Chelsea derby at Wembley: Predictions for Aston Villa vs. Derby County
Three future Chelsea coaches and three very near-future Chelsea stars feature in the Championship promotion finals. Here are our predictions for who will end up in the Premier League, either through promotion or a contract with the Blues.
Rarely can six men on either side of a promotion playoff all have a near-guarantee of being in the Premier League the following season. But Frank Lampard could very easily be supervising John Terry and Jody Morris at Chelsea next season, where Mason Mount, Fikayo Tomori and Tammy Abraham will all have important roles in the regular squad, if not the starting XI. But Chelsea have plenty of time to make a hash out of that. For now, let’s enjoy what will surely be a classic Wembley afternoon.
Scott Brant: Aston Villa 2 – 1 Derby County. I think Frank Lampard is going to be a better manager than John Terry. But Aston Villa haven’t lost to Derby in their last three meetings. Plus, I just feel Chelsea have better odds of ending up with Frank Lampard as manager if Derby don’t win.
A real stunner to watch, this should be an amazing match. Harry Wilson to score for Derby and Tammy Abraham to notch a brace for Terry’s winning side.
Olaoluwa Nwobodo: 2 – 1. Derby have lost both games against Villa this season. I hope Lampard pulls one out of the bag. I believe he has the ability to. However, I would not be surprised if Lampard is outsmarted by his former captain again. In fact, I expect it. Aston Villa will be back in the Premier League and Derby County will remain in the Championship.
Gabe Henderson: 2 – 3. Frank Lampard and Derby have lost both matches against Aston Villa this season, but Derby triumphed when faced with adversity in the semifinals. They’ll do it again.
Lampard will manage a tactical masterclass to get the Rams into the Premier League. With his job done, he will ride off into the sunset a one-season legend at Derby and go on to manage Bluer pastures.
Kevin Peacock: 1 – 2. I won’t pretend I know much about what is likely to happen in this game. However, I do get the impression that both Super Frankie and Jody Morris are a good combination in motivational stakes. With this famously being the most valuable game in world football it will be a tight, nervy afternoon for everyone concerned.
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If Lampard and Morris get their team’s heads in the right place, though, I make them good enough to get the job done.
Abhishek Pancholi: 1 – 2. There are so many current, former and future Blues involved in this high-stakes game that I can’t think of a better outcome than this. Tammy Abraham will open the scoring for Villa, continuing his fine form and impressing his future boss in the opposition dugout. This will fire up Derby, who will level the score before half-time.
A tense game will be decided by Chelsea’s future No. 8, Mason Mount, who will kill the game with a trademark Frank Lampard late run into the box and a fine finish. The Derby bench will erupt in sheer joy, as the final few minutes go by in a flash and Derby are promoted to the Premier League.
Frank Lampard and Jody Morris leave Derby as heroes, and no one at Pride Park begrudges them their big move to Chelsea.
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Sourav Mahanty: Derby win. After their impressive comeback at Leeds, it is hard to think Lampard’s boys will not come out on top at Wembley. Taking a low budget team like Derby to the Premier League in just his first season in charge might hand him the keys to the manager’s office at Stamford Bridge.