At the start of the 2014/15 Premier League season, Chelsea’s odds on winning the quadruple would have been in the region of 500-1 with some bookmakers. But after a fine start to their title campaign, the Blues are into 66-1 to lift all four trophies in 2015.
In terms of their chances of winning the Premier League title, the Blues are in pole position as they are odds-on at the top of the outright market at betting.betfair blog. Going in to 2015, they are three points clear of rivals Manchester City.
At the start of the 2014/15 Premier League season, Chelsea’s odds on winning the quadruple would have been in the region of 500-1 with some bookmakers. But after a fine start to their title campaign, the Blues are into 66-1 to lift all four trophies in 2015.
In terms of their chances of winning the Premier League title, the Blues are in pole position as they are odds-on at the top of the outright market at betting.betfair blog. Going in to 2015, they are three points clear of rivals Manchester City.
The stats seem to be in Chelsea’s favour, too. On all three previous occasions that they have sat top of the Premier League table on Christmas day, they have gone on to win the trophy. Seven of the last ten leaders at Christmas have also gone on to convert that top spot into the title. The momentous thrills of 2014 have been and gone but Chelsea could be making history in 2015.
Jose Mourinho’s side look to have only Manchester City to shrug off in the second half of the season. Manchester United have improved under Louis van Gaal but their ten-point deficit looks too much to claw back. Meanwhile, Liverpool and Arsenal have both been well off the pace with poor campaigns so far.
Blues boss Mourinho wasted no time in the summer as he got his transfer activity done before the World Cup and it was a great bit of business as he added to his squad with exactly what was missing last season.
Diego Costa has proved to be an exceptional signing as he has stepped up to be the leading talisman for the team. His 13 league goals this season have only been bettered by Sergio Aguero at City.
Didier Drogba also returned to the club for his second spell and, although he is not a shade of the player he was when terrorising defences in the 2000s, he has played his part in the success so far this season.
Cesc Fabregas has also gives the Blues a different dimension when going forward. The Spanish international tops the assists chart in the 2014/15 campaign with 13 to his name so far, five clear of next best Gylfi Sigurdsson. A lot of Chelsea fans questioned the signing of a former Arsenal player when he joined from Barcelona, but the ex-Gunner has proved himself to the Stamford Bridge faithful with some stunning performances in a blue shirt since arriving.
January is a big month for Chelsea’s quadruple hopes as fixtures come thick and fast. In the Premier League they are faced with ties against Tottenham, Newcastle, Swansea and Manchester City. The latter is at Stamford Bridge where the Blues will have home advantage in what will be a huge game when it comes to deciding where the title will end up at the end of the campaign.
The Champions League is a trophy Mourinho would love to win at Chelsea in the future. He has captured it twice so far as a manager but that was when in charge of Porto and Inter Milan.
Chelsea are fourth best in the outright betting at 7/1 for Europe’s premier competition which suggests they have a realistic chance this season. Holders Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are the three clubs ahead of them in the market but Chelsea are the shortest of the English clubs still left in the tournament.
A last-16 tie with PSG will take place over two legs in February and the Blues are odds-on to qualify from that clash, just like they did against their French opponents last season at the quarter-final stage.
Under the reigns of Mourinho, Chelsea are capable of beating any side in Europe on their day. They may need a bit of luck to go their way, whether that is with the draw or at various points in their games now that we are into the knockout stage of the competition, but they are serious runners.
The one trophy which Chelsea are the closest to getting their hands on in their quadruple bid is the Capital One Cup.
It has to be said the draw has been very kind to the Premier League leaders in the tournament so far but they will now have to overcome Liverpool over two legs if they are to reach the final at Wembley.
Liverpool have been shaky this season, so, on paper, Chelsea should come out on top, as the betting suggests. However, this is the Merseyside club’s best chance of silverware so they are likely to make it their priority. For Chelsea, meanwhile, it is probably fourth best in terms of where they would rank each competition.
Despite it being the lowest priority for Chelsea this season, Mourinho has taken it very seriously so far with a strong team selection in each round. That is unlike many other of his fellow Premier League managers. The Portuguese coach won the League Cup twice in his first spell at the club. He lifted the trophy in 2005 when they beat Liverpool at the Millennium Stadium, while two years later it was Arsenal they defeated in the Welsh capital.
The final leg of Chelsea’s quadruple attempt starts at the weekend when they play their first game of the FA Cup. The bookmakers make the Blues the 5-1 favourites in the outright betting for the world’s oldest cup competition.
The West London club’s third round tie is against Championship opposition Watford at Stamford Bridge. They are 1/6 to come through that game and make it into the hat for the fourth round. Mourinho will probably give some of the fringe players in the squad their chance to impress but regardless of the team he fields, it still should be good enough to pick up the win.
Surprisingly, Mourinho won the FA Cup just once in his previous spell at the club. That success came in 2007 when Chelsea beat Manchester United in the first final to be played at the new Wembley Stadium. It proved to be the last major trophy the Portuguese man won with the club before he departed the following September.
