As things are shaping up, it seems like the 2021/22 Premier League season is going to be a three-horse race between Chelsea, Manchester City and Liverpool.
It’s Chelsea who are currently sitting at the top of the league table and pundit Ian Wright seems to be putting his money on the Blues to see this one through.
‘At the start of the season I said Chelsea and I still fancy Chelsea, although they’ve got injuries now to Lukaku and Werner,’ Wright said on David Seaman’s Seaman Says podcast, as quoted by Metro.
‘People say that Werner doesn’t score enough, but the fact is that Werner gives Chelsea so much and then Lukaku scores the goals.
‘I still fancy Chelsea, but Liverpool are now getting themselves into a run of form that you’re going to find very difficult for them. They’ll just slip back into that form that they did when they dominated.
‘It’s going to be City, Liverpool and Chelsea for me and I’m not sure with the fourth. I don’t know who are going to be finishing fourth at the minute. I’d love West Ham to stay there.’
Man City and Liverpool are obviously going to give a tough fight to Chelsea in this race and there’s no way either one of them is going to run away with the title this time around.
Chelsea look to be the more comprehensive side amongst the three and so here are three reasons why we also think the Blues are going to lift the EPL title in May.
Squad depth:
Chelsea have assembled a massive squad for this current season and this is going to come in real handy once we enter the business end of the season.
Teams like Liverpool and Manchester City have to use almost the same players every weekend but Thomas Tuchel has the luxury of naming a totally different first XI for two successive games and still remain the favourites to win them.
The Blues boss is also tactfully managing his fringe players, giving them game time at every possible juncture meaning they are fresh and ready to play whenever required.
Multiple systems:
Thomas Tuchel has been playing with a 3-4-2-1 system this season but the luxury of so many players means the manager can change his formation in the blink of an eye.
Guardiola has hardly shifted from his false-nine tactics while Jurgen Klopp has been using a 4-3-3 system for close to two years now.
While the Chelsea boss has had no reason to change his system but if a crisis arrives, Tuchel will be under no massive stress to revert to a back-four or maybe use two frontmen.
A sense of balance for Chelsea:
Chelsea are the current league leaders and right now they look the most complete side amongst the top-three.
Fewest goals conceded in a Premier League season:
◉ 15 – Chelsea (2004/05)
Fewest goals conceded after 10 games of a Premier League season:
◉ 2 – Chelsea (2004/05)
Thomas Tuchel's side are not far off the pace 👀#CFC pic.twitter.com/3JXA6hyMLC
— Squawka Bet (@SquawkaBet) November 1, 2021
Liverpool have looked shaky in defence(as proved by Brighton) while Man City look toothless in attack without a world-class striker amongst their ranks. Also, if Kevin De Bruyne does not click then the other City players are generally comfortable making sideways passes.
The Blues though have looked solid in almost every department. In their first 10 Premier League matches Chelsea have conceded only three goals while scoring 26. And this rigidity is going to be a big bonus when they enter the knockout stages of the Champions League.
