It’s a funny year in the Premier League so far, and Chelsea are no exception.
As we close in on the halfway point of the season, thing are exceptionally balanced. Arsenal are top on 33 points, but the gap between them and the chasing pack has closed.
Man City are now just 2 points behind them, and Aston Villa just one point behind the Cityzens – despite not scoring a goal in the first 7 games of the season.
Chelsea are part of the next group of teams – but you might be surprised to hear some of the names around them. Crystal Palace are a point ahead, and Man U (as part of what was supposed to be a disaster season) and now level on points after last night’s win.
Everton, Brighton and Sunderland are close behind. In fact, Chelsea are only 6 points ahead of Brentford in 14th. Everything is so concentrated, and even the best betting sites in UK would struggle to pick out who is going to finish in the prized top 4 spots this season.
Liverpool, Tottenham and Newcastle have all started slowly, creating the space for some of the unexpected names above them. But at any moment them could find their feet and start rising through the ranks. Even Bournemouth have another gear to go to.
All in all, while Chelsea will be content to be in 5th, nobody is getting carried away thinking that’s a safe spot. A couple of bad results would be all it takes to drop us into the bottom half. The fact we’re in an equally tight battle in Europe only emphasises that challenge.
A game against Everton this weekend gives the Toffees the chance to leapfrog us in the table. After that we face Newcastle, who could do the same, then Bournemouth, who could follow suit if we lose both and they win at least one.
Chelsea just need to focus on winning their games. But there’s no doubt that this is a tricky trio coming up, and given we were being talked about as title contenders just over a week ago, it would be a damaging comeback to see us dropped into the bottom half within such a short space of time.
This balanced season is very exciting – but Enzo Maresca’s team need to find a new gear and pull away from the chasing pack in this busy December period or things could start to get tense.
