History favour Chelsea to be champions

By Qasim ELEGBEDE

CHELSEA finished 2014 calendar top of the English top flight against many pundits expectations (yours truly included). I said in my final verdict that the Blues would win the title this season, and I’ve had no reason to change my mind.

However, looking at their last two matches of 2014 (West Ham (H) and Soton (A)) and their first match of 2015 (Spurs (A)) plus City’s impressive winning run, I, like many pundits, thought Chelsea would cede top spot to the reigning champs, even if I maintain Mou and his boys would still end up with the crown next May.

But while Chelsea did drop points against Soton as expected, City bizarrely failed to take advantage as they let slip a 2-0 lead against relegation-haunted Burnley at the Etihad of all places. So rather than close the gap to just one point, the Citizens are still three points adrift of their biggest title rivals this season.

This is not an unassailable lead by any means, most certainly not at the midway of the campaign. Truth is City could still climb to the summit after Jan 1st fixtures. But they need Chelsea to lose at Spurs while they must win by at least three unreplied goals when they host Sunderland.

 

The latter looks a difficult proposition especially when one remembers last season when struggling Black Cats nearly won at the Etihad before settling for a 2-2 draw, leaving their hosts title aspirations in tatters before fate intervened in favour of the Citizens. Also the way the Chelsea have been playing suggests they would get something at White Hart Lane on Thursday.

More than anything else, the swagger and grim determination in the current Chelsea are the reasons why I insist they would win the league crown this season. Bar the away reverse to Newcastle, the Blues have generally breezed through the challenges thrown at them by other teams and thoroughly deserve their top place at half way mark of the season.

Of course, leagues are not won in December. And City have been playing an understrength team with their catalogue of injuries compared to Chelsea who could be said to have been slightly more fortunate than all their rivals in this regard.

Things should be very interesting when City return to full strength, for sure. However, Mou and his Blues head to the new year top of the pile and should be boosted by BPL history which shows that they were crowned champions on the other two occasions Mou led them to finish the year at the top