It’s been a poor few days for Chelsea in their ongoing battle to secure Champions League qualification.
First of all, Chelsea suffered a crushing 3-0 defeat away to Brighton on Friday night. Following the weekend’s results, the Blues have now actually dropped from fourth to sixth position in the Premier League table.
England are set to gain an extra spot for next season’s Champions League, so finishing in the top five of this year’s Premier League should be enough to qualify for Europe’s elite club competition.
Enzo Maresca’s side have only won two of their previous nine league games, so it’s no surprise they’ve been dragged into a fierce race for the Champions League spots. Next, they make the trip to Aston Villa on Saturday evening.
Opta supercomputer predicts where Chelsea will finish in Premier League this season
Stats-based site Opta have updated their prediction for this year’s Premier League after Chelsea’s heavy loss at the Amex Stadium versus Brighton.
Here is a look at how the Opta supercomputer is now predicting the league table will finish in the current 2024/25 season:
| Expected position | Team |
| 1st | Liverpool |
| 2nd | Arsenal |
| 3rd | Manchester City |
| 4th | Nottingham Forest |
| 5th | Chelsea |
| 6th | Bournemouth |
| 7th | Newcastle United |
| 8th | Brighton |
| 9th | Fulham |
| 10th | Aston Villa |
| 11th | Brentford |
| 12th | Tottenham |
| 13th | Crystal Palace |
| 14th | Manchester United |
| 15th | Everton |
| 16th | West Ham |
| 17th | Wolverhampton Wanderers |
| 18th | Ipswich Town |
| 19th | Leicester City |
| 20th | Southampton |
Maresca said Chelsea’s FA Cup exit could allow them to focus on the Premier League, but he may have inadvertently ramped up more pressure on his side to finish the campaign strongly. They’re also still competing in the Conference League tournament, too.
Maresca is ‘happy’ with the Chelsea squad at his disposal. However, we’re worried he’s been left short in one or two key areas, especially in the striker position.
If the Blues do end up with fifth position and a place in the Champions League, it should go down as a successful year.
Enzo Maresca suffered similar drop off at Leicester
When Maresca was the Leicester City head coach in the 2023/24 season, his team went through a similar drop off in results.
Here is a look at the Foxes in the first half of last season in the Championship compared to the second half:
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 23 | 19 | 1 | 3 |
| Matches | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 23 | 12 | 3 | 8 |
It was only two months ago that Chelsea were hotly tipped as potential title contenders in the Premier League, but the team’s poor form now means they’re in a major European fight. It’s certainly a worrying trend for Maresca that he needs to fix moving forward in his managerial career.
