We’re rattling towards Chelsea’s second game of the season, and already the pressure is rising on the Blues.
After a good end to the season was followed by a Conference League and a Club World Cup win, and after the Blues spent big and did well in the transfer market, hopes and expectations on Enzo Maresca’s team rose dramatically.
They were seriously included in discussions about who could win the title – let’s not forget they had title-winning form for the first third of last season. If they could extend that a little longer this year, they could certainly be in the mix.
But football rarely plays out as you expect it to, and after two months of hype (and two great wins in friendly games the week before to raise expectations even higher) the Blues played out a painfully dry 0-0 draw with Crystal Palace in their home opener.
It was quite the damp squib after a lot of pre-match pomp and ceremony unveiling various “World Champions” murals. This team only had 10 days of training in the build up to the game and it showed.
The attack in particular was slow and lifeless, lacking all the incisive and decisive moves we saw just a week before against AC Milan and Bayer Leverkusen.
Well, their chance to make up for it comes pretty soon. After Sunday’s draw, they’re back in action for their second game on Friday night when they face West Ham.
If you check out the odds at your local 1 dollar deposit casino nz, or wherever you like to bet, you’ll see the Blues are heavy favourites.
That’s not just because the bookies are buying into the hype about us being good – it’s also because West Ham look bad.
They were struggling for most of last season, and don’t really look to have taken on Graham Potter’s message at all. In fact
They went into this summer needing to get much better – and instead have lost Mohammed Kudus and generally got weaker. They lost their opening game 3-0 to promoted Sunderland a week ago, which is about as ominous an opening day result as you could hope for.
We doubt Potter lasts beyond September, and Chelsea need to hasten that exit by getting their season into gear with a comfortable win over the Hammers on Friday night.
Fail to win for a second game in a row and things will go from a false start to a misfire.
