Chelsea’s success or failure this season to be determined over the next month
By Travis Tyler
Realistically, Chelsea’s season comes down to the next month’s worth of matches. Everything hinges on a good set of results in this period.
Roughly this time last year, Chelsea faced a stretch of games that included Tottenham twice, Arsenal, and Newcastle (who is clearly a bogey team still). The four games were supposed to be defining of Maurizio Sarri’s tenure as things started to boil over. Sarri ended up seeing Chelsea win three of those four matches (with one requiring extra time).
That did not end up being the defining period for Sarri. That came a bit later with Manchester City and Bournemouth. But the notion at the time that the season could hinge on just one run of games was very much real. Had things gone south, then the season could have ended much differently.
Frank Lampard now has a similar defining stretch. Lampard’s tenure is not under threat, nor will it be come so at the end of the season, but this next month can be as telling as anything going into the summer. From Arsenal this week until nearly the end of February, Chelsea has an absolutely gargantuan schedule where the club’s top four hopes will be settled.
First up is Arsenal who seems to be more comfortable under Mikel Arteta but still have the same tool box to pull from. It has not been long since Chelsea defeated Arsenal and the defeat is sure to be fresh in their memory.
Hull City in the FA Cup offers a brief reprieve before going away to Leicester City a week later. The Foxes have finally started to come back down to Earth since the New Year, but they are still a formidable opponent and the only team separating Chelsea from Liverpool and Manchester City.
Following the “winter break” Chelsea will spar with Manchester United. Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s side has gotten the better of Lampard this season and the Blues need to turn those fortunes around.
Related Story. Chelsea: The scapegoating of N'Golo Kante has begun to grow. light
Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham Hotspur follows and he will not be pleased with how things went last time. Lampard tactically outsmarted a man who made his career on it and his former manager will do all he can to prevent another humiliation.
By this point, Chelsea’s top four could be secure or in absolute jeopardy. With nearly every Premier League match from now until then being a six pointer, the Blues have very little room for error.
Bayern Munich will come to Stamford Bridge at the end of this run and Chelsea will either be flying high or starting down the prospect of a Champions League title being a legitimate route for Champions League next season. “Legitimate” here not meaning “realistic,” but more in the sense that it may be worth the risk.
As stated, Lampard will be safe regardless. His project has brought life back to the Bridge and he will get the summer to make a real splash. What state he is able to do so from will be determined over this next month.
Next. Chelsea: How much of all this is really on Kepa Arrizabalaga?. dark
Chelsea came out of a similar, but shorter, tough run just last month with most of the points available and rivals dropping points themselves. Chelsea has shown it is possible and now they need to show it is again in this next month.