Glenn Hoddle predicts whether Chelsea will actually make the Champions League, ‘wow…’

Add as preferred source on Google

With the Premier League season entering its final stages, Chelsea need to be at their sharpest because their campaign still very much hangs in the balance.

Chelsea are one of the sides involved in a fascinating battle to finish in the top five of the Premier League, which will be enough to secure qualification for next year’s Champions League.

Earlier in April, Jamie Carragher predicted Chelsea wouldn’t finish in the top five because of the games they’ve still got left to play.

The optimistic Blues supporter may look at the situation and be pleased that it’s still very much in their hands, though.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	34	25	7	2	80	32	48	82
2	ArsenalArsenal	34	18	13	3	63	29	34	67
3	Man CityManchester City	35	19	7	9	67	43	24	64
4	NewcastleNewcastle	34	19	5	10	65	44	21	62
5	ChelseaChelsea	34	17	9	8	59	40	19	60
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	34	18	6	10	53	41	12	60
7	Aston VillaAston Villa	34	16	9	9	54	49	5	57

For Chelsea, their final four league games look extremely tough. They play three of the top six teams in the division, plus 14th-placed Manchester United.

• READ MORE: Gary Neville has predicted Chelsea will do something against Liverpool they’ve not done in over four years

Glenn Hoddle doesn’t think Chelsea will qualify for the Champions League

Glenn Hoddle, the former Chelsea player and manager, has predicted that the Blues will just miss out on a place in the Premier League’s top five positions this season.

Hoddle told TNT Sports: “I think Chelsea have the hardest fixtures. Chelsea are the question mark for me. As much as I would like them to go into the Champions League, I think Chelsea might, just might, be the ones that [miss out].

“There’s two great big games – Newcastle away and Forest away, the last game of the season. Wow! Now, in some ways, they’re good games to have because, if they win, they take the points away from those two teams challenging. But their results have not been good away from home. At the Bridge, they’ve done well, but away from home, they’ve not been so good. So I think Chelsea might actually miss out.”

In fairness, Hoddle raises a valid point about Chelsea’s struggles away from home this season.

Chelsea picked up four points earlier in the season from their home matches against Newcastle United and Nottingham Forest, but repeating that feat in the reverse fixtures will be a tough ask.

Pat Nevin claims the return of Nicolas Jackson could be a significant factor in the club’s end-of-season push to get into the Champions League. In fairness, the Blues striker has scored three goals in his last two games across all competitions as he rediscovers some form.

Chelsea’s recent record in the Champions League

Without a doubt, the Champions League stage is where these Chelsea players need to be performing year on year. It’s what makes this final month of the Premier League so vital.

Here is a look at the Blues’ record in Europe’s elite club competition across the previous 10 seasons…

Enzo Maresca was tasked with qualifying for the Champions League during his debut season as the Chelsea coach. If he fails to do that, we suspect he’ll receive even more criticism from the fanbase.