Chelsea finished as runners up in last year’s Premiership, but I would be surprised if they were able to match this achievement again this season due to the fact that Manchester City have come on leaps and bounds since. Villas-Boas is clearly a supremely gifted manager but it is going to take a while before he can get his new group of players used to working together in the specific style that he demands. That said, they have such quality all over the pitch that they can still beat any team in the league on their day. At the back, John Terry is still showing the kind of form that merits inclusion in the starting eleven week in week out despite the fact that he is starting to get quite old, while Villas-Boas can choose between Alex, Ivanovic and Luiz as his partner at centre back. All three players have serious quality going forward as well as defending – Alex takes a mean free-kick, Luiz has already scored twice this season and Ivanovic is always a danger in the air from set-pieces – while Ashley Cole is still the best left-back in the world despite his pace fading over the last few seasons.
In midfield Chelsea have missed Michael Essien since he ruptured his cruciate ligament four months ago but he’ll be back around Christmas time and fully fit and ready for the season’s climax come May. The signing of Mata has been revelatory due to his ability to make late runs into the box from wide positions and the accuracy and range of his passing while Frank Lampard has also been rejuvenated since being dropped briefly by his manager who is the same age as him. Ramires has also been in fine form of late and keeping John Obi-Mikel out of the side, while Kalou has been scoring enough goals to attract attention from Arsenal and Tottnenham who both require a few more goal scoring midfielders.
I would consequently say that Chelsea are likely to look like challenging for the Premiership crown but will fade in the last quarter of the season as the pressure mounts. I reckon they will finish third behind the two teams from Manchester. If you plan to place a bet on them to finish third, combine this bet with another wager on another sport, for example you could take a look at the Scottish Premier League betting odds and pick a winner there, and then combine the bets in a multiplier. You could also study the rugby World Cup odds and find some good odds on the All Blacks to win as they surely will do so considering the fact that they’re the best team in the world by a long way and are also hosting the tournament. By creating a multiplier you will get the most bang from your buck as long as all of your bets come good.
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