Pundits Roy Keane and Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink believe that Chelsea are too far off Premier League leaders Manchester City, ahead of the Blues’ crunch match with Tottenham on Sunday.
Thomas Tuchel’s men had set the pace early on this season, leading the way after their Champions League triumph just a few months prior.
However, the German coach then began to see his squad ravaged by injuries, as well as off-the-field issues, that brought about a poor run of form.
Chelsea now sit 13 points behind league leaders Manchester City and with just one win in their last five, they will be looking to change that against Spurs.
Recent form against their opponents does suggest that they could notch another win against the Lilywhites in the league.
The Blues are off the back of two wins against Spurs just this month, beating them 2-0 and 1-0 respectively in the Carabao Cup semi-final legs.
Given that run, former Manchester United midfielder Roy Keane believes it is the perfect time for Chelsea to face their London rivals.
He said on Sky Sports before the match: “I think they’ve [Chelsea] lost their spark which can happen. Of course injuries are the same for a lot of clubs but they’ve not coped with the injuries. I think there’s been one or two off the field problems with players.
“I suppose bringing issues to the club hasn't helped but I think sometimes it’s just players who have had a dip in form but saying that I think it’s a good game today for Chelsea are thinking they can kick-start their season.
“They’ve got a great record against them [Tottenham]. If you want to win prizes, draws are okay but they’re are too many of them particularly when you’ve been in winning positions at home it’s not good enough.”
Draws, in particular, have been an issue for Chelsea. They have drawn eight games in the league this season, only Brighton (12) have more draws in the top half of the Premier League.
Another issue has been defensively, where the Blues have begun to give away big chances that they weren’t conceding at the start of the season.
Former Chelsea striker Hasselbaink believes that clean sheets could be the building block for the Blues to win again, but the gap is too big on title leaders City.
He said: “Especially with the start they had, 13 points is a little too much.
“A dip in form for players that are not playing or players that have not been playing consecutively. The big thing for me is the clean sheets. They’re creating but not firing enough.
“You can say what you want but when you bring in a big striker like [Romelu] Lukaku he needs to score or [Timo] Werner and [Kai] Havertz need to pick up but they haven't and that’s where Liverpool and Man City have been better.”
Tuchel will certainly be hoping his men can begin to turn those draws into wins, or they risk being drawn from a title race to a battle for a top four finish.
Spurs provides an opportunity to do just that, but it will be seen whether they can beat their London rivals, who they already managed two wins over in the cup this month.
