Chelsea return to Premier League action on Wednesday night as they take on Brentford at Stamford Bridge, and Frank Lampard should unleash Raheem Sterling in the hope that he can inspire the Blues to a rare win.

The west London outfit have lost all four games since Lampard returned as interim manager and with Mauricio Pochettino's appointment likely to be confirmed in the coming days, the Blues legend could soon find himself looking for another job after failing to turn Chelsea's fortunes around since taking over from Graham Potter.

Brentford pose a real threat of making it five defeats from five for Chelsea on Wednesday given their credentials under the impressive Thomas Frank, with a European finish still on the cards for the Bees if they can finish the season strongly.

However, the form book does not look good for Brentford either right now and Lampard could exploit their defensive vulnerabilities by unleashing Sterling on the left wing against 20-year-old right-back Aaron Hickey.

Should Sterling start for Chelsea against Brentford?

Sterling's move from Manchester City last summer has so far not paid off, as he boasts just four goals and two assists in 22 Premier League appearances for his new side, averaging a disappointing 6.65 rating from WhoScored for his performances.

However, only Kai Havertz has more goal contributions in the top flight than the England international and he is certainly not alone in struggling in the final third, as the Blues have mustered just 30 goals in the top flight so far this campaign; the fifth-worst in the division.

The experienced winger ranks fifth for shots, fifth for key passes and sixth for dribbles per game in Chelsea's squad so can certainly be relied upon to be a threat down the left-hand side, and perhaps the £325k-per-week ace just needs a run of consistent games in order to rediscover the sort of form he showed on a regular basis at City and Liverpool.

Last season saw him manage 13 goals and six assists under Pep Guardiola in City's title-winning campaign, and Chelsea just need to find a way of getting the best out of him at Stamford Bridge, as there is no doubt that he can be a world-class winger on his day, with Tony Cascarino singing his praises on talkSPORT last season.

He said: “Raheem Sterling has just been frightening. The year he has had since the Euros – he was brilliant then.

“This season, I thought, when they signed Jack Grealish I thought Raheem might be a bit part player in this City team but he’s become an absolute permanent fixture. Left or right, he is ripping people apart."

If Sterling is given space to run at Hickey, who has struggled in his first season at Brentford with a 6.44 average rating from WhoScored, then he could prove the difference in Chelsea picking up a positive result on Wednesday.

As such, Lampard must ensure that he gets the nod after starting on the bench against Real Madrid.