We’re getting to the stage in the Premier League season when the top four positions are being hotly contested over. While Liverpool may seem to be an unstoppable force, FA Cup performance excepted, the other three positions are going to be up for grabs right up until May.
While it does look like it’s going to be a good first season in charge overall for Enzo Maresca there’s still quite a large question mark over whether it will be Champions League football they’ll be playing or continuing in the UEFA Conference League.
One thing that Maresca can be reasonably confident about is that he won’t be facing the same fate as Pochettino whose tenure at Stamford Bridge proved to be unexpectedly short lived.
But while Maresca has undoubtedly injected new life, and new tactics, into the team there are still a few doubts about where exactly this is going to lead.
A strong showing in the Premier League
With chances in both of the domestic cup competitions now out of the window, thanks to Brighton and Newcastle United respectively, this is going to allow the team to focus on the Premier League and Europe.
In early February the team is sitting in fourth place, sandwiched between the struggling Manchester City and the resurgent Nottingham Forest. But not far away, and certainly not out of contention for their own top four finish, are Newcastle, Bournemouth and Aston Villa.
There’s even the tantalising prospect of the end of season game against Nottingham Forest on May 25th being the decider which sees one or other of the teams making it into the top tier of European Football.
In terms of the games that will be played between now and the season’s conclusion the ones that they will really need to win will be against Arsenal on March 16th and Newcastle on May 10th, both of which have the potential to be true 6-pointers.
Looking at the sorts of Premier League odds currently being offered on the Blues’ chances of winning, they team can be relatively sanguine about their prospects, if not complacent.
Looking to Europe
What would surely make this a memorable season for Chelsea would be if they managed to bring home some silverware from Europe. The last time they did this was back in 2021 when they won both the Champions League, defeating Manchester City and the UEFA Super Cup in which they beat Villareal.
The omens are good for this year. In the league stage of the UEFA Conference League they emerged at the top of the table, unbeaten in all six of their games. Although not pitted against the strongest of opponents – see the 8-0 crushing of Noah for evidence of this – they go into the round of 16 feeling confident. The first leg of this stage is due to be played away on March 6th with the second at Stamford Bridge a week later. Get through this and then the quarter finals will be within easy reach and, hopefully, a clear run to the final in Poland on May 28th.
The key players to get them there
Those hoping that the January transfer window would see an influx of new talent will have been disappointed. It was simple in and out with midfielders Mathis Amougou arriving from Saint Étienne and Cesare Casadei departing for Torino, bought and sold for £12,500,000 each.
In terms of team members who are set to be instrumental in the team’s hoped-for success. Cole Palmer leads the way. Increasingly, he has become to chief playmaker. Working with team mates like Noni Madueke and Pedro Neto, it has become a potent combination.
Other attackers like Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernández provide further options to create a strong front line.
Is defence the weakest link?
If there’s an Achilles Heel to the team’s make-up it may well be in its defence. In a bid to build a team that is capable of free-flowing football Maresco has created situations in which the defence has been left exposed.
Against weaker teams this isn’t always a problem. But better, more attacking, ones can be quick to exploit this. A case in point came in the 3-1 defeat by Manchester City on January 25th. Gvardiol, Haaland and Foden were able to outwit the defenders to bring the team a much-needed victory and morale boost.
On the plus side, Maresco has consistently shown flexibility to switch formations mid-game to suit the circumstances. Generally this has been to move from 4-2-3-1 to the more dynamic 3-2-4-1 in attacking phases of the match. If he can master the same kind of switch to focus on defence that should be the answer.
So we watch with interest how the rest of the season will unfold for Chelsea – with hearts firmly set on a top four finish.
