Having stormed to the Premier League title last season, Chelsea’s defence of their crown got off to a rather tricky start as they endured a frustrating and sometimes embarrassing summer in the transfer market. They then went on to lose the opening game of the new season at home, leading fans to wonder what had gone wrong, but things have picked up since then and they would appear to be real contenders to defend their crown.
Chelsea began the 2017/18 season with a home match against Burnley that was expected to yield a routine win – but events did not follow the script. Having had centre-back Gary Cahill sent off early on, Chelsea collapsed and were 0-3 down by halftime. They recovered two goals in the second half, but it was not enough to prevent a shock defeat. Coming off the back of a summer transfer window in which they lost out on several targets – most notably striker Romelu Lukaku and rumours that manager Antonio Conte was unhappy – it left fans with feelings of foreboding for the season ahead. However Chelsea have regrouped since that setback and the striker that they did manage to secure – Alvaro Morata – has made a significant contribution with three of their eight goals thus far. After that opening day loss Chelsea went on to produce three straight league wins – two of them against teams expected to challenge for the Champions League places, in the shape of Tottenham and Everton. This suggested that they were finding their rhythm again after the troubles of the summer and, it should be remembered that their form was mixed in the early stages of last season. Back then, Chelsea lost key matches to title rivals Liverpool and Arsenal, leading many to question their chances, but Conte chose to adopt a 3-4-3 system after that Arsenal match and the Blues never looked back from then on. This formation has been the bedrock of Chelsea’s success since then and – although other teams in the league have adopted it – none have applied it as successfully as Chelsea. With Morata starting to settle into the role of main striker at the club and most of the other key players, including midfield maestros Hazard and Fabregas, still at the club, Chelsea look well placed to make a real bid to retain the title this season. They sit in third spot just now, but could be on top come May.
It certainly seems likely that all of those Chelsea fans who felt so pessimistic about their title chances during July and early August will feel confident enough to bet on them again now. The ways in which fans are betting on football are changing at a rapid pace these days and many no longer bother to visit bookmakers in person to place their bets. The latest thing is to bet via mobile sports betting app, with cherryrush.com being the store that gathers together all of the best sports bet apps in one place.