Sky Sports pundits Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher have given different answers as to where Chelsea will finish in the Premier League this season.
In his revised top-four prediction, Neville went with Enzo Maresca’s side finishing in 3rd place, having decided to remove his former club Manchester United from contention completely:
“I think it will be City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal at this moment in time. It’s the first time I haven’t said United will be in the top four, I think, in about 15 years!”
Carragher, meanwhile, believes that the Blues are likely to finish runners-up to his former team:
“I’ll go for Liverpool [to finish as champions] and Chelsea second because they’ve got no Europe. So I’ll go with Chelsea, I’ll go with Arsenal and I’ll go with Manchester City.”
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Neither pundit believes Chelsea can win the title
It appears that both feel Maresca’s men will fall short in terms of finishing top of the table. That is not a complete surprise even though the Blues are only two points adrift of 1st place.
Carragher has expressed his misgivings about Chelsea’s goalkeeper and defence but, even so, he still believes the London club will finish higher than Neville does.
The manager has been keen to play down his team’s chances
Ironically, one of those who would probably agree with Neville and Carragher is Enzo Maresca himself who has said on more than one occasion in recent weeks that his team is not ready to compete for the title.
However, with such a strong squad and no European football until March, there is every chance that they could maintain their title challenge over the coming months. Whether they can sustain it all the way until May, though, is another matter.
Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here