There’s plenty of people that may be rethinking their pre-season predictions on Chelsea after their impressive start to life under Enzo Maresca.
Chelsea go into a busy festive schedule in a healthy position because of their first few months under new management.
The Blues replaced Mauricio Pochettino in the summer with Enzo Maresca, someone taking on his first senior manager’s role in England’s top flight. However, the Italian head coach has guided Chelsea to third in the Premier League table after 12 gameweeks.
Alan Pardew is super impressed by Maresca at Chelsea and how comfortable he looks on the sidelines.
| Games | Wins | Draws | Losses |
| 19 | 11 | 4 | 4 |
Simon Jordan thinks Chelsea are in a Premier League title race
Simon Jordan has just made an interesting claim about Chelsea and what they can do this season.
Speaking in the summer before a ball was kicked, Simon Jordan tipped Chelsea for a top-four finish in the Premier League. Now, the talkSPORT pundit believes the Blues can even compete with leaders Liverpool for the division title.
Jordan told talkSPORT: “I think the top four is established. It’s just the order right now. I’m very pleased to see my prediction of Chelsea starting to find its fruition because I’ve got a feeling it will be Arsenal and Man City fighting for third and fourth, and Chelsea and Liverpool fighting for the league. That’s where I think it’ll be. I think Chelsea are becoming a significant side.”
Troy Deeney thinks Chelsea should be looking at a title race, but believes they’ll come undone by their defensive weaknesses.
Can Chelsea win the Premier League?
Chelsea should be looking around them to cement a spot in the top four rather than lofty ambitions of a title challenge, but it’s great to hear some pundits and fans really buying into the Blues project this season.
As it stands, Maresca’s side are nine points behind runaway leaders Liverpool. It feels like the Merseyside club are a level above the extremely young Chelsea group, but there’s obviously still a long way to go.
| Position | Team | Played MP | Won W | Drawn D | Lost L | For GF | Against GA | Diff GD | Points Pts |
| 1 |  LiverpoolLiverpool | 12 | 10 | 1 | 1 | 24 | 8 | 16 | 31 |
| 2 |  Man CityManchester City | 12 | 7 | 2 | 3 | 22 | 17 | 5 | 23 |
| 3 |  ChelseaChelsea | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 23 | 14 | 9 | 22 |
| 4 |  ArsenalArsenal | 12 | 6 | 4 | 2 | 21 | 12 | 9 | 22 |
It’s not worth anyone worrying themselves about what Chelsea are competing for this year when the games come thick and fast from now until the New Year. It could be a good time to assess where the Blues actually are after this busy schedule.
Next, they host Aston Villa on Sunday after a trip to Germany to face Heidenheim on Thursday in the Conference League group stages.
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