Alan Shearer has designated the last matches of Chelsea as the most difficult in the hopeful Champions League and believes they can be one of them to miss the top five
Alan Shearer believes that Chelsea can “miss” on a top five finish while the Champions League racet. The Premier League has been given an extra place in next year's European Cup – further increasing competition.
Liverpool is at the top with Arsenal, yet in second place. It means that among them there is a tightly affected race that currently has Newcastle in the third, closely ahead of Manchester City and Chelsea.
Among them, Nottingham Forest went out of the Champions League places for the first time in months while their shape is falling. Aston Villa is also in the seventh, but has found a sensational form in recent weeks and won their last five.
In the end, two of the five hopfuls of the Champions League will miss it and Shearer believes that Chelsea can be one of them. The Newcastle icon also tipped Forest, after their sensational campaign, to just fall short, but has cited the run-in of the blues as the most difficult.
He said to Premier League Productions: “Looking at the luminaires, I have no doubt that Chelsea has the most difficult run-in. The competition can be done for Liverpool. Of course Newcastle is a huge one. And that last match against Nottingham Forest, they can play for everything that gets a Champions League place. So that's for me for me.”
Chelsea has to organize Liverpool, who still has to complete the title and then travel to Newcastle the next week and also play Manchester United. Because of their last game of the season, they go to Nottingham in a competition that could be Champions League of Bust for both teams.
Enzo Maresca has sustained that the blues have made progress this season. They needed a late goal of Pedro Neto to beat Fulham and the Italian state that, given their recent past, are as close as they are for a European cup return, a good season is a good season
He said: “Chelsea has never been to the Champions League places for the past two years and this season we have spent the entire season there. So the victory of today is not changing my opinion. It is already a good season and can be very good if we end in the Champions League spots, undoubtedly.”
Each of the top five must play at least one of their direct rivals. This week City Villa plays in the Etihad, where a victory in front of Unai Emery can see them jump in the top five and put them in pole position to qualify for the Champions League for a second consecutive year.