Chelsea were a bit of an unknown going into this 2024/25 season, but they’ve definitely surprised plenty of people with how they’ve done so far,
There was yet more change at Stamford Bridge in the summer as Enzo Maresca was appointed the new Chelsea manager.
Many people doubted what the Blues would do this campaign. In fairness, Maresca is the head coach at a Premier League club for the first time, while the Chelsea squad is extremely young.
However, the team sits third in the Premier League table right now, with December just around the corner. They’re also top of the Conference League group phase, too.
Gary Lineker predicted Chelsea would miss out on European football during his pre-season predictions, but that’s already looking like a potential howler.
Marc Cucurella and Enzo Fernandez of Chelsea embrace after the Premier League match between Leicester City FC and Chelsea FC at The King Power Stad...
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Joe Cole has a ‘remarkable’ prediction on Chelsea
Joe Cole thinks Chelsea can launch a bid for the Premier League title in the second half of the season if they’re within a six-point gap of current leaders Liverpool.
The former Blues star is pinching himself and says it’s “remarkable” that the team could be in a position towards the top of the table because no one saw their rise coming last year.
“I think if they (Chelsea) can be at the turn of the year after the Christmas period, if they’re within six points I think they can mount a title challenge,” Cole told The Daily Mail.
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“Because knowing the owners, I think they’ll go in and have a go again (in the January transfer window). But that is really remarkable that I’m saying that because there were times last year when you were searching for answers and we didn’t know where they’d end up.”
Troy Deeney doubts Chelsea have the defence for a title bid, which is a fair enough point when you highlight the team only has two clean sheets in 12 league games this season.
Cole claims the Blues need to stay within touching distance of leaders Liverpool, who currently have a nine-point led over them.
Interestingly, Simon Jordan feels Chelsea can challenge Liverpool for the title.
Can Chelsea close the gap to Liverpool?
Liverpool have been almost faultless since Arne Slot took charge in the summer as the new manager at Anfield. Unless things drastically change, the Merseyside club look like they’re in the driving seat as title favourites.
Let’s take a look at how the upcoming league fixtures compare between Chelsea and Liverpool:
Chelsea fixtures Liverpool fixtures
Aston Villa (home) – 1 December Manchester City (home) – 1 December
Southampton (away) – 4 December Newcastle (away) – 4 December
Tottenham (away) – 8 December Everton (away) – 7 December
Brentford (home) – 15 December Fulham (home) – 14 December
Everton (away) – 22 December Tottenham (away) – 22 December
Fulham (home) – 26 December Leicester (home) – 26 December
Ipswich Town (away) – 30 December West Ham (away) – 29 December
On paper, Chelsea may have a good chance in these next few weeks to try bridge the gap to the early pace setters. That’s for the supporters and media to deliberate, but the players must stay focused on taking things game by game.
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