With less than a month to go and the Premier League to wrap up the season, Aston Villa is the busiest team in the Premier League with three games left in Europe, with seven games to complete in 25 days. If you want to achieve the goal of the end of the season, you may need the "help" of Manchester United.
Previously, due to the Carabao Cup final and the FA Cup knockout round, Chelsea had a total of three postponed games waiting to be played. Starting this week, three make-up fixtures began in quick succession, with three of Chelsea's final four weeks needing two games a week, a total of seven league games in just 25 days, the most congested of any Premier League team.
In the past month, Palmer has shone brightly, scoring frequently to give Chelsea a lot of victories, and in the six-goal victory over Everton, he staged a "big four", and in the Premier League scorer list, he has caught up with Haaland, tied for first place, and launched an attack on the Premier League Golden Boot. However, Chelsea's goals have been inconsistent and the rest of the squad has often wasted more chances, making it difficult to get the results you want in important games.
The Carabao Cup final and FA Cup semi-finals are good examples, with Chelsea unable to capitalise on their chances against a heavily disorganized Liverpool squad and Manchester City facing an almost exhausted side. Two cup defeats have left Chelsea with a season of four empty games, with Pochettino missing out on all the titles he had hoped for.
Chelsea have shown 'random' wins in recent Premier League games, beating strong opponents such as Newcastle and Manchester United, as well as drawing against relegation zone weakers such as Sheffield United and Burnley. Therefore, it is understandable that Chelsea have been stagnant in the Premier League table, and it is difficult to go further. In fact, Chelsea really gets a lot of offensive opportunities in every game, whether the game is won depends on whether the striker "gives a gift", and the unstable goal efficiency seriously restricts the team's final result, and a striker like Jackson has become the target of criticism from fans.
This season, Chelsea, who did not have a European competition task, did not take advantage of the loose schedule, and the runners-up in the League Cup and the semi-finals of the FA Cup were the answers. Trying to qualify for next season's three major European Cups with nothing to chance is Pochettino's only task in the final stages. At the moment, with the Premier League struggling to secure additional Champions League 'bonus' spots, the top five teams have fallen some distance away and are largely unable to catch up.
As a result, Chelsea will have to qualify for the Europa League or the UEFA Conference Cup if they want to qualify for Europe. Now, the Carabao Cup will belong to Liverpool, and a European place will be vacated, and if the FA Cup is won by Manchester United, it will lock in a Europa League qualification, and if Manchester United cannot win the title, Europa League qualification will be extended to sixth place in the Premier League.
According to the Premier League table, Chelsea are ninth with 47 points, three points less than Newcastle and Manchester United in sixth and seventh, but with one game in hand, two points less than eighth-placed West Ham, but with three games in hand, they still have a chance to be at the top of the table.
So, there are only two ways for Chelsea to qualify for Europe. If they finish sixth, they will definitely qualify for the Europa League or the UEFA Conference Cup, depending on whether United win the FA Cup. If they finish seventh, they will need the help of Manchester United, if they finish sixth or win the FA Cup, Chelsea will be able to participate in the UEFA Conference Cup, and if they win the FA Cup and fall out of the top six, Chelsea will not get anything and will continue without European competitions.
In the final 25 days, Chelsea need to face Arsenal, Aston Villa, Tottenham, West Ham, Nottingham Forest, Brighton and Bournemouth.