Mark Lawrenson has claimed that he’s “not totally convinced” by Chelsea this season and feels that they should be vying for a top four finish in the Premier League, suggesting that a title bid is beyond them.
The Blues travel to the Emirates Stadium at 5:30pm on Boxing Day for a league fixture against London rivals Arsenal.
Upcoming opponents Arsenal are remarkably 15th in the division table after over a third of the season and haven’t won a league match since 1 November against Manchester United.
Meanwhile, Chelsea are fifth in the table as it stands, but have just two wins in their previous five league games after hitting a small blip.
BBC pundit Lawrenson has predicted Frank Lampard’s side to draw 1-1 away to Arsenal at the weekend and has raised his doubt about the team.
“I am not totally convinced by Chelsea either. They were on a really good run until the start of December but I don’t think they are consistent enough to challenge Liverpool for the title. The top four is a realistic target for Frank Lampard’s side though,” he told BBC Sport.
Chelsea are only six points off current league leaders Liverpool and the opening few months of the season has shown that this year is completely unpredictable.
Lampard’s men certainly have the quality within the squad to at least try push for a title challenge and they’ve got to be ambitious after a busy summer of spending, which is why a top four finish should be the bare minimum.
There is a real opportunity for any team to try bridge the gap to reigning champions Liverpool with a string of consistent results and Chelsea should know in the next few games where their season is heading, but in any event they need three points against an out of sorts Arsenal.