Chelsea vs Derby Predictions

On Sunday Chelsea demolished Burnley 4-0 away from home. This lifts them up to 2nd in the Premier League table and keeps them 2 points adrift of Liverpool, although with Manchester City playing on Monday night they could see themselves drop to 3rd before long.

However, Maurizio Sarri’s side haven’t been beaten since that lacklustre showing in the Community Shield. They have won all 3 of their Europa League group stage matches and managed to end Liverpool’s unbeaten start to the season with a 2-1 win at Anfield in the Carabao Cup.

The Blues have won 11 and drawn 3 of their 14 competitive games since the Premier League season began, and their 4-0 thrashing of Burnley without talisman Eden Hazard in the team suppressed the growing feeling that they were overly reliant on the Belgian maestro.

Hazard is unlikely to be risked here either, and a few other faces could be rested as Chelsea embark on a run of 3 games in the next 8 days. This will come as a small boost in spirit for the returning Frank Lampard, but the Derby manager knows full well that this could be a stretch too far for his club.

Derby are by no means pushovers though. Lampard is doing a stellar job so far in his first major managerial position, and while their 1-1 draw at Middlesbrough on Saturday wasn’t the best result they could have hoped for, they remain in with a shout of promotion to the top flight.

The Rams sit just 4 points off the top of the Championship table and have only lost 4 times this season. Much of this is thanks to their ability in front of goal, and they have scored in all but 3 of their 18 competitive games this season. Away from home they have netted in 9 out of 11 matches, and while Chelsea are top quality opposition, they haven’t had the best luck in keeping their opposition at bay.

The hosts have conceded in 5 of their 7 home games this season, and with some players likely to be rested on Wednesday,we think there’s a good chance of Derby finding the net here.

Lampard will be relishing his return to Stamford Bridge and will have his Rams team up for a game. They are a difficult to beat side and we can definitely see them causing the Chelsea defence some problems, so we’re backing Both Teams to Score along with a 2-1 win for the hosts.