Chelsea: London Derby represents golden opportunity in top four race

If one were to open up a thesaurus, they could flip through every page to find an adjective to describe this crazy season—this hasn’t been a normal campaign by any means. When Chelsea sacked Frank Lampard just over a week ago, it seemed as if the Blues were down and out in the top four race. They went from top of the league on December 5 to 10th at certain points, all in the span of two months.

While Chelsea may have looked defeated, with all of its European hopes having gone out of the window, that’s far from the case. The Blues sat seventh at the beginning of this matchweek, just six points off the Champions League spots. Of course, the weird schedule has resulted in each team seemingly having a different number of matches under their belts, but simply speaking, the gap isn’t large. As Chelsea prepares for another London Derby, the trip to Tottenham represents a golden opportunity for Thomas Tuchel’s side to establish itself as a true top four contender.

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Tuchel was hired with the expectation his side could still finish inside the top four. Although he admitted it would be difficult, the word impossible was never mentioned. Seemingly anything is possible in this unprecedented season. The gap between first place and 12th is a mere 15 points and while that seems like a lot of ground to make up for a club like Leeds, who sits in the bottom half, it’s a different story entirely for the Blues.

Following a wild weekend where Tuchel earned his first win as the boss, Chelsea was able to make up ground on its Champions League rivals. Manchester United, Leicester, West Ham, Spurs, Everton and Arsenal—who all sat above or level with the Blues—dropped points in their weekend fixtures. This isn’t an uncommon occurrence this season either. Consistency is always key in the Premier League, and it’ll likely decide the title this year, but resiliency will determine other positions in the top flight.

The Blues famously went on a 17-game unbeaten run in all competitions before falling off during the winter months. This may seem obsolete at this point in time, but it was that run that will be looked back on if Chelsea salvages its season. That streak set the Blues up to have a significant drop off—or an inevitable inconsistent run—and still have their foot in the door of the top four.

Tottenham has also suffered a dip in form, but Jose Mourinho’s side still sits one point above the Portuguese manager’s old club. Spurs have a game in hand over Chelsea, but a victory for the west London side on Thursday would ensure Tottenham could not jump the Blues on anything more than goal difference if they were to win the game in hand. It’s a small victory for sure—those are sometimes the most significant in a season like this though.

Contests against the big six are seemingly always must win matches in the English top flight. However, if Chelsea wants any shot at finishing inside the top four, it must begin to take points from these fixtures. The Blues have been extremely unlucky on multiple fronts this season, but the best way to ensure you don’t need to rely on luck—a.k.a other Premier League clubs—is to make your own.

Chelsea faces an uphill battle in making top four this season. A win over Spurs would see the playing field level out a bit and the Blues’ chances at securing an automatic UCL bid would increase significantly.