Chelsea will finish this 2023-24 season in mid-table and trophyless because they are a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde kind of side. “We are capable of having an amazing performance and three days after, we show the extremes,” manager Mauricio Pochettino said after yesterday’s 5-0 destruction at the hands of Arsenal.
“Our standards are not sustained for the bad days. When we have bad days, we are so bad.”
Chelsea FC at Aston Villa FYIs
Kickoff: Sat. Apr. 24, 8pm, Villa Park, Birmingham, UK
Chelsea Preview Material: Full Fitness/Injury Report Starting XI Prediction
Transatlantic Passage: How the Premier League Redefined Soccer in America: LINK
PL Position, Form: Chelsea 9th, 47 pts, LWDWD Aston Villa 4th, 66 pts, WWDLW
Google Result Probability: Chelsea 32% Draw 26% Aston Villa 42%
“When we are good, we are capable of everything. It is another thing we need to be aware that we need to increase for the future.”
So yesterday was the bad, and there has been plenty more of that this season. As for the good, well, they did beat Aston Villa, Saturday’s opponent in the Premier League, in the quarterfinals of the FA Cup this season.
They also progressed all the way to the finals of the EFL Cup where they pushed Liverpool to the very brink, before finally falling. The thrilling draw with Manchester City earlier this season in the league was nice too.
Chelsea FC Starting XI Prediction at Aston Villa
Djorde Petrovic; Thiago Silva, Axel Disasi, Benoit Badiashile, Marc Cucurella; Enzo Fernandez, Moises Caicedo; Mykhailo Mudryk, Cole Palmer, Noni Madueke; 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.