John Terry Predicts When He Believes Chelsea Will Challenge For The Premier League Title Under Alonso
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Chelsea legend John Terry claims that Blues fans may have to wait another “couple of years” before the club is seriously challenging for the Premier League title.
After impressing in the first few games, some pundits were even tipping Xabi Alonso’s team as dark horses for top spot this season. However, recent defeats to Arsenal and Brentford have dampened expectations.
Speaking to ex-Gunners forward Theo Walcott on his TikTok channel, Terry said the ambition for the current campaign should be securing Champions League qualification:
“We [Chelsea] had a good start, and we gave you guys [Arsenal] a good game actually. Since that game we’ve been hit and miss, to be honest, and I think that’s going to be our season.”
“But I’m still hopeful of top four; I still think we’re a couple of years away from competing for the Premier League.”
What are the odds of Chelsea qualifying for the Champions League?
Opta has given the Blues an 18.3% chance of finishing in the top 4/5, with the probability of winning the title now as low as 0.84%.
Those percentages are likely to fluctuate wildly depending on results after the international break. The loss to Brentford, in particular, has definitely dented confidence that Alonso’s men can compete at the top of the table in the short term.
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Fixing the defence has to be the priority
The biggest obstacle which is standing in the way of Alonso’s men seriously competing for major honours is their porous backline.
No one doubts that they have the firepower to challenge, but if they don’t keep more clean sheets, inconsistency will remain a big issue.
At the moment, Chelsea are averaging 2.4 goals conceded per game, which is not sustainable if you hold genuine top four ambitions. Some suggest that the return of key players like Moises Caicedo will help in that regard, and we shall have to see how they fare after the international break.