Paul Merson believes Chelsea must “win all three” of their upcoming league games to stand a chance of finishing in the top 5.
Writing in his column for Sportskeeda, Merson said the Blues have a “ridiculous run” of matches after they face Wolves, Leeds and Burnley, so they need all the points they can get:
“Chelsea have some shocking games coming up after this one. That run looks atrocious! This is still a huge game for Chelsea, especially considering how it all fizzled out for them against Arsenal in the cup semi-final.”
“Liam Rosenior has to win all three of his upcoming Premier League games. For Chelsea, it’s Wolves away this weekend, followed by Leeds and Burnley at home. After these games, the ridiculous run starts for them. Arsenal away, Aston Villa away, Newcastle at home, Everton away, Manchester City and Manchester United at home, Brighton away, Forest at home, Liverpool away, Spurs at home, and they finish with Sunderland away!”
“I’ve not seen a run like that in my life. If Arsenal had this run of fixtures, I would be worried about them winning the league! That’s why I think if Chelsea don’t win their next three, they won’t qualify for the Champions League next season.”
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It’s a tough run of 11 games
Merson is right to be concerned about some of those fixtures. You could arguably say the Newcastle and Forest home matches, as well as the away clashe at Brighton, are the easiest remaining, but the rest will be difficult to navigate.
Rosenior has already shown that he is willing to use the tactics board to get the better of his opponents, and he may need to use every trick in the book to secure points in games where they will be regarded as underdogs.
What are the odds of Chelsea finishing in the top 5?
The bookies do have Rosenior’s team as the outsiders among the runners and riders currently. Aston Villa and Liverpool are both odds-on to secure Champions League qualification.
Manchester United, meanwhile, are priced at evens, with the Blues’ odds set between 7/5 and 7/4.
Read more about the Chelsea First Team Squad for 2025/26 here