Craig Burley says whether Chelsea are in title race after Man United draw

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Chelsea finishing in the top four this season definitely looks possible, with Enzo Maresca’s men currently occupying the final Champions League spot.

Chelsea moved up to fourth in the Premier League table over the weekend after drawing 1-1 with Manchester United.

The Blues are also seven points behind leaders Liverpool, so they are not miles away from first place.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	10	8	1	1	19	6	13	25
2	Man CityManchester City	10	7	2	1	21	11	10	23
3	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	10	5	4	1	14	7	7	19
4	ChelseaChelsea	10	5	3	2	20	12	8	18
5	ArsenalArsenal	10	5	3	2	17	11	6	18
6	Aston VillaAston Villa	10	5	3	2	17	15	2	18

Key:

Position 1 – 4 : Champions League
Position 5 : UEFA Europa League
Position 18 – 20 : Relegation

Craig Burley has now been discussing whether Chelsea could actually do better than fight for a top-four finish and challenge for the title. Maresca’s Chelsea are much different to Mauricio Pochettino’s, according to the pundit.

• READ MORE: TCC saw Enzo Maresca show a lack of faith in £52m Chelsea player during Manchester United draw

Craig Burley on Chelsea and Arsenal’s title chances

Chelsea and Arsenal face off against each other at Stamford Bridge this Sunday, with the former above the latter on goal difference.

Despite the two London clubs being neck and neck at the moment, Burley does not think Chelsea will be in the title race this season, while Arsenal will.

“Chelsea are not in the title race,” Burley said on ESPN FC. “Arsenal will be; Chelsea are not. It’s way too big of a hurdle. There are too many hurdles for them to jump from where they’ve been.

“Things are going much better than I think many of us thought at the start of the season, but they’re not in the title race.”

At the beginning of the campaign, Burley doubted Chelsea would even finish in the top four.

Chelsea on course for a top-four finish

Again, Liverpool are not a galaxy away from Chelsea, but Maresca‘s men do not look ready for a title challenge just yet.

They are drawing too many games and concede some really silly goals. One example is the penalty Robert Sanchez gave away over the weekend.

He could have been smarter after diving to the ground and taken his hands away from Rasmus Hojlund, but instead the 26-year-old left them out and gave the striker the chance to fall over them and win his side a spot-kick.

It is moments like that that will prevent Chelsea from finishing any higher than third. Chelsea still believe in Sanchez, though, so anyone hoping to see the Spaniard get dropped is in for disappointment.

Sanchez can redeem himself with a big performance against Chelsea’s London rivals Arsenal on Sunday.