‘The business’: Sky pundit has now changed his mind on which position Chelsea will finish in the PL this season

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Former Premier League defender Michael Dawson now thinks Chelsea have the advantage over Liverpool in the race for top four.

The two sides played out a 1-1 draw at Stamford Bridge last weekend, and Dawson is now tipping the Blues to pip their rivals to a Champions League spot after initially predicting that it would be the other way around.

Speaking on Sky Sports (19/08/23 at 2:30pm), the former Tottenham Hotspur and Nottingham Forest player said: “You know, at the start of the season, I would’ve said possibly fight for top four [Chelsea].

“I had Liverpool in there, but I look at the business Chelsea have done with Mauricio Pochettino. They’re the team that probably have the advantage at this moment in time.”

After finishing 12th place in the Premier League last season, you would expect the Stamford Bridge faithful to be satisfied with coming fourth this term.

Top four has to be the bare minimum for Mauricio Pochettino’s men

Qualifying for the Champions League will probably not be a straightforward task.

As well as Liverpool, Chelsea will also be competing against the likes of Manchester United, Newcastle United and Tottenham Hotspur.

Then right at the top, you obviously have Manchester City and Arsenal, who will be the strong favourites to come first and second again after their title race last term, so it is not going to be easy for Chelsea.

Nevertheless, it has to be the aim after all the money the club have spent. After splashing out on players such as Moises Caicedo and Romeo Lavia, failing to qualify for Europe’s elite competition would make the 2023/24 campaign a hugely disappointing one.

Whatever happens this season, though, at least it cannot be any worse than the last one. A coach of Pochettino’s calibre should not have Chelsea swimming in the bottom half of the table.