The Betfair Contrarian: Why Chelsea will stay top for the rest of the season

Premier League / The Betfair Contrarian / 07 January 2010 / Leave a Comment

Will Frank spend the rest of the season looking down on his Premier League rivals

"Chelsea shouldn't fear a January without Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou. They could draw a match this month and still stay top and their fixtures are all winnable... "

It's been a tough few weeks in the league for Carlo Ancelotti's men. But things are about to get better and they should be backed to stay top between now and the season's end, says the Betfair Contrarian.

After a difficult December, the African Cup of Nations has stripped Chelsea of some of their finest talent. Their lead at the top of the Premier League has shrunk to just two points, so many are merrily predicting their downfall. The haters should prepare to for a season of disappointment though, as once Chelsea are ahead, only Luiz Felipe Scolari can stop them. Heres why you should back the immovable Blues at [3.25]...

Chelsea are fierce leaders

Since Roman Abramovich bought Chelsea in 2003, Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea have all taken turns to squander Christmas title race advantages. Not Chelsea though. They've led twice in 2004-05 and 2005-06 - and brought home the trophy on both occasions. In each of the last three seasons they've left themselves with too much to do in the second half, although the fact they've produced springtime surges each year bodes well for this campaign.

They're back on form...

Considering Chelsea's previous for grabbing a lead and clinging on to it with bloody-minded perseverance, it's absurd that they are as long as [3.25] to hold on. The doubt springs principally from an awkward December, in which they won just two of eight games in all competitions. Carlo Ancelotti put that down to his team being in a bad moment and the 5-0 win over Watford last weekend will have snapped them out of it. Their first win by four or more goals came in October against Atletico Madrid and it was immediately followed by 5-0, 4-0 and 4-0 wins, with another 4-0 coming three games later. Expect another bounce now.

The weather has done them a favour

Nobody gave Arsenal much of a chance at the start of the season and even less after their 3-0 home loss to Chelsea in November but they are currently the form team in the division, winning five of their last six. Had Arsenal won their midweek game in hand against Bolton, they would have been just a point off the leaders, leaving two teams ready to pounce if the Blues slip up. As snow forced the match's postponement, its only Manchester United two points behind who can leapfrog Chelsea with one result and the champions look far more likely to stumble again first.

Chelsea have no reason to fear January

Chelsea shouldn't fear a January without Didier Drogba, Michael Essien, John Obi Mikel and Salomon Kalou. They could draw a match this month and still stay top and their fixtures are all winnable: Hull (away), Sunderland (home), Birmingham (home) and Burnley (away). Even more significantly, they were missing the same four players in January 2008, a month they approached in far worse shape and third in the league, but won all eight of their matches four in the league (including London derbies against Fulham and Tottenham), two Carling Cup semi-finals with Everton and two FA Cup ties.

The chasing pack have far trickier weeks ahead

While Chelsea have got an ideal upcoming schedule, Manchester United face Birmingham, Arsenal and Aston Villa on their next three away days, having lost four times on the road already this season. After this weekend's home clash with Everton, Arsenal are the visitors for what will be Owen Coyle's first home match as Bolton boss and then face Aston Villa, Manchester United, Chelsea (away) and Liverpool a run broken only by a tough cup trip to Stoke. The Blues will inevitably have a few hiccups later on in the season, but by then they should already boast a comfortable lead.