Mauricio Pochettino will be determined to return to winning ways when Chelsea play Everton this weekend. The Blues welcome Sean Dyche’s side to Stamford Bridge on Monday evening, April 15, as they both hope to rise in the Premier League.
Although qualification for the Champions League seems out of reach, Chelsea remain determined to climb into the top six. Meanwhile, the Toffees will look to distance themselves from a relegation battle at the bottom of the table after another points deduction.
It will be the west London team’s penultimate match before a tough FA Cup semi-final against Manchester City and with Pochettino under pressure, building momentum will be imperative. So that being said, football.london has collected what the big pundits have been saying about Chelsea lately.
Europa League qualification at stake…
While Chelsea sit only ninth in the Premier League, they are just five points behind sixth-placed Manchester United in the race for Europa League qualification. The Blues still have a game in hand against the Red Devils, which could be decisive towards the end of the season.
A ticket for the Europa Conference League is also up for grabs, with West Ham and Newcastle United struggling to move up. However, two experts believe Chelsea could withdraw from UEFA competitions next season to escape potential breaches of financial fair play.
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In an interview with The Athletic, Kieran Maguire claimed the west London team may have to accept a ban. The football finance expert said: “It could be in Chelsea’s interests to do the same as Milan.
“We are entering the realm of three-dimensional chess, which some clubs are capable of. By the time you pay the players’ bonuses for qualifying for the competition, transportation, accommodation and other costs, you are only making a profit. small amount of money from the Conference League.
“You’ll struggle to get a decent number of fans to Stamford Bridge if the opposition is modest. That’s not a criticism of them. It’s modern economics.”
“If they exceed UEFA limits, the question becomes: ‘Do we want to play in the Conference League next season?’ Because they don’t make any money from it.”
Meanwhile, Paul Merson said on Sky Sports: “I think it will reach a stage where they don’t want to participate in the European Conference anymore. [League]Certainly.
“Why would you want to be there on a Thursday evening? Chelsea have put together a squad to try to win the Premier League, not to play in Magaluf on Thursday evening.”
FA Cup glory in sight…
Chelsea will take on Manchester City in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Sunday, April 21. While the Blues need to beat the reigning champions to reach the final, Ally McCoist has insisted Pochettino’s side have what it takes to pull off an upset. apple cart.
“I think there have been signs of improvement at Chelsea in recent weeks,” the pundit said on talkSPORT last month. “There is a huge amount of work to do, I think Pochettino knows that and accepts that. I think Chelsea are more than capable of winning the cup, City will be favourites.”
“You could say they were a bit unlucky against Liverpool in the League Cup, although I thought Liverpool were slightly the better team. They still have a long way to go before they can challenge Liverpool, City and maybe Arsenal in the league .”
Pochettino’s future in doubt…
While large sections of the Chelsea fanbase have called for Pochettino’s sacking, Joe Cole recently launched a fervent defense of the Argentine. Speaking to talkSPORT, the former Blues midfielder said: “It’s a time of transition for the club, we know that.
“There are young players and I see them developing. When I see them playing, I want to continue with them. I want to help them. There is so much talent there, so much potential and I think Pochettino has done a great job because he is constantly that story repeats: ‘You can’t look at this team the way you would look at Chelsea teams of the past’.
“This is an evolving team and the goals are different,” Cole added. “Poch is a top manager. [Graham] Potter was a top manager, Frank [Lampard] was a top manager, [Thomas] Tuchel was a top manager… I think you need time and they have to work with what they have.”
A big summer transfer window…
Curiously, Reece James and Conor Gallagher have both barely been linked with a move away from Stamford Bridge ahead of the summer transfer window. Having recently spent hundreds of millions on new players, many believe Chelsea may have no choice but to cash in on academy graduates.
However, William Gallas has already ruled out the possibility of James and Gallagher leaving West London anytime soon. Speaking to GamblingZone, the former Blues defender said: “Chelsea will not sell Reece James, you need to keep players who have come through the academy and you need players with that identity.
“He is the captain, but unfortunately he is often injured. Nevertheless, we have to keep him. The same goes for Connor Gallagher, they both have to stay. I know there are problems with the finances at the moment, but they have to make a sell another player to resolve this.”
On whether or not Chelsea need a new striker, Gallas said: “Nicolas Jackson is a player who I said needed more time, and he is still young, only 22 years old. He is a striker who can improve to score more.” goals, and he has now scored nine times in 25 Premier League games; which isn’t that bad.
“I would target him to finish around 15 goals, which would be great. “He still needs to improve in front of goal, against Burnley he showed good movement, but his finishing wasn’t good enough to take those chances. We can still count on him for next season because he is still young and will continue to improve.”