Chelsea have no time to cry as Huddersfield look to roll on

Chelsea cannot let Saturday’s defeat weigh heavy on their minds as their clash with Huddersfield Town is right around the corner. The Terriers will back themselves to upset the odds.

The Premier League title was all but decided last weekend. Chelsea conceded their defence after their disappointing loss against West Ham. Manchester City then increased the lead over all of their rivals by beating Manchester United. With eleven points between City and their neighbours and then a further three to Chelsea, you may as well etch the Citizens’ name onto the trophy.

Antonio Conte was particularly downbeat after the West Ham game. He essentially claimed that the Blues’ title defence never started. Poor moves in the transfer window and a comical opening day loss to Burnley left them stuck in the starting gates.

However, Chelsea must regroup and focus on a new objective. More importantly, they should do so as quickly as possible. The festive period brings an unrelenting torrent of games. The dust has not yet settled on matchday 16, but matchday 17 is 24 hours away.

The top four is now the Blues’ goal. Arsenal and Liverpool dropped points on Sunday to make Chelsea slightly more comfortable. Nevertheless, securing a Champions League spot will still be difficult.

Tuesday sees Chelsea visit Huddersfield Town. The newly-promoted side has outperformed expectations thus far. Their German boss, David Wagner, has built a well-drilled and determined team. After snapping a four-game losing streak on Saturday, the Terriers will be keen to take advantage of a potentially hungover Blues.

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The hosts find themselves in mid-table, but not too far off the relegation zone. Playing at home, they will look to leverage their supporters and the weekend’s win to pile further misery on Chelsea.

Hence, the Blues cannot spend too long dwelling on what could have been. The prospect of Chelsea chasing down Man City was unlikely to say the least. The West Ham defeat allows them to publicly rule out the near-impossible and switch their focus to more realistic goals.

When the Champions League returns in the New Year, Chelsea will be more vulnerable to dropped points. Rotation to keep star players fresh for the midweek ties may result in a few surprising league losses.

That makes winning games like the Huddersfield one even more important. The Blues should come out of this festive period with a comfortable cushion between their position and fifth place. This will afford them the luxury of resting key players ahead of European fixtures.

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Chelsea must quickly pick themselves up, dust themselves down and regain focus. The last thing Conte wants is to plunge into the depths of a top four scrap.