Chelsea are dark horses in the Premier League title race
A step outside the spotlight, Chelsea is heading for a top four finish and potentially securing the Premier League title in Antonio Conte’s first season at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea has escaped the frenzy of speculation around the Premier League title race. Despite the “Manchester revolution” dominating the media, Chelsea are legitimate dark horse contenders to reclaim their crown.
Chelsea faces a four-way race for the title. Within this mini-league of super-clubs, the unrivalled dominance of United’s and City’s rosters could make the Manchester derby the de facto title match.
The arrival of Manchesters’ master tacticians has City and United the heavy favorites for the 2016/17 Premier League title. Both clubs’ hierarchy set out to recruit the world’s savviest managers, who just happen to double as media darlings. Superstar arrivals followed suit, with each new transfer rumour breaking social media as the actual fees broke the records.
Even so, the influence of the “big five” is slowly diminishing. Clubs are more evenly matched than ever before, adding to the intrigue and appeal of the Premier League. This flattening has influenced actions and results at both ends of the table, creating an opening for Chelsea to reach the top.
Chelsea, like the Manchester teams, have won all their games so far. Despite Chelsea’s wins coming on a one-goal margin, the players are adapting to Conte’s preferred tactical approach. With each game the players look more comfortable in the 4-4-2 and the 4-2-4, which Conte employs for more intense attacking play.
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Pain in the Arsenal
Arsenal is off to another faltering campaign and will almost surely fall short of the title. But Chelsea should not count them out nor underestimate the damage they can inflict in the league table.
Tottenham are keen to better their form from last season, and will want to take control of their destiny in the final run-in of the season to avoid last season’s ending. Tottenham will be motivated to avenge themselves against Chelsea and Leicester City when they meet this season.
Leicester City’s surprise win last term happened in large part because of Leicester’s prowess at both ends of the pitch. Leicester also benefited from the drop in form across all of the usual top clubs.
A consecutive title win for Leicester remains highly unlikely. By the time this season concludes, Leicester City will consider themselves fortunate to secure a Europa League berth.
Then there is Liverpool. Liverpool are a team plagued by inconsistency, but still harbour an ambition to replicate the Luis Suarez season. The 2013/14 campaign gave the impression that the glory days were looming again at Anfield, before it all slipped away – literally – against Chelsea.
Chelsea and Spurs have the fewest liabilities of the non-Manchester contenders. Antonio Conte can launch a viable title bid in his first season. The outcome of a few head-to-head matches could see Chelsea pipping Manchester City and United for the title.
The Manchester outfits have the best lineups in the league, but Chelsea is a more close-knit bunch of quality players across all areas of the team. Chelsea’s defensive set up still needs improvement in the final days of the open transfer window. Conte’s title chase may hinge on his ability to reinforce the back-line with new signings this week.
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The Premier League’s complexities and unpredictability are part of its allure. Speculating about how well Chelsea will do in the long-run is quite a punt. So far, though, the Blues make their case to be the dark horse of the season.