Wolverhampton Wanderers play host to Chelsea on Saturday afternoon looking to end their winless start to the new Premier League campaign, having recorded three draws and a defeat before the international break, reveal agencies.
Chelsea have also endured a relatively slow start to the season, with Frank Lampard having witnessed his team register just five points from their four outings. While facing Wolves on away territory is a difficult test in itself, a home Champions League showdown with Valencia and a Premier League encounter with Liverpool keeps the club legend under pressure in the dugout.
Question marks regarding Lampard will remain unless Chelsea are able to make considerable improvements, most importantly at the back where they are yet to keep a clean sheet. They appeared well set to break that streak when being two goals to the good against Sheffield United before the international break, only for the Blades to score within a minute of the second half getting underway and during the final seconds of normal time.
The mistakes and lapses in concentration in defence have been a common theme of the opening five matches in all competitions, and it is something which Lampard must eradicate in order to get anywhere near to challenging for the top four.
Antonio Rudiger and N'Golo Kante have been notable absentees who could return this weekend, although Lampard will not have been left impressed with the efforts of the players given extra responsibility without their presence in the team.
On the plus side, Chelsea have looked a threat at the opposite end of the pitch, where Tammy Abraham has netted four goals in his last two outings, but the onus now is to find some stability in a bid to get back into contention further up the table.
Having successfully come through two second-string fixtures after his recovery from a knee injury, Rudiger could be handed his first Chelsea start of the season.
Emerson Palmieri may miss out after sustaining a knock while on international duty with Italy, potentially leading to an appearance for Marcos Alonso.
Kante should be in a position to start at the expense of Mateo Kovacic, who is carrying an Achilles problem, while Willian could come in for Ross Barkley.
Nuno is forced to make at least one alteration after Willy Boly was sent off against Everton, which should lead to a first Premier League outing for Jesus Vallejo.
Raul Jimenez may have to make do with a spot among the replacements after representing Mexico during the early hours of Wednesday morning, while Romain Saiss is an injury doubt having missed each of Morocco's fixtures during the international break.
Adama Traore should feature at right wing-back as a result of Matt Doherty remaining sidelined after a minor operation.
Saturday's encounter will represent the 108th competitive fixture between the two clubs, with Chelsea registering 41 wins in comparison to 39 victories for Wolves.
