Chelsea supporters may be intrigued to hear where Wayne Rooney thinks the Blues will finish in the new Premier League season.
Even though Chelsea snuck into fourth spot last season on the final day of the Premier League, it feels like there’s a lot of expectation on them going into the 2025/26 campaign. In fairness, they did win the Club World Cup and Conference League last year to underline their obvious quality.
Bayer Leverkusen manager Erik ten Hag claims Chelsea can win the Premier League, but we suspect it is likely to take a significant improvement on their tally last season of 69 points.
Tony Cascarino views Chelsea as Premier League challengers, insisting that a top-four finish should be a minimum. When you look at the talent in Enzo Maresca’s deep squad, they should have lofty ambitions across all competitions.
Wayne Rooney looks on following the Premier League match between Everton and Southampton.
Photo by Chris Brunskill/Fantasista/Getty Images
Wayne Rooney predicts where Chelsea will finish in the Premier League
On BBC Sport, Premier League and England legend Wayne Rooney predicted that Chelsea will finish fourth in the 2025/26 league season.
Here is a look at what Rooney and some others have predicted for the Premier League’s top four.
Predictor 1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Wayne Rooney Liverpool Arsenal Manchester City Chelsea
Joe Hart Manchester City Liverpool Chelsea Arsenal
Troy Deeney Liverpool Manchester City Arsenal Chelsea
Chris Waddle Chelsea Arsenal Manchester City Liverpool
Opta’s Supercomputer backs Chelsea to finish fourth with their calculations. If they can get off to a strong start, perhaps they can keep pace with some of the other likely title contenders.
Chelsea players celebrating after scoring against Bayer Leverkusen in a pre-season friendly.
Photo by Darren Walsh/Chelsea FC via Getty Images
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Danny Murphy tips Chelsea to finish fourth
Danny Murphy was part of the BBC’s predictions article, where he tipped Chelsea to finish fourth in back-to-back seasons.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th
Liverpool Arsenal Manchester City Chelsea
Danny Murphy’s Premier League prediction
After tipping Chelsea to finish fourth, Murphy said via BBC Sport: “They will progress and have a good season but they are still a little bit off with that lack of experience defensively, and Levi Colwill’s serious injury is a real blow. They are missing that standout centre-half the other three contenders have – a Virgil van Dijk, William Saliba or Ruben Dias, the kind of player who gives calmness and confidence to everyone around them.”
Chelsea are considering a Colwill replacement because they are looking at bringing in a new central defender on loan. If they don’t, could they be short defensively going into the new season?
The Blues still have plenty of depth at centre-back with the likes of Wesley Fofana, Tosin Adarabioyo, Trevoh Chalobah and Benoit Badiashile, but Colwill’s absence with an ACL injury feels quite pivotal.