After Chelsea’s win against Nottingham Forest on Saturday, Peter Crouch delivered his verdict on whether they can compete for this season’s Premier League crown.
Blues head coach Enzo Maresca, who was in the stands at the City Ground, watched his team produce a strong display in the second half to secure a 3-0 win on the road.
Josh Acheampong, Reece James and Pedro Neto were all on the scoresheet for the visitors to grab three points in the Premier League. As a result, they temporarily moved up to fourth spot in the division table.
Chelsea’s pre-season target was another finish inside the Premier League’s top four.
Can the fanbase begin to dream of more, though?
Peter Crouch working as a pundit for TNT Sports in a Premier League match.
Photo by Mike Morese/MI News/NurPhoto via Getty Images
Peter Crouch rates Chelsea as contenders for the Premier League title
According to Peter Crouch, Chelsea will be in the mix as challengers for the 2025-26 Premier League title.
On TNT Sports (18 October), Crouch was asked if Chelsea’s win over Forest has changed his view of them as title challengers. He responded: “No, it’s not shifted my view, I classed them as that before the game. The result against Liverpool was massive for them. And if they’re winning games as comfortably as they have today with the injuries they’ve got, Josh Acheampong was fantastic today again as well.”
Similarly, earlier this month, David James tipped Chelsea as potential title challengers with their talented young squad.
In fairness, we would be very surprised to see Maresca’s side go the distance and be around the top of the table over the course of a 38-game season.
We’ll be interested to see where the Blues are in the league table by the time Cole Palmer returns from his injury. Unfortunately, Chelsea talisman Palmer is out for six more weeks with his ongoing groin problem.
Chelsea players celebrate a goal from Reece James against Nottingham Forest in the Premier League.
Photo by Andrew Kearns – CameraSport via Getty Images
Chelsea’s upcoming league fixtures
It’s still far too early in the league season to set out long-term plans. For now, the focus should be on building some momentum, and the next few league fixtures do look quite enticing.
Chelsea vs Sunderland (25 October)
Tottenham vs Chelsea (1 November)
Chelsea vs Wolverhampton Wanderers (8 November)
Burnley vs Chelsea (22 November)
Chelsea vs Arsenal (30 November)
It’s been a solid start now with 14 points from their opening eight league games, but the key for this group is to find consistency with results and performances.