Chelsea still the sound bet in battle for Champions League places
Frank Lampard fears his side’s lack of firepower could cost them a place in next season’s Champions League – but the odds are still heavily stacked in Chelsea’s favour.
Some of the casinos available at the CasinoRange website show Chelsea are still highly fancied by oddsmakers to secure a top-four finish this season.
Blues boss Lampard remains determined to sign at least one forward before this week’s transfer deadline – and it’s easy to understand why.
Dropped points
It’s been a fairly successful first season in charge for Lampard, who has developed a number of homegrown players, with the likes of Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount and Reece James catching the eye.
But the team have also dropped points because of a failure to take their chances in front of goal, particularly in shock home defeats against Bournemouth, West Ham and Southampton. If they do miss out on the top four this season then those disastrous results will no doubt be the main reason why.
Lack of options
Already heavily reliant on Abraham and not blessed with many attacking options, the England striker’s ankle injury highlights the need to bring in reinforcements. Without Abraham’s goals this season Chelsea would be well off the pace and they simply cannot afford to be without him.
And with Olivier Giroud set to leave Stamford Bridge, Chelsea’s options would be further reduced unless Lampard is able to make a signing. Giroud is expected to sign for Inter Milan and that would leave Michy Batshuayi as the only realistic alternative to Abraham.
Reasons for optimism
Even so, there is no doubt that Chelsea are in pole position to take the final Champions League place behind champions elect Liverpool, Manchester City and Leicester. Despite some bumps along the way, their position in the top four seems pretty solid.
That is partly because their traditional rivals are enduring difficult seasons, most notably Manchester United as well as Chelsea’s London rivals Tottenham and Arsenal.
United are struggling under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer and the changes of managers at Spurs and Arsenal have had some effect but not enough to suggest those teams are top-four material.
This is very much reflected in the odds various casinos are offering, with United, Arsenal and Spurs seen as off the pace and rated at long odds to be in the Champions League next season.
So what about Wolves and Sheffield United, the surprise packages of the season so far? Could they sustain a battle for the top four? Again, a look at the odds typically offered suggests that casinos believe these two plucky underdogs will fade during the second half of the campaign.
European champions again?
Of course, as well as the battle to qualify for next season’s Champions League there is the small matter of this year’s tournament – which Chelsea are very much still in.
Could the Blues be heading for a repeat of their 2012 triumph, when they lifted the trophy under a relatively inexperienced former Chelsea player in Roberto Di Matteo?
Again, casino odds rate Lampard’s chances of repeating that amazing achievement. Chelsea look a good bet for at least a semi-final place – and if they can get that far, who knows?
