Are Chelsea’s Home Performances Enough For A Title Challenge?
Many would be surprised to see this, but Chelsea is actually one of the contenders to win the English Premier League. The surprise comes because the club has been struggling in the past few years. Missed transfers, millions of pounds wasted, ownership change and several managers fired were some of the club’s problems.
However, things seem to be fairly good for the Blues. They’re currently one of the favourites to win a challenge. They seem to dominate almost every club that comes over to Stamford Bridge, but is home performance enough for a title challenge?
Bookmakers Put Chelsea Pretty High on the List
Chelsea’s recent form has been enough to convince bookmakers that they have what it takes to snatch the title from the likes of Liverpool and Manchester City. The team is among the top three favourites, along with the aforementioned teams.
The punters are already betting on Chelsea because they think that they will capitalize on the changing times at both City and Liverpool. Man City seems like they’re bored and not motivated to win the PL once again. Pep Guardiola has been constantly repeating that it’s hard to find the motivation since they already won it seven out of the last 8 times.
Liverpool said goodbye to Jurgen Klopp just a few months earlier. Even though his successor, Arne Slot, has been doing a good job, he’s still new to the position and is yet to prove himself.
The disturbing times and Chelsea’s good form at the start make it ideal for them to snatch the title right under everyone’s nose.
Sportsbooks reported record-high bets on Chelsea. Punters are already registering and betting at instant withdrawal bookmakers so that they can cash out their tickets right after they turn to be winning ones.
Chelsea’s Odds As a Title-Challenging Team
Let’s have a look at the recent home performances by Chelsea. One of the most recent ones was against Arsenal, which proved that Chelsea is on par with the best teams. Although the game ended in a draw, Chelsea had better chances – 17 goal attempts, three of which were very close to ending with a goal.
Three days before that, they obliterated Noah 8-0 and won against Newcastle 2-1. The only two losses that they have are against Liverpool and Manchester City. One was at home (Liverpool) and one was away (Man City).
Other than that, they’ve had quite a good form. Their away form is also to be praised – a win against West Ham (0-3), a draw against rivals Manchester United (1-1) and a win against Bournemouth (0-1).
One thing is certain – the current scores are fantastic, but they won’t be enough to win the Premier League. If there’s one thing that every club should know, it’s that the standards in the PL are extremely high.
Liverpool and Manchester City have been winning the league with 90+ points in the past several years. That means that home performances are very important, but Chelsea needs to perform above the standards in the away field.
Not only that but if they’re to close the gap with Liverpool and Manchester City, they need to make sure that they win the second matches later this season.
The Schedule Gets Tougher As The Season Goes On
Chelsea may not be in the Champions League, but they are participating in the Conference League. Although the competition is not nearly the same, there are still matches that need to be played. Fatigue can be a real problem for them, especially since they don’t have too many quality players as substitutes.
Not only that, but there are challenges such as Boxing Day and the Cup. Add the home and away games in the league and you can see just how complicated things can be.
Overall, Chelsea is more than capable of challenging for the title, but they’ll need to come up with a strategy that will give them longevity and stability for the rest of the season.
The fact that they’re not competing in the Champions League may be a big advantage for them. They can always resort to sending the B team to the Conference League and put a major focus on the PL. They can also discard any efforts to win the cup.
After all, they’re not in a position where they can attack and win on multiple fronts. If they can somehow put all the focus on the PL, they can end up on top. This is a problem because, just like any other big club, Chelsea wants to be in the race to win all trophies, not just one.