Chelsea are within touching distance of Premier League glory and Tottenham Hotspur’s defeat to West Ham on Friday evening has put Antonio Conte’s side well in the driving seat for success, ahead of tonight’s clash with Middlesbrough.
Hosting a side at Stamford Bridge that will be relegated with a defeat tonight, the pressure is on Chelsea to do what they need to as failure to achieve victory will leave the door open for Tottenham to continue their push towards glory in the final three games of the Premier League campaign.
Given Middlesbrough’s woeful form this season, with the Teesside outfit winning five matches and scoring just 26 goals, Chelsea are expected to sweep aside their North Eastern opponents in tonight’s clash but the Blues will have to respond to the pressure.
After storming towards the title during the first-half of the campaign, Chelsea have endured a bit of a blip since January and that has allowed a title race to be carved open out of nowhere, with the Blues now under scrutiny.
Chelsea’s squad depth has lacked significantly, something that will need to be improved in the close-season ahead of their return to the Champions League, but the Blues have enough quality to achieve the result they need this evening.
Whilst victory tonight will not mathematically seal the title for Chelsea, it would open a seven-point lead over second-placed Tottenham Hotspur and would give the Blues the opportunity to clinch the Premier League crown next weekend.
Chelsea travel to West Brom on Friday evening, with Tottenham Hotspur clashing with Manchester United on Sunday, and a victory against the Baggies would seal the title for Chelsea- but they’ll have to win tonight first.
Whilst Middlesbrough shouldn’t be too difficult an opposition to conquer, the Blues will face a tough physical battle against a side that know their chances of securing Premier League survival are significantly slim.
Middlesbrough currently sit eight points from safety with three games remaining and cannot afford to lose any of their remaining matches. Chelsea can expect to face a side that’s extremely attacking this evening, as a draw wouldn’t necessarily be good enough for Boro, and that’s something they can capitalise on.
At times this season, Chelsea haven’t coped well with pressure as they’ve been defeated by Crystal Palace, Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester United in recent months, during games where the Blues have been tested thoroughly.
Tonight Chelsea will be tested again, with Boro set to fight to keep their Premier League status, but Chelsea should be able to secure victory if they keep their heads and it would allow the Blues to potentially seal the title before Spurs even kick a ball again.