Having seen rival boss Alex Ferguson label Chelsea as favourites, despite his team’s comfortable victory in the Community Shield, few would argue that a Didier Drogba-powered Chelsea side will be easy to dislodge as Premier League holders.
After securing a first double for the club last season, and successfully maintaining the key core of that squad, manager Carlo Ancelotti will be expecting to retain the title this season. If he is to achieve this aim, Chelsea’s talisman, Drogba, will need to replicate the form that he produced last season.
Having been Chelsea’s leading man last season, despite missing part of the campaign to take part in the African Cup of Nations, Drogba’s form may well be the key to Chelsea retaining the title, and attempting to earn a first Champions League success. Most pundits make Chelsea betting tips to land at least one trophy.
However, this season will see the absence of Ricardo Carvalho, a factor that may well prove decisive as Chelsea aim to defend their title. Having allowed the experienced campaigner to leave the club, many fans will be concerned about a lack of depth at the back. However, with Branislav Ivanovic looking a more solid defender with every season that passes, many Chelsea fans will be confident that the Blues will be able to see off competition from rivals Manchester United and big spending Manchester City in the coming season.
With owner Roman Abramovich not looking likely to sanction a big money defensive signing, Chelsea may well be forced to rely upon emerging talent from their youth team ranks, with youngster Michael Mancienne among those who will be competing to make the step up to the first team.
With the Premier League looking more competitive than ever, Chelsea fans will be hoping it will be them that end up as top dog come the end of the season.
Next up for Chelsea is a trip to Wigan, a side beaten 4-0 by Blackpool this weekend.
Given that result, few people would make Wigan betting tips to win the game so it looks like the Blues are set for a perfect start to the season.
Blue is the colour
