Antonio Conte will know that the chances of his Chelsea side retaining the Premier League title are slipping by with every given week, as the Blues continue to drop points and subsequent ground at the top of the table. The gap is now 11pts and the Italian knows that he has a real fight on his hands if he is to be the first manager since Sir Alex Ferguson to consecutive titles.
This time last season Chelsea embarked on an amazing 14 game winning streak that ultimately delivered them the title. Conte needs to get his team replicating this and quick to ensure that City remain within striking distance. Unfortunately they have been dropping points of late – with the weekend’s draw against Liverpool the latest; however, with two winnable games coming up in the next 7 days – Chelsea fans will be hoping that this can kick-start their season and subsequently see a title charge.
It doesn’t get easier than both Swansea and Newcastle at Stamford Bridge as reflected in the Premier League odds; therefore it presents the perfect opportunity for maximum points. Ex-Chelsea coach Paul Clement is under increasing pressure in the Swans hot seat and the prospect of going to his old club to get a positive result to arguably save his job is arguably a tough task. You do think that Conte will show little mercy and will expect Chelsea to deliver not only a victory but also one full of goals as they look to improve on their goal difference that trails City by some margin.
Chelsea proved a fortnight ago that when they are in their stride from an attacking perspective they can punish the lesser likes within the Premier League. WBA couldn’t handle the striking prowess of Morata, Willian, Pedro, Hazard and alike and its hard to see what resistance that Swansea would offer – given their recent form. Tammy Abraham is seemingly their only attacking threat and yet he is unable to play against us given the terms of his loan deal from us.
The neutrals have already written off our title challenge, but with the Blues playing first this week, it enables us to put notable pressure on Manchester City. If we can cut the gap to within 6pts before the turn of the year, then it will be interesting to see how Pep Guardiola’s team react especially with us breathing down their neck. Chelsea, like Man United, are one of the few teams in the Premier League that could go a 10 or 15 game winning streak and if we can get two big wins this week there is nothing to suggest that this can’t be the start of a similar run – especially when you look at our run of fixtures coming up.
