Chelsea know they’re in a hugely competitive race in the Premier League to secure qualification for next season’s Champions League.
It’s looking likely that the top five clubs in the Premier League will qualify for the Champions League, so the fact Chelsea currently sit in fourth position is a positive. However, it’s extremely tight between several clubs.
While Liverpool and Arsenal look strong favourites to finish as the top two, there are a cluster of teams bidding to end up in the Premier League’s top five.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 31 | 22 | 7 | 2 | 72 | 30 | 42 | 73 |
| 2 |  ArsenalArsenal | 31 | 17 | 11 | 3 | 56 | 26 | 30 | 62 |
| 3 |  Nottm ForestNottingham Forest | 31 | 17 | 6 | 8 | 51 | 37 | 14 | 57 |
| 4 |  ChelseaChelsea | 31 | 15 | 8 | 8 | 54 | 37 | 17 | 53 |
| 5 |  NewcastleNewcastle | 30 | 16 | 5 | 9 | 52 | 39 | 13 | 53 |
| 6 |  Man CityManchester City | 31 | 15 | 7 | 9 | 57 | 40 | 17 | 52 |
| 7 |  Aston VillaAston Villa | 31 | 14 | 9 | 8 | 46 | 46 | 0 | 51 |
It was reported back in September that Enzo Maresca’s target is Champions League qualification during his first season as the Chelsea manager. He’s now got seven league games remaining to get his side over the line.
Jamie Carragher predicts Chelsea will miss out on Champions League qualification
According to Jamie Carragher, Chelsea won’t qualify for next season’s Champions League tournament because they’ve got an extremely tough run-in ahead of them.
Carragher told Sky Sports: “I think Nottingham Forest will just do it. I think Chelsea will miss out; I think they’ve got the toughest fixtures. I think Newcastle will make it. I think Manchester City will just make it as well… I think Aston Villa still has the FA Cup and at least two Champions League games, so Aston Villa will just miss out.”
On paper, it looks like it’ll be three from the five clubs above to join Liverpool and Arsenal in next season’s Champions League.
When you look at Chelsea’s remaining seven league games, they do look pretty tough. It’s worth adding they’ve also got the Conference League tournament to balance at the same time.
| Nottingham Forest – 57 points | Chelsea – 53 points | Newcastle – 53 points | Manchester City – 52 points | Aston Villa – 51 points |
| Everton (H) | Ipswich (H) | Manchester United (H) | Crystal Palace (H) | Southampton (A) |
| Spurs (A) | Fulham (A) | Crystal Palace (H) | Everton (A) | Newcastle (H) |
| Brentford (H) | Everton (H) | Aston Villa (A) | Aston Villa (H) | Manchester City (A) |
| Crystal Palace (A) | Liverpool (H) | Ipswich Town (H) | Wolves (H) | Fulham (H) |
| Leicester (H) | Newcastle (A) | Brighton (A) | Southampton (A) | Bournemouth (A) |
| West Ham (A) | Manchester United (H) | Chelsea (H) | Bournemouth (H) | Tottenham (H) |
| Chelsea (H) | Nottingham Forest (A) | Arsenal (A) | Fulham (A) | Manchester United (A) |
| Everton (H) |
Back in October, Moises Caicedo stated Chelsea’s target is to get themselves back in the Champions League. If they fail, it’ll be a third straight season for the Blues not competing in Europe’s elite club competition.
Paul Merson stressed Chelsea need Champions League football to make sure they keep high-profile stars such as Cole Palmer, so it feels like a vital couple of months ahead at Stamford Bridge.
How did Chelsea do in the reverse fixtures against their upcoming opponents?
The bad news for Chelsea is that they had a poor record against their upcoming opponents earlier in the season. Hopefully, they can raise their game when Champions League football is hanging in the balance.
| Date | Result |
| 30 December | Ipswich 2-0 Chelsea |
| 26 December | Chelsea 1-2 Fulham |
| 22 December | Everton 0-0 Chelsea |
| 20 October | Liverpool 2-1 Chelsea |
| 27 October | Chelsea 2-1 Newcastle |
| 3 November | Manchester United 1-1 Chelsea |
| 6 October | Chelsea 1-1 Nottingham Forest |
If Chelsea repeat a tally of six points from seven games against the opponents above, they can wave goodbye to the Champions League.
It’s going to be interesting to see how Maresca goes about his team selection because the decision to rest a few key players backfired in Sunday’s 0-0 draw away to Brentford.
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