It has come to the point where Chelsea needs to look at the opponents sneaking up behind them. Not just for top four security, but for the security of Thomas Tuchel.
Since the Roman Abramovich takeover, there has not been a single manager that has survived, having finished outside of the top four Premier League spots. When it starts to look like top four is out of the question, the big boss starts looking ahead to the future, scouting for the next best thing.
It's quite scary to think that Arsenal, Tottenham, and Manchester United could find their way into a top four challenge, pulling Chelsea into the mix with them.
Roman Abramovich should break precedence and give the Chelsea boss some longevity even if Chelsea doesn't get top four.
Manchester United has two games in hand over Chelsea. Arsenal has three games in hand, whilst Tottenham has a whopping four games in hand. Jesus Christ.
It's too early to panic, I know. But with Liverpool's two games in hand, they could open the gap and leave Chelsea fighting on their own once they come back from the Club World Cup.
Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea has played the most games in the Premier League despite the series of severe injuries and wave of Covid-19 outbreaks in his squad. They are the only team to have played 24 league matches before their departure to Abu Dhabi for the Club World Cup.
The likelihood of Chelsea not getting top four is slim. In fact, I firmly believe that the games in hand for our three rivals mean nothing. It is better to have the points on the board than to rely on the unknown.
Tottenham will have to go through Pep Guardiola's formidable Manchester City to surpass their West London rivals. Whilst I wouldn't mind for Manchester City to drop points once in a while, it is imperative for our top four race that they take all three against the Lilywhites.
Spurs currently sit 11 points behind Chelsea. Winning their next two games will leave them five points behind, still with two games in hand. A loss to Manchester City would put a dent in their run before they play their next games in hand against Arsenal and Brighton.
Manchester United will need to fight their internal issues before they can dream of overtaking the champions of Europe. Before the end of the season, they are still yet to play their noisy neighbours, Man City and bitter rivals Liverpool, Tottenham, Arsenal, and Chelsea. It was a very tough run and a long stretch with how they've performed since Ralf Rangnick was appointed.
Arsenal will need to beat Chelsea in their race for the top four for any chance of going above the Blues, considering their 11 point gap. Hopefully, Chelsea and Tuchel do not give Roman Abramovich a reason to pull the trigger too early.
There is no telling what the future may hold for the Blues, but the entire fanbase can agree that Thomas Tuchel needs to be in it. The cutthroat nature of Roman Abramovich will not go down so well if Tuchel's Chelsea journey is cut short. Fans see a positive light with the German leading the club. It will be difficult to blame him if securing a top four slot somehow becomes an impossible task.
Tuchel has tried almost everything to bring this team together and build their strength despite the unforgiving circumstances. He's tested different formations, changed the personnel, deployed different tactics. More importantly, he learns from his own mistakes, which former Chelsea managers have struggled to do.
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