Gary Lineker has delivered his verdict on how he thinks Chelsea will do in the upcoming 2024/25 season.
Chelsea are currently preparing for the start of the new Premier League campaign, which begins for them on Sunday at home to reigning champions Manchester City.
The Blues finished sixth in the league last season after a strong end, winning their final five matches, but the change of management in the dugout means there’s yet more uncertainty around Stamford Bridge. Hopefully, Enzo Maresca can kickstart his reign as Chelsea head coach with a statement win against the champions this weekend.
Speaking via talkSPORT, Simon Jordan is predicting Chelsea for a top-four finish, which he expects to receive some ridicule.
Gary Lineker prediction on Chelsea
Gary Lineker has delivered a fairly negative verdict on what he’s seeing at Chelsea this summer. In terms of where they’ll finish in the Premier League, he’s predicting they’ll drop to outside the European spots.
When discussing Chelsea on The Rest Is Football podcast, Lineker said: “I can’t see how this way of running a football club can work. I might be proved wrong. Yes, they have brought some good players in but I think it’s going to be difficult for the new manager as well.
“He (Maresca) took Leicester up last season but I have to say with the squad Leicester had it was too strong for the Championship, so I always thought Leicester were going to go up anyway. It will be interesting to see how his style of football will work with Chelsea. I am going to say they miss out on European football.”
What should we expect from Chelsea?
The reality is that Chelsea are one of the hardest clubs to predict going into the new season because there’s so much chaos around the club.
Here below is how Chelsea have done in the Premier League during the past five years…
| Season | Position | Points |
| 2023/24 | 6th | 63 |
| 2022/23 | 12th | 44 |
| 2021/22 | 3rd | 74 |
| 2020/21 | 4th | 67 |
| 2019/20 | 4th | 66 |
When you look at the personnel in the dressing room at Stamford Bridge, it’s a talented group that should be pushing for the Champions League positions. However, you’ve got to factor in it’s another new voice leading as the head coach and the squad is very young.
Let’s hope that Chelsea surprise many people that are somewhat writing them off before the new season has even begun.
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