‘We’re not quite in that situation this time but we have an opportunity to get a position that maybe people didn’t expect us to be in…’
There is not as much on the line today as the final day of the 2002/03 Premier League season, when Chelsea faced Liverpool in a draw-or-bust clash for Champions League qualification which had significant consequences for the financial health of the football club, though Frank Lampard can draw some parallels with the tension of that day 17 years ago as he prepares his Blues side to face a final-day decider of their own this afternoon.
The Blues host Wolverhampton Wanderers at Stamford Bridge with our top-four fate in their own hands; avoid defeat against the Midlanders and a place at the top table of European competition next season will be ours.
We have an insurance policy too in that a Manchester United win at Leicester City will also secure a finish in the top four for Lampard’s side, though the boss is not considering that possibility as he seeks the three points that would complete the delayed and doubted objective of Champions League qualification.
