James and Ben Chilwell are expected to begin at full-back.
Mykhaylo Mudryk, Raheem Sterling, Noni Madueke and Christian Pulisic, who all began as substitutes against Liverpool, will compete for a place on either flank, and a start for two of these wingers could see either Kai Havertz and Joao Felix drop out of the first XI.
Wolverhampton Wanderers possible starting lineup:
Sa; Semedo, Dawson, Kilman, Bueno; Lemina, Neves, Nunes; A. Traore, Jimenez, Podence
Chelsea possible starting lineup:
Kepa; James, W.Fofana, Badiashile, Chilwell; Kante, Fernandez, Mount; Madueke, Havertz, Sterling
We say: Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Chelsea
The pressure is on both teams to end their poor runs of form and pick up precious points on Saturday if they wish to meet their respective targets this season.
Wolves have impressed in big games on home soil this season, but the return of Lampard to Chelsea could provide his squad with a much-needed boost to come out on top at Molineux and kick-start a charge for Europe.
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Top tip
Oliver Thomas
