Chelsea are far from the finished article at present, and the rebuilding project looks even larger than the most pessimistic Chelsea fan could have envisaged this time last year, but they still have comfortably enough quality to see them over the line in terms of European qualification. They face a tightly contested battle with Spurs for third this season and a lot depends on how they deal with challenging on four fronts. A kind run of fixtures in January should keep them in touch, but it’s too close to call at the minute.
Kenny Dalglish’s Liverpool revolution continues apace and while the side can be said to be performing well within itself at the moment, they are developing a worrying habit of a failure to convert their chances in front of goal. A lot has been made about how much certain players have cost the club, but the side, without the distraction of European football this term, is without doubt stronger in terms of both depth and quality than this time last season.
Challenging for fourth remains well within their grasp and a failure to achieve Champions League football could prove costly to the rebuilding programme currently underway at Anfield. With so many new faces and an inherent inconsistency as a result, third would appear to be beyond them, for the time being at least.
Arsenal have restored a degree of normality to the league with a run of four straight victories. If they can keep the world-class Robin Van Persie fit for the entire campaign, they stand a chance of sneaking in. The new signings are beginning to bed in a little more and the likes of Arteta and Gervinho look as if they’ve been in the side for years, but question marks still remain over their defending, or rather lack thereof at times.
While the temptation to get carried away with the 5-3 victory against Chelsea at Stamford Bridge is strong, they still look prone to glaring errors at the back, of surrendering possession in dangerous areas and a creeping over reliance on Van Persie. If we’ve learnt one thing this season it’s that freak results in big games are now commonplace, so fans would be wise not to place too much stock in one result, for it could give a false impression of a side still going through its own teething problems.
There are far too many ‘if’s’ and ‘but’s’ when discussing Arsenal as a potential threat higher up the table, and they are in danger of missing out on fourth too unless they continue to step up against more testing opposition. The six-game run – Spurs (H), Liverpool (A), Newcastle (H), Aston Villa (H), QPR (A) and Man City (H) – between the crucial period of late February to early April, a time that has often put paid to any title hopes Arsenal may have harboured in the past, could define their season. Third place looks beyond them and they certainly have a battle on their hands for 4th already.
Spurs and Chelsea look to be the favourites for third at present. The tinkering job Villas-Boas has to contend with at Chelsea as he looks to address the myriad of issues affecting his squad, on top of the extra burden of European football, could prove the difference. Newcastle will inevitably fade away, but perhaps not as far as some people think, whereas Liverpool and Arsenal should set their sights on the more achievable aim of a 4th place finish. There appears to be quite a seismic shift in terms of consistency this campaign, the team that finds a modicum of it the quickest will ultimately be rewarded come May time.
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Written by James McManus for FootballfanCast.com
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