by Mark Lawrenson believes Chelsea will see off managerless Wolverhampton Wanderers this weekend in their Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge.
The Blues have won their previous two matches under new boss Graham Potter, most recently hammering AC Milan 3-0 in the Champions League. That triumph followed a narrow 2-1 victory over Crystal Palace in the top-flight, which moved Potter’s side into the 5th place in the table.
The hosts have a poor recent record against the Midlands club, having drawn their previous three meetings. They’ve also won just two of their previous eight clashes against Wolves, who sacked manager Bruno Lage following a poor start to the season.
Wolves have scored just three goals in the league this season and currently lie in the bottom three and Lawrenson believes they will come away from west London with no points.
The former Liverpool defender predicted a 2-0 win for the Blues on Saturday (October 8), as he told Paddy Power:
“Wolves are looking for a new manager while Chelsea have theirs in Graham Potter. He’s started well and they had a good result during the week. There was quite a heavy deployment of English players in the team as well which is good to see. I think Chelsea will coast this.”
Paul Merson urges Chelsea supporters not to ‘get carried away’ with Graham Potter
Despite the Blues’ recent success, analyst Paul Merson believes that Graham Potter’s side haven’t been that impressive so far. The former Arsenal playmaker has claimed that the former Brighton boss will have to be patient when it comes to implementing ideas on the current squad.
He told The Daily Star:
“I watched Chelsea at Crystal Palace last weekend and I thought the Blues got away with one. The goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga was the man of the match and it could have gone either way.
“If you came to watch the two sides for the first time, you wouldn’t have known who was Chelsea. There was that little between them. AC Milan was a good result but they were fortunate to put a team out, so we shouldn’t get carried away just yet with Graham Potter.”
Merson added:
“There’s no doubt that he’s had a decent enough start but they haven’t played anyone of real note. If Chelsea get in the top four this season, I think they’ve had the biggest result ever. I don’t mean that disrespectfully but it’s going to take time to implement his ideas from Brighton.
“Next season, I think we will see a completely different Chelsea. They will be a massive threat.”
