Chelsea had a difficult summer, sacking a manager who was increasingly popular, bringing in yet more new players, and selling off and loaning out some fan favourites.
Yet despite that, the Blues have made a great start to the season, better than most expected. They had climbed to 3rd place as the November international break rolled around. But as some have noted, it’s a slightly false position given that the team in 13th (Manchester United) are only 3 points behind us. It’s a very bunched mid-table, which can be swung by a few results.
So if you were a Chelsea fan with a promotion code for bet365 to spent, where would you be putting your money on the team’s finishing position – inside the top four where they are now, or dropping out?
Here’s the evidence for and against as we see it, 25% of the way through the campaign.
Chelsea to finish in the top 4:
Well, the best evidence is that we’re up there already. The team is ahead of expectations, and if you think that more time on the training pitch with their manager Enzo Maresca is going to help them, then you’d have to assume they’re at the very least going to cement 3rd place as more games pass.
Some of the teams chasing close behind – Nottingham Forest, Brighton, Fulham Newcastle, Brentford, Bournemouth, are working with far smaller budgets and feel more likely to suffer as the bust Christmas period kicks in. Chelsea only have to maintain their current level and they should be able to pull away and set themselves up nicely for 2025
Chelsea to miss out on the top 4:
A pessimist would note that we’ve not won a single game against a top team yet – we drew with Arsenal and Manchester United, and lost to Liverpool and Manchester City.
Struggling against the top teams doesn’t totally preclude you from the top 4, but it does mean you have to be immaculate in the games against the rest of the league. So far Chelsea have done well in those games, but they were pretty lucky to sneak a win over Bournemouth, drew against Crystal Palace and Nottingham Forest and still haven’t proved they have a really reliable way of breaking down low blocks in those sort of games.
The question then becomes whether teams work out a way of shutting us down faster than we work out a way to score against teams set up to defend against us.
