Punters refuse to dismiss in-form Chelsea

"That's why we're champions" was the cry of the Stamford Bridge crowd after Ramires stylishly sealed a 2-0 victory for Chelsea over Manchester City and judging by the movement in their title odds on Betfair over the weekend, nobody is willing to write off the possibility of it happening again.

The Blues have shot in from [9.8] to [6.8], which has to be considered a staggering shift given that current leaders Manchester United actually won their match - 1-0 with ten men against Bolton - meaning that they didn't actually make up any ground to justify such a drop.

The conclusion to draw is that the Chelsea sceptics had decided that Manchester City would kill off Carlo Ancelotti's side's chances once and for all on Sunday, and that their ability to overcome that hurdle has caused even their critics to ponder whether they can complete an unthinkable comeback.

It's an incredible turnaround for the bold punter that managed to put money on the holders at a massive [65.0] not that long ago, as he or she at the very least now has a brilliant opportunity to lay off their bet at significantly shorter odds.

Ancelotti won't be getting too excited yet though as his team remain nine points behind Manchester United and while they can cut that to three by winning their game in hand at home to Birmingham and beating the table-toppers at Old Trafford, they will still trail by three.

Sir Alex Ferguson's [1.62] favourites are in total control of their own destiny and will feel that it was a decent weekend on the whole for them given that Arsenal ([4.3]) fell five points behind with a draw at West Brom, however they are yet to visit the Gunners so it's all still to play for.

Who would you back for the title at this point? Share a prediction below...

Published: 21 Mar 2011

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