Chelsea vs Grimsby Town Predictions

Frank Lampard suffered back to back defeats for the first time since taking charge at Stamford Bridge, with their 2-1 defeat at home to Liverpool following on from Champions League disappointment last Tuesday. However, with League 2 side Grimsby coming to town, it would be a lot more worrying if they were to make it 3 defeats on the trot.

Prior to this, The Blues were starting to look like a real force after their difficult start to the season. They thrashed Wolves 5-2 at Molineux last weekend and beat Norwich in a 3-2 thriller back in August. These are hardly title worthy results, but they certainly illustrate the way Chelsea are heading under Lampard.

This direction looks to be squarely pointed at free flowing attacking football, with a seeming nonchalance towards the defensive side of the game. The Blues have scored an impressive 14 goals in their 8 competitive games so far, but they haven’t kept a single clean sheet and have shipped 16 times in total.

Not only that, but Chelsea are expected to field a heavily rotated starting lineup on Wednesday, so it could be a chance for Grimsby to bag a famous goal at Stamford Bridge.

The League Two side managed to find the net against Macclesfield on Saturday as they clinched a much needed 3 points, ending a run of 5 winless matches and pushing them up to 9th in the table. It’s certainly not been a bad start to the season from The Mariners, and if they can get over their recent struggles a challenge for the playoffs isn’t beyond them.

Getting a result against Chelsea, however, does look beyond them. The Blues’ youngsters know that starting lineup spots are up for grabs under Lampard and won’t be taking this opportunity lightly, and considering the disparity in quality between the teams, we’re fully expecting a home win. However, the visitors have scored in 9 of their 13 competitive games this season, so getting on the score-sheet against a defensively fragile Chelsea side looks a real possibility.

For this reason, backing a Chelsea Win and Both Teams to Score looks excellent value, and we’re going for that alongside a 3-1 win for the hosts.