Mason Mount and Benoit Badiashile will return when Chelsea and Wolverhampton Wanderers meet at the Molineux on Saturday.
Chelsea will be desperate to return to winning ways when they lock horns with Wolverhampton Wanderers at the Molineux on Saturday afternoon. And Frank Lampard has a near-full-strength squad at his disposal ahead of his side’s latest fixture.
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang has regained fitness after recovering from a back injury. That leaves only Cesar Azpilicueta (head), Thiago Silva (knee), and Armando Broja (knee) on the sidelines. Meanwhile, Lampard did not reveal any team news update during his pre-match press conference. But he spoke about Mason Mount, whose stock has dropped this season.
Lampard said, “Mason has always been a fantastic player for me, from my days at Derby, the impact he had there, to when I came back to Chelsea. It’s with absolute pleasure that I’ve watched him and others that I coached in that period – like Reece James, Tammy Abraham, Fikayo Tomori and others – to have gone and been huge players either here or elsewhere.”
“With Mason I know he’s had a few slight injury problems as I understand it. The important thing for me will be to talk to him and find out where he’s at but I know what I get from Mason. So I just want to see him perform on the pitch and we have a good relationship so we’ll talk a lot. I think he’s a huge player for Chelsea and has been during his time here.”
Mount should return to the starting lineup for the first time in nearly a month, replacing N’Golo Kante. The decision will also allow Lampard to manage Kante’s fitness amid his injury nightmare. Mount will join Mateo Kovacic and Enzo Fernandez in the midfield unit.
Meanwhile, Lampard should shift to a 4-3-3 formation after Bruno Saltor utilised the 3-5-2 against Liverpool. The shuffle will enable the Chelsea caretaker boss to recall Raheem Sterling to the starting lineup. The English international will join Joao Felix and Kai Havertz in the final third.
As for the defensive unit, Benoit Badiashile should replace Kalidou Koulibaly in a youthful backline. Badiashile will join Wesley Fofana, Reece James, and Ben Chilwell in the quartet at the back. Finally, Kepa Arrizabalaga is an automatic pick between the sticks, with Edouard Mendy missing out.
Predicted Chelsea XI: Kepa; James, Wesley Fofana, Badiashile, Chilwell; Kovacic, Fernandez, Mount; Felix, Havertz, Sterling
