Chelsea are one of the best teams in the country, but it’s been a rollercoaster campaign for them so far.
The Blues have been a nightmare for sports prediction fans this season.
Everything looked great to start with – they had a good team, new signings and a successful manager.
But football is rarely that simple, and it proved to be a lot more complicated for Thomas Tuchel, who was sacked after some unexpected bad results.
Since then Graham Potter has come in and drawn a game we would expect to win (against Salzburg) and then easily won a game we might have been expected to draw (against AC Milan).
So if you’ve been trying to predict Chelsea’s results this season, you might be finding yourself struggling.
Things could straighten out now though, if the Blues get a run going under Potter. Last night’s win saw the first signs that he is getting his message across, and we saw some interesting new features to their game.
We should beat Wolves this weekend, if we play like we did last night we will beat Milan away next midweek. Then Villa, Brentford, Man U, RB Salzburg and finally Brighton to close out the month. Those are all winnable games to some degree, and the Potter couldn’t ask for a more favourable run of matches to get his group up to speed with his style.
They all will allow us to get on the front foot and attack, and they play in a variety of styles. Good results all round will see us back in the top 4 race in the Premier League and all but secure our place in the Champions League knockout rounds.
After a long break without games, we’re now into a punishing month where the whole squad will get a workout, and Potter will get to know all the tools at his disposal.
There should still be a note of caution when it comes to predicting our results however, as the new coach is implementing a generally less predictable philosophy than before.
Rather than Thomas Tuchel’s slow, controlling system that would prioritise calm possession over direct attacks most of the time, Potter is instructing his players to push forward in greater numbers and take more risks.
That will hopefully mean more good results, but also of course risks bad games and surprising reverses too.
So rather than trying to predict what will happen, you could just sit back enjoy watching the unknown unfold. There will be ups and downs for sure, but the next few weeks should be exceptionally exciting as we watch a new team take shape.
