Chelsea fans will be hoping for better result vs Ipswich than their last Premier League clash 22 years ago, Zola and Lampard couldn’t score
Chelsea travel to Portman Road on Monday to face Ipswich Town, looking to bounce back from their 2-1 defeat to Fulham.
It will be the first time that Chelsea and Ipswich Town have met in the Premier League since the 2001/02 season.
The Blues put out a very strong team on the last occasion that they played against Ipswich in the English top flight.
However, despite having the likes of Gianfranco Zola and Frank Lampard, Chelsea could not get the job done that day.
READ MORE: What the relationship is like between Frank Lampard and the Chelsea sporting directors
Chelsea and Ipswich Town’s April stalemate
It was towards the end of the 2001/02 campaign when Chelsea took on Ipswich, with the Blues travelling to Portman Road in April.
They took a team that had Zola, Lampard, Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink, John Terry, Marcel Desailly and Eidur Gudjohnsen in it, but in the end Chelsea could still not beat Ipswich.
It was a game where Ipswich really could have done with all three points. They eventually went on to get relegated, while Chelsea finished in sixth.
Fast forward to now, and it is a similar story. Ipswich once again find themselves fighting to beat the drop, whereas Chelsea are in the top six, third place to be precise.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool |
17 | 13 | 3 | 1 | 40 | 17 | 23 | 42 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal |
18 | 10 | 6 | 2 | 35 | 16 | 19 | 36 |
| 3 |  ChelseaChelsea |
18 | 10 | 5 | 3 | 38 | 21 | 17 | 35 |
| 4 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest |
18 | 10 | 4 | 4 | 24 | 19 | 5 | 34 |
| 5 |  NewcastleNewcastle |
18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 30 | 21 | 9 | 29 |
| 6 |  B’mouthBournemouth |
18 | 8 | 5 | 5 | 27 | 21 | 6 | 29 |
Kieran McKenna will be hoping that Liam Delap can inspire Ipswich to a better result this time around. What will make this tie interesting is the fact that Delap is actually being linked with a move to Chelsea.
Enzo Maresca needs a win against Ipswich Town
After losing 2-1 to Fulham at Stamford Bridge in a surprise defeat, Ipswich away has suddenly become a significant game for Chelsea.
A loss could see the Blues drop to fourth, below Nottingham Forest, and would undoubtedly see many rule them out of the title race.
If Enzo Maresca‘s men want to be taken seriously, it is not the kind of slip up that they can afford to make.
Maresca dropped Noni Madueke for the Fulham defeat, but Maresca now needs to make Madueke an automatic starter, considering how his side played without him on Boxing Day. He has the talent to help Chelsea secure all three points on Monday.
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