Dave's sad to miss out on Lamps clash.

Byline: Brian Halford

DAVE Edwards today expressed regret, rather than understandable relief, that Frank Lampard will not be lining up against him for Chelsea against Wolves at Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Lampard's absence due to a thigh injury certainly won't harm Wolves' chances of pilfering a surprise point or three from the Premier League leaders.

The England star is one threat that Edwards won't have to worry about as he fights out the vital midfield battle at the Bridge.

But, fresh from his goalcoring role in Wales' drubbing of Scotland last weekend, the Wolves player is adamant he would have relished the challenge.

"They have got such a great squad that it will be another top player coming in," he said.

"But I want to play against all the top players and would have liked to test myself against Frank Lampard.

"He is a player I've always admired. He and Steven Gerrard are the best two British players at getting in the box and scoring.

"Lampard is probably the best in the world at arriving late from midfield and scoring goals.

"I do watch a lot of his play and see how he makes his runs because he always seems to come in for the knockdowns and does it ever so well.

"It will be a disappointment for them but they've got so many great players that they can bring someone else in who is probably an international as well."

Wolves will find themselves among the banker bets on many a fixed-odds coupon on Saturday - and not in a nice way.

But Edwards insists the pressure is off Mick McCarthy's team as they plot what would be one of the surprise results of the season.

"It will be great to play at Stamford Bridge," he said.

"I think they've got a few injuries but they've got so much quality in their squad that it will still be extremely difficult.

"No-one will expect us to get a win or even a point so there's no pressure on us as we go there and try and produce an upset.

"There's no point being in this league if we don't go there thinking we can get a result.

"We all wanted promotion for games like these and worked extremely hard to get here.

"We don't want to just lie down, and have to try to be attack-minded and catch them out if possible. At the same time we've got to cut out the mistakes we've been making."