Sky Sports pundit Gary Neville claims he made Chelsea top 4 contenders after watching Enzo Maresca’s side against Manchester City on the opening day of the season.

Despite the Blues losing the game 2-0, Neville said that he had already seen enough to convince him that they could compete at the top of the table:

“Believe it or not, on Sunday I watched Man City beat Chelsea, and I looked at that and I changed my mind even though Chelsea lost.”

“I thought there were a lot of things I saw out there that I liked. So, I actually put Chelsea in my top 4. Carra winged about it, got mad because I changed my mind but viewers at home didn’t know that I changed my mind because it hadn’t gone out.”

“I just saw something in the shape, something in the team, something in midfield and I thought, if that team connects, there is a big ask it could finish in top 4, so I put them in my top four.”

Neville’s predictions are not exactly foolproof

Before any supporters go around heralding Neville as some sort of mystic soothsayer, though, he also included Manchester United in his top four, along with Arsenal and Manchester City – leaving out Liverpool.

Even so, the fact that he could see what Maresca was trying to do so early on does suggest the Italian’s tactics and philosophy were already evident out on the pitch.

What are the chances of Chelsea finishing in the Champions League places?

According to Opta’s supercomputer, which runs 1000s of simulations to generate a final league table, the Blues have a 54.18% chance of finishing in the top 4 this season.

There are only three teams (Manchester City, Arsenal and Liverpool) who have higher percentages at the moment.

Find out who is in Chelsea’s first-team squad for the 2024/2025 season here