Jamie Carragher has made a bold prediction concerning Chelsea’s Champions League prospects.
Wednesday marks the start of this season’s Champions League campaign, and Chelsea are heading on a tough away trip to Bayern Munich.
As well as facing off against the champions of Germany, they have to take on the Italian and Spanish champions as well.
Far from an easy route, but Chelsea are World Champions. This squad has proved they can beat anyone on their day, which is why the Blues shouldn’t be too worried about Jamie Carragher’s recent claim about Premier League teams in Europe.
Jamie Carragher says only three of the six Premier League teams will qualify
The former Liverpool defender isn’t too high on Premier League teams in this season’s Champions League.
Previewing the first round of action on CBS, Carragher made a claim not many would stand by.
He says: “I’ll be surprised if more than three qualify for the knockout stage.”
Before doing the obvious exercise of narrowing down the three with the best chance, we should analyse the claim.
Last season, three out of four English teams qualified for the knockout phase, with Aston Villa, Liverpool and Arsenal all making the top eight. Man City were knocked out in the playoffs by Real Madrid.
There are six teams in contention this season, but he thinks the extra two won’t make a difference.
Carragher seems to be suggesting that the Premier League has weakened over the summer, a point easily refuted by the comparison of spending between the top five leagues in Europe.
Of course, money isn’t everything, but to suggest Premier League teams’ chances of qualification have gone down, after so much talent has been brought in from overseas, and two extra teams can qualify, isn’t adding up.
Even if Carragher is right, Chelsea will fancy their chances
Maybe it’s Premier League bias that causes these doubts over what Carragher is saying, but if he’s right, Chelsea are surely one of the three.
Enzo Maresca has shown elite in-game management since joining the club last summer, something that was on full display at the Club World Cup. Chelsea have proven they can be dangerous in one-off games like you get in the league phase.
If we are narrowing it down, the obvious exclusions are Newcastle and Spurs, who don’t have the same pedigree in Europe as last season’s top four.
Liverpool and Arsenal failing to repeat last season’s feat would be a shock, but Man City could well be in for another disappointing Champions League run. Though the signings they have brought in are exciting, their depth just doesn’t compare, especially defensively.
Chelsea’s depth is as strong as any team in the competition. They have a manager who knows how to win these kinds of games and a confidence carrying over from the summer’s triumphs.
The Round of 16 is the minimum we should expect from the Blues this season.
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