Chelsea have seen a slump in form during the past couple of weeks but they have the chance to set the record straight this week when they take on Aston Villa in the Premier League.
The Blues have suffered defeats at the hands of Manchester City and West Ham United in two successive games and if these results weren’t enough, Lampard has been dealing with a number of injury absentees.
Aston Villa pulled out a superb performance this past weekend against Manchester United away from home and there are people who believe that Dean Smith’s men can carry that momentum to Stamford Bridge in midweek.
But according to Charlie Nicholas, despite Villa playing superbly on Sunday, there have one major weak point which Chelsea can exploit in order to pick up a win and get their season back on track.
The pundit wrote for Sky Sports: “Chelsea have had the stumble that we’ve been predicting would come. A lot of players are not getting the game time they want, but he needs the youngsters in the squad to perform.
“We have not seen much of Callum Hudson-Odoi recently, while Mason Mount and Tammy Abraham have had a couple of knocks to deal with.
“This tells you how the squad is being stretched. Chelsea will be up and down for the remainder of the season in my opinion.
“Meanwhile, Aston Villa impressed at Old Trafford, and that is exactly where you want Jack Grealish to be playing.
“I want him just off the left and attacking the defence. To be honest, I think Villa are better than what the table suggests, but I cannot trust them defensively, and for that reason, I think Chelsea will edge this one.”
If Chelsea fail to pick up a win vs Villa on Wednesday then their top-four place on the table will be under serious jeopardy especially is Spurs manage to pick up all three points against Man United that very same day.
