Chelsea's Champions League chances are slipping away and fast. With just five Premier League matches remaining, the Blues sit sixth in the table, seven points below Liverpool as well as a whopping ten adrift both Manchester United and Aston Villa, following the club's worst run of form since 1912.
It was a disastrous weekend for Liam Rosenior's side, with the three teams directly above them all winning, while they were limply beaten 1-0 by Man United at Stamford Bridge on Saturday night. As a result, Rosenior's team have picked up just five points from their last eight matches, losing four in a row, all without scoring, previously beaten by Newcastle, Everton and Manchester City.
Only once before have the Blues endured a longer sequence, this coming in October/November 1912. Back then, they lost five successive matches to nil, beaten by Bradford City, Manchester City, West Bromwich Albion, Everton and The Wednesday, before the were rebranded to add Sheffield to their name. Back then, David Calderhead, who was in charge of the club for 966 matches between 1907 and 1933, and his team would finish just one place above the relegation zone.
Fair to say, it is unlikely Rosenior will enjoy an equally lengthy tenure; no, we're not forecasting he will still be Chelsea manager by 2051! More pressingly, this modern-day team are aiming to avoid matching that five match winless sequence without scoring when they travel to Sussex on Tuesday.
Chelsea's remaining potential fixture list
- Tuesday 21 April: Brighton & Hove Albion - Falmer Stadium. Kick off 8pm.
- Sunday 26 April. Leeds United - Wembley. FA Cup semi-final. Kick off 3pm.
- Monday 4 May. Nottingham Forest - Stamford Bridge. Kick off 3pm.
- Saturday 9 May. Liverpool - Anfield. Kick off 12:30pm.
- Saturday 16 May. Possible FA Cup Final vs Manchester City or Southampton.
- Sunday 17 May. Tottenham Hotspur - Stamford Bridge. Will be rearranged if Chelsea reach the FA Cup Final.
- Sunday 24 May. Sunderland - Stadium of Light. Kick off 4pm.
This mid-week visit to Brighton & Hove Albion will be far from straight-forward. The Seagulls have won five of their last seven matches, and are only a point below their visitors from West London, very much in the hunt for European qualification themselves. Then, on Sunday, Rosenior will lead his side out at Wembley for an FA Cup semi-final against fierce rivals Leeds United.
The Whites beat the Blues at Elland Road in December, before coming from 2-0 down to draw at Stamford Bridge in February, so Daniel Farke's side will more than fancy their chances of an upset. Should Chelsea lose that semi-final, or are beaten in the final, and miss out on Champions League qualification, Rosenior's job will surely come under scrutiny, even though he is BlueCo's man.
By the time Chelsea return to Stamford Bridge for the visit of Nottingham Forest on 4 May, a Bank Holiday Monday, who knows what the zeitgeist will be like.
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