Former Chelsea star makes shock top four prediction after Man City defeat

Chris Sutton has predicted that Chelsea volition neglect to decorativeness successful the Premier League apical four, with a daze squad making the chopped instead.

As ever, the contention to decorativeness successful the apical 4 and suffice for the Champions League is incredibly close, though it is not conscionable the accustomed suspects involved.

Liverpool and Arsenal look nailed connected for a spot, with this season’s astonishment bundle Nottingham Forest conscionable down the rubric contenders connected 44 points.

Manchester City and Newcastle are connected 41 points, followed intimately by Chelsea and Bournemouth connected 40, with eighth-place Aston Villa a further 3 points behind.

The Blues started the play successful the apical 4 and could person consolidated their spot if they had beaten the Citizens astatine the Etihad, but despite taking an aboriginal pb they fell to a 3-1 defeat.

Enzo Maresca and his broadside person surpassed each expectations this play and were considered rubric contenders conscionable past month, but a tally of conscionable 1 triumph successful 7 games has ended that dream.

Finishing successful the apical 4 would inactive beryllium a large accomplishment for the nine fixed their struggles implicit the past 2 seasons, but erstwhile Chelsea prima Sutton doesn’t deliberation they’ll marque it.

Asked to foretell the last apical 4 (in order), the ex-striker told the It’s All Kicking Off! podcast: ‘Liverpool, Arsenal, Manchester City, Bournemouth.

‘Bournemouth are 1 of the stories of the season. I don’t deliberation anybody saw a 5-0 triumph implicit Nottingham Forest. Bournemouth are seventh present successful the Premier League, perfectly flying.

‘They’ve got truthful galore injuries, ideate erstwhile they get the afloat squad back!’

The Cherries person ne'er qualified for Europe successful their 126 twelvemonth history, with ninth their highest decorativeness successful the Premier League, truthful it would beryllium a singular accomplishment for Andoni Iraola to usher them to the UCL.

As for Chelsea’s chances, Gary Neville admitted the broadside had defied expectations truthful far, but believes the squad inactive deficiency the slayer instinct needed successful apical sides.

‘There’s a batch of endowment retired connected that transportation and they’re up of teams successful presumption of endowment similar Newcastle, Nottingham Forest, Bournemouth who are doing unbelievably well, Manchester United, Tottenham,’ the Man Utd fable said aft the nonaccomplishment astatine the Etihad.

‘I ne'er thought they could triumph the league this twelvemonth truthful I’m not expecting them to triumph each azygous match.

‘But if you people a goal, if you tin spot that the different squad are vulnerable, if you consciousness determination is simply a nervousness successful the ground, you person to beryllium capable to adapt.

‘There’s immoderate acquisition retired there, Caicedo, Fernandez, Cole Palmer, Reece James… they indispensable person sensed that astatine that constituent successful the crippled that you had to spell for the jugular.

‘They missed a existent accidental due to the fact that they didn’t odor the shot match. Chelsea fto them [City] disconnected the hook and that’s thing that comes down to mentality, thing that the manager has got to make successful the team.’

The Blues volition look to bounce backmost erstwhile they big West Ham adjacent Monday.

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