Chelsea has one of the most expensively assembled teams in football, but its yo-yo performances this season are worrying its fans.
Nonetheless, despite winning only 50 per cent of its games and losing 25 per cent, the London club is now in fourth place in the English Premier League table with 49 points.
Liverpool (70), Arsenal (55) and surprise package Nottingham Forest (51) are above Chelsea, with Manchester City fifth on 47 points, the same as Newcastle but with a better goal difference.
Liverpool and Newcastle are not in action in the EPL this week as they will contest the League Cup final on March 17 (12.30am, Malaysian time).
Chelsea can cement fourth place in the standings when it travels across London to Arsenal on March 16 (9.30pm).
It has a good record against its London neighbour, and earlier this season, the teams drew 1-1 at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea has not won a trophy since lifting the Fifa Club World Cup in 2021, but it reached the quarterfinals of the Europa Conference League after defeating Copenhagen 3-1 on aggregate.
It will play Legia Warszawa for a place in the semifinals. Chelsea rested several first team players against Copenhagen ahead of the Arsenal game.
Arsenal, meanwhile, is desperate to catch Liverpool but knows it can’t afford to drop any more points after collecting just one from its last three matches.
That poor form has seen Nottingham Forest close the gap to four points with 10 games remaining.
The Gunners reached the Champions League quarterfinals by hammering PSV Eindhoven 9-2 on aggregate and will play Real Madrid for a place in the semifinals.
The Londoners have never won Europe’s elite football competition.
In other matches, Manchester City hosts Brighton, who is only a point behind.
At the bottom of the table, it looks like the three promoted sides – Ipswich, Leicester and Southampton – will make a swift return to the Championship unless they can turn things around in the next 10 games.
Fixtures (Malaysian time)
March 15
Everton vs West Ham (11pm)
Southampton vs Wolves (11pm)
Ipswich vs Nottingham Forest (11pm)
Manchester City vs Brighton (11pm)
March 16
Bournemouth vs Brentford (1.30am)
Arsenal vs Chelsea (9.30pm)
Fulham vs Tottenham (9.30pm)
March 17
Leicester vs Manchester United (3am)
