Chelsea should be considered Premier League favorite

The Premier League is officially underway as Sunday marked the end of matchweek one in England’s top flight. The opening weekend saw many exciting headlines throughout the 10 games, none of which ended in a draw. Seven of the 10 home sides won, most notably Brentford (2-0 vs. Arsenal), Manchester United (5-1 vs. Leeds), Chelsea (3-0 vs. Crystal Palace) and Tottenham (1-0 vs. Manchester City). It’s easy to overreact to the first taste of domestic football since late May, but it’s only natural.

Thomas Tuchel managed his side to a win in front of a near full capacity crowd for the first time in 18 months. The Blues were missing some key players—such as N’Golo Kante, Ben Chilwell, Reece James and Kai Havertz (the latter two came on as substitutes)—and still managed to toy with Patrick Vieira’s Crystal Palace for an hour and a half. Chelsea’s win was one of the most impressive victories of the weekend and as such, the Blues should be considered title favorites in the Premier League for the upcoming campaign.

Chelsea should be considered the title favorite for the 2021/22 domestic season

Chelsea’s domination of Crystal Palace was nothing out of the ordinary in terms of the scoreline. However, the Eagles usually provide tough competition for the Blues throughout the season. Tuchel’s men looked more sharp and disciplined throughout the duration of the clash on Saturday. Not to mention, they did it without a handful of big names, as touched on earlier. This showed clear progress in the side since the German took over in January. There was no stress, no errors, just clean football that is expected of the Champions of Europe.

It’ll be hard for rivals to consider Chelsea a title favorite given the club’s lack of additions thus far though. The Blues have only brought in Romelu Lukaku—I know they signed Marcus Bettinelli, but it’d be a shock to see him get onto the pitch at all—up to this point. The £97 million man is no small squad strengthening move though, he means business. Lukaku is going to fix all of Chelsea’s offensive issues and provide the Blues with a lethal finisher who is capable of netting 20+ goals in the season. He instantly becomes one of the Premier League’s best strikers and gives Chelsea the capability to be flexible in its formation.

The Blues have now fixed a position that’s been lacking since the departure of Diego Costa. Meanwhile, the team widely considered as the title favorite, defending champion Manchester City, is thin in that department. Pep Guardiola’s side lost to Nuno Espirito Santo’s Spurs during the first week of the season. Despite starting Jack Grealish, Riyad Mahrez, Raheem Sterling and Ferran Torres up front, City failed to score on the day. The Citizens looked lost up in attack as they constantly fired crosses into dangerous areas with nobody to get on the other end of them.

All of this goes to show that while City is the runaway betting favorite, Chelsea is the realistic favorite at the moment. Guardiola’s team will struggle to go deep into the season in the midst of a title race if Gabriel Jesus is its only established No. 9. The addition of Lukaku gives the Blues a reliable goalscorer, which is necessary if a side wants to win the English top flight. Obviously, the addition of Harry Kane into the defending champions’ squad changes things drastically. But as it stands, Chelsea is the most complete and deep team in the Premier League thanks to the addition of the club’s new record signing.

Who do you think should be considered favorites for the Premier League title? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!