The potential arrival of Mauricio Pochettino has lifted spirits somewhat among the Chelsea fanbase, with the club spiralling towards the end of the 2022/23 campaign under the guidance of caretaker Frank Lampard.

The Blues‘ season drew to an anti-climactic close when they were beaten 4-0 over two legs by Real Madrid in the Champions League quarter-finals. Success in Europe was always unlikely for this Chelsea side, but their history with the competition meant they couldn’t be written off.

Now, however, the focus for Lampard is ensuring 2022/23 doesn’t officially go down as Chelsea’s poorest of the Premier League era.

47 points is the magic number for the Blues, but they’ve got a very tough schedule to close out the season.

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Originally scheduled for Saturday evening, Chelsea’s trip to the Premier League leaders has been moved to the following Tuesday over policing concerns.

Lampard will be facing up against Mikel Arteta for the sixth time in his managerial career. He’s only won one of the five meetings thus far.

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Despite securing back-to-back wins in April, it feels as if Bournemouth are going to have to fight right until the very end to preserve their Premier League status.

Their buffer over the bottom three is a pretty comfortable one, at the moment, but that could quickly change by the time this fixture rolls around.

Chelsea beat the Cherries 2-0 in the reverse fixture just after Christmas.

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Nottingham Forest came close to securing a huge point on the road at Anfield, and a similarly courageous performance could see them upset the Blues at Stamford Bridge.

Chelsea’s woes mean this is a fixture Steve Cooper will bookmaker as one his Forest side could potentially grab something from down the stretch. However, their away record remains historically poor.

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Chelsea are going to have a big say in this title race. After travelling to Arsenal at the start of May, the Blues visit the Etihad 19 days later.

Frank Lampard’s Chelsea have performed admirably away at City in the past and, in an ideal world, the Blues perform well here but allow Pep Guardiola’s side to walk away with all three points. A moral victory, shall we say.

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Manchester United’s FA Cup travails meant this fixture, originally scheduled for the end of April, has been rearranged for 25 May. It’s another midweek encounter for Chelsea ahead of their final game of the season.

The matches between these two sides are usually drab, although there was very late drama in the reverse fixture which now seems an eternity ago. With Man Utd likely to have wrapped up Champions League football by the time this fixture rolls around, neither side will have much to play for.

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The nightmare ends (they’d like to hope) for Chelsea supporters at Stamford Bridge as they host Newcastle who should be in a joyous mood.

The Magpies are poised to secure a top-four spot and their first Champions League berth in 20 years.

The home support should be in a jubilant mood, given that they can finally close the door on a miserable season.

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