After an impressive start to the season, which gave false hopes of getting us back to the title picture, we are now firmly locked in a battle for a top 4 finish – a race which looks set to go right down the wire again. The Outsiders West Bromwich Albion – Managed by a true Blue in Steve Clarke, West Bromwich Albion have had a fantastic run this season. A powerful team with quality players all over the park, it’s no surprise that they now sit in 9th position with 37 points on the board. With players like Claudio Yacob, Youssuf Mulumbu, Chris Brunt and James Morrison supporting a well-known Belgian upfront, West Brom pack a lot of firepower in their side. “The fridge from the Bridge” has led the attack admirably this season scoring 10 goals and in the process, upstaging seasoned strikers Shane Long and Peter Odemwingie out of the first team. But for all their pace and power, I think it's safe to assume that they’ll not trouble the Champions League positions, maybe a strong finish to the season could see them qualify for the glorious UEFA Europa League. Key Player – James Morrison How the Blues fared against West Brom - They play to a counter-attacking plan that we are all too familiar with, having lost 2-1 against them earlier in the season. We have the opportunity to avenge that defeat when we play them at home next weekend i.e March 2nd Did You Know? While Torres has scored 7 goals in 2046 minutes, Lukaku’s 10 goals have taken him only 1195 minutes of football. Swansea City – High-flying Swansea City, much like West Brom, are punching above their weight again this season. Michael Laudrup, who took over from Brendan Rodgers last summer has done a brilliant job in incorporating a fast-paced counter-attacking game to Swansea’s much talked about passing style. Michu, their standout player so far this season with 15 goals, has been well supported by contributions from Wayne Routledge and Jonathan De Guzman while Ashley Williams has been a rock at the back. They are currently on 37 points with 12 games left and are in the Carling Cup final (at the expense of the Blues) this weekend, where they have the chance to create history against Bradford City. A win this weekend will guarantee them, European football next season and I think getting into Europe represents a fine season for Swansea.Their fans’ll be happy with that. Key Player – Michu How the Blues fared against Swansea - We are yet to beat Swansea in 3 attempts this season. Pablo Hernandez cancelled out Victor Moses’ lucky header in the league game at The Liberty Stadium while they performed a textbook smash-and-grab in their 2-0 aggregate win in the Carling Cup semi-final. We play them at home in the league on 27 April. Did you know? Michu is only his nickname and his real name is Miguel Perez Castro Liverpool – Liverpool reminds me of a pompous ugly girl running for Prom Queen. They have fallen off the radar in recent seasons and this season under Brendon Rodgers, it has been no different. To quote former Reds player Mark Lawrenson, it’s been a case of ‘2 steps forward and 1 step back’ for Liverpool this season. Excellent results against Manchester City and Arsenal this year were undone by a shock Cupset at Oldham Athletic. The lack of quality in the Liverpool side is brutally evident. Suarez apart, they have struggled this season succumbing to 8 losses. Suarez though, has been exceptional this season, playing the role of lone-striker admirably up until January. Now with Daniel Sturridge and Phillipe Coutinho supporting him up-front, Liverpool could still make a case for a top 4 finish but I think the damage to their season has been done. They are currently 7th with 39 points but that’s 9 points away from 4th spot having played 1 game more. Top 6 at best Key Player – Luis Suarez How the Blues fared against Liverpool - Our game against Liverpool at home back in October saw a conservative Chelsea slip-up to a 1-1 draw. We face them again on 21 April at Anfield when it will be interesting to see how the dynamics of Rafael Bentitez returning to Anfield will play out.I think all of the 45,000+ fans will be booing Rafa Did you know? Liverpool have scored the most number of own-goals this season - 4 The Chasing Pack Everton – Everton, currently in 6th place with 42 points, have been consistent all season and have given themselves a good chance of finishing in the top 4. Marouane Fellaini, their giant midfielder, has been in superb form throughout the campaign with 10 goals to his name. Pienaar and Baines have likewise had a good campaign while summer import Kevin Mirallas has provided spark to their attack. Everton have won against sides around them this season having beaten the likes of United, Spurs etc but have struggled to put away the mid-table sides. Moreover, their striker Nikica Jelavic has been blowing hot and cold this season and they would need a reliable source of goals to mount a challenge for a top 4 finish Everton are still alive in the FA Cup and having come close in recent seasons (2 semi-finals and 1 final in 09), they will be looking to go all the way this season and that may come in the way of their league performance as they do not have a very deep squad. Moyes will be looking to rally his boys for the last few games of the season in the hope of a top 4 place but I think the quality of the sides around Everton will prevent them from clinching 4th this season. Key Player – Steven Pienaar How the Blues fared against Everton - A Frank Lampard-inspired Chelsea comeback saw the Blues run out 2-1 winners when we met Everton at the Goodison earlier this season and we meet them again on the last day of the campaign. Let’s hope we’ll have secured a top 4 finish by then. Did you know? Everton (along with Stoke City) have drawn the most number of games this season – 12 Arsenal – Arsenal’s season was derailed in the space of one week when first Blackburn Rovers and then Bayern Munich came to the Emirates and stunned Arsenal. While poor finishing was the excuse for the loss to Blackburn, Arsenal were outclassed by Bayern in their Champions League round of 16 tie and Arsene Wenger is under unprecedented pressure now to lift his team into the top 4. His decision to play Mikel Arteta in the holding midfield role in midweek was scrutinized and some have gone as far as saying Wenger has lost the plot and needs to go (Piers Morgan reference). Amid uncertain times, Arsenal still have a ray of hope. With 12 games left this season and 5 points to make up on their London rivals, Arsenal have an easy run-in on paper. Arsenal have a quality squad with the likes of Jack Wilshere and Santi Cazorla in midfield and are more than capable of putting together a good run. It depends on how quickly Wenger can get a reaction from his players and push themselves up the table It will be close but in my opinion, Arsenal will fall short of a top 4 finish this season. While they may have easy games left, I still think that lower teams can frustrate Arsenal and their lack of a proven goal-scorer will come back to haunt them Key Player – Santi Cazorla How the Blues fared against Arsenal - Chelsea did the double over Arsenal this season .(Believe it or not) Fernando Torres and Juan Mata were on target at the Emirates in a 2-1 win at the start of the campaign while early goals from Mata and Lampard saw us hold on to a 2-1 win at the Bridge this year. Did you know? Lukas Podolski, along with Steven Gerrard and Juan Mata, has the most assists in the Premier League this season – 9 Teams in the Top 4 Tottenham Hotspurs They were written off at the end of last season when they first lost their spot in the Champions League, sacked their manager and then lost one of their best players in Luka Modric. To top it off, Tottenham then hired a man familiar to Chelsea in Andre Villas-Boas. After a shaky start to the season when they conceded late goals against Newcastle, West Brom and Norwich in consecutive weeks, Spurs bounced back in fine style and now occupy 4th spot hot on the heels of Chelsea with 48 points. Villas-Boas has done a good job of managing a squad packed with talent. Gareth Bale has been in blistering form of late (13 goals this season) on the left flank while they have a similarly tricky customer on the right in Lennon. New recruits Moussa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen have added physicality to this pacy side. Spurs are currently unbeaten in 10 games, stretching all the way back to early December. They are still in the Europa League after sneaking into the Round of 16 this week but they have a deep squad with experienced players like Scott Parker and William Gallas providing cover. If Bale remains fit, they have a good chance of finishing in the top 4. Key Player –Gareth Bale How the Blues fared against Spurs – The London derby back in October was settled by Chelsea’s bearded genius Juan Mata, who struck 2 second-half goals to swing the game Chelsea’s way before setting up Daniel Sturridge in a 4-2 victory for the Blues. The reverse fixture at Stamford Bridge is on April 14 Did you know? Gylfi Sigurdsson is the most used substitute having come on from the bench 16 times this season Chelsea – The less said about Chelsea’s season the better. Once again, there was a managerial change but unlike Avram, Guus and Robbie before him, Benitez has not yet invigorated the team. Topsy turvy form combined with eliminations from 5 tournaments has only compounded the already toxic situation at Chelsea. Chelsea still have to face 7 of the current top-ten teams starting with the away game at The Etihad this weekend. Thankfully, Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel have returned from their AFCON celebrations to swell the thin Chelsea squad which has struggled to cope up with a busy schedule. We are still in the Europa League and the FA Cup which means Benitez has to live up to his reputation for rotation to get us through this season unscathed I think we have enough quality to make the top 4 although it won’t be easy if teams around us go on a good run Key Player – Who else? Juan Mata Did you know? Chelsea have taken most points (13) from away games against top-half teams than any other side this season with 4 wins from 6 matches while we have picked up only 3 wins from 7 matches in away games against teams from the bottom half.
