It is now official- there won’t be a trophy for Mauricio Pochettino in his first season at Chelsea. Eliminated from the FA Cup earlier today by Manchester City, the Blues only have one thing left to play for- Conference League qualification. They’re three points behind 7th place Manchester United, but they do have a game in hand on the Red Devils.
Of course, they’ll have to leapfrog eighth place West Ham United too, in order to reach this point.
Chelsea at Arsenal FYIs
Kick: Tue. Apr. 23, 8pm local, Emirates Stadium
Starting XI Predictions: Chelsea Arsenal
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 16% Arsenal 64% Draw 20%
Form Guide: Chelsea WDWDW Arsenal WLWWD
PL Position: Chelsea 47 pts, 9th Arsenal 74 pts, 1st
Of course, there are also some scenarios in which England gets a fifth Champions League place, and thus the Europa League and Conference league slots go to teams that are further down the table, so there is also that possibility for Chelsea.
We would detail all that out for you right now, but honestly, we’re just kind of tired and that would take a long time. Chelsea just needs to take care of business, starting with the London derby on Tuesday night.
Starting XI Prediction at Arsenal
Djorde Petrovic; Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Thiago Silva, Marc Cucurella; Moises Caicedo, Conor Gallagher; Mykhailo Mudryk, Cole Palmer, Raheem Sterling; Nicolas Jackson
Paul M. Banks is the Founding Editor of The Sports Bank. He’s also the author of “Transatlantic Passage: How the English Premier League Redefined Soccer in America,” and “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry.”
He currently contributes to Ravens Wire, part of the USA Today SMG’s NFL Wire Network and the Internet Baseball Writers Association of America. His past bylines include the New York Daily News, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and the Washington Times. You can follow him on Twitter.