Paul Merson has revealed his prediction for Frank Lampard’s first game back in charge of Chelsea as the Blues face Wolves on Saturday.
The decision comes after Blues owner Todd Boehly sacked Graham Potter on Sunday, with Chelsea just 11th in the Premier League.
Lampard spent 18 months as Chelsea manager from July 2019 to January 2021 and begins his second spell in charge with a trip to Molineux on Saturday.
Wolves are one of nine teams involved in a relegation scrap, having lost more than half of their league games this season.
Merson does not expect Wolves’ fortunes to improve this weekend, tipping Lampard to enjoy a winning return to Chelsea, who then turn their attentions to a Champions League quarter-final tie against Real Madrid.
‘This is a hard one to call because at the end of the day, there’s nothing in this football match for Chelsea,’ the former Arsenal winger told Sportskeeda.
‘They have a match against Real Madrid on Wednesday night. Chelsea are going to rest every player and if they do, they won’t score many goals.
‘With a new manager coming in, however, they might try to win this game to gain a bit of confidence before going to the Bernabeu. It’s a bit of a catch-22 situation for them.
‘Six weeks ago, Wolves would’ve thought they would be playing against Chelsea while fighting a relegation battle.
‘They wouldn’t mind this fixture too much now because it’s not the hardest game in the world anymore, with Chelsea facing Real Madrid next week.
‘N’Golo Kante was brilliant against Liverpool. You wouldn’t have realised he was out for so long, would you?
‘His return is like a new signing for Chelsea. I’m not sure they’ll play him against Wolves this week – they could save him for Real Madrid.
‘Chelsea are creating chances but haven’t been able to score goals. Sooner or later, they’re going to hit the target.
‘I don’t think they’ll go another game without scoring a goal, and I think they’ll win this game 2-0.’
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