Gary Neville gave a blunt assessment of Chelsea’s hopes of challenging for Premier League honours ahead of table-topping Arsenal’s visit to Stamford Bridge next Sunday.
Mikel Arteta’s side burnished their title-winning credentials at home against their loathed rivals Tottenham, routing their north London derby foes 4-1 thanks in large part to an astonishing Eberechi Eze hat-trick just months after the two teams’ transfer tussle over the former Crystal Palace star.
Chelsea meanwhile saw out out a reassuring 2-0 win against Burnley on the road at Turf Moor, with goals from Pedro Neto and Enzo Fernandez lifting the Blues up to second in the standings as results elsewhere went their way.
But although Enzo Maresca’s Blues have enjoyed a promising start to the season, facing off with the perennial title-strivers represents another challenge entirely – and one that Neville believes will put their form to the test.
‘That should be a good measure for them,’ Neville said of Arsenal’s visit to west London on his eponymous Sky Sports podcast.
‘I think what we’ll see with Chelsea during the season is that they’ll win a lot of matches, games they should have won, they’ll also be consistent. They’ll tease us – they’ll get close, but then I think they’ll drop points.
‘They’ll be fifth, down to sixth, then they’ll come up to fourth. That’s where we’ll see them between fifth and second, sixth and third. I think that’s where we’ll see Chelsea operate.
‘Champions League football, they’re trying to build something there. They’ve got a lot of young players, spent a fortune, it’s probably not happening as quickly as they want,(and) I don’t think they’re anywhere near a team that can win the league to be honest.
‘When I look at them, they look well short in a number of areas,’ Neville continued. ‘But they’re good.
‘They’re a good team, they’re a good side, I don’t think they’ve got great players, but they’re a good team, and a good squad, and I think they’ll finish in the top four. They should do, all the investment they’ve made – (or else finish) top five. I think they’ll do okay.
‘They’ll tease us, make us say, “are they close? Are Chelsea the nearest challengers?” But I don’t think that’ll emerge as the season goes on.’
Head coach Maresca has been keen to keep expectations low throughout his tenure at Stamford Bridge, but admitted that he and his squad are in a good place ahead of a tough week welcoming both Barcelona and Arsenal to their turf.
‘We are confident,’ Maresca said after beating Burnley. ‘We are confident, we are doing well.
‘Today we could have done many, many things better, for sure, no doubt, but at the end it was important to win the game.
‘But we are confident and we are ready to prepare (for) Tuesday and Sunday.’
Chelsea’s task will be all the more difficult with the high-profile absence of Cole Palmer, who continues to be unavailable for his manager.
The talismanic England international was on the brink of returning to training after the international break after recovering from a nagging groin issue, but stubbed his toe in a freak accident on the eve of doing so.
‘For us, Cole is like Haaland for City, like Salah for Liverpool, and I guess if Haaland doesn’t play for City or Salah for Liverpool, they are not the same team,’ Maresca said on Friday.
‘(But) I’m very proud of the players because, in a difficult moment without Cole, they showed that they are good players and they all want the best for this club.’
