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Going into last weekend Chelsea’s place in the league table was a good one. Despite crashing shockingly out of the Champions League with a loss to Inter-Milan at Stamford Bridge, the Blues were within striking distance of Manchester United.

Just two points behind the league leaders and with a game in hand, they could afford the luxury of confidence.

And while Chelsea were set to visit mid-table side Blackburn Rovers at Ewood Park, Manchester United were facing the much more daunting task of hosting bitter rivals Liverpool.

Chelsea manager Carlo Ancelotti had to like the odds of his club leapfrogging into first place again. 

The plans of mice and men…

Chelsea’s confidence was not unwarranted, yet the Londoners found that Sam Allardyce’s Blackburn Rovers were disinclined to roll over for them and the best Chelsea could do at Ewood Park was to come away with a point.

Two points dropped, their game in hand over United effectively nullified, the Blues came out of the weekend in third place, two points behind Arsenal and four behind United. Suffice to say it was a bad week for Chelsea.

Some consolation came on Wednesday, however, in the 5-0 victory over Portsmouth. Chelsea regained second place with that win, leapfrogging over Arsenal. They’re now one point behind Manchester United.

With seven games remaining Carlo Ancelotti must keep his team focused on maximum points during the run in. April 3rd will be the acid test, however. That is when Chelsea travel north to Old Trafford for the massive fixture against Manchester United.

Will Ancelotti be job-hunting after the season?

Speculators now speculate that Carlo Ancelotti’s job is on the line. The rumor mill grinds out the message that if Chelsea doesn’t win the league Ancelotti gets the old heave-ho.

The Italian has denied this, but speculation will probably continue, fueled no doubt by a rumored clubhouse harangue supposedly meted out by Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich following the defeat to Inter.

Chelsea coach Ray Wilkins claims the oligarch’s visit to the clubhouse was low key and positive, but there can be little doubt that Roman Abramovich is frustrated by his team’s failures in Europe. And with Ancelotti being the fourth manager since Jose Mourinho’s departure, another change, were it to happen, should surprise no one.

Ancelotti remains upbeat, however, at least publicly. "First of all I believe that we will do well this year," he said. "However, my future will definitely be at Chelsea next year, independent of results."

The results Ancelotti is looking for are points, 86 of them to be precise. "I like statistics and I think that, in the past, with 86 points every team has won the title," Ancelotti said. "I think that we need to get 86 points to win.”

Injuries hurting Chelsea’s chances

With number one goalkeeper Petr Cech ready for a return to the side Ancelotti’s title hopes are improved. But injuries continue to plague the squad. The most recent entries to the Chelsea convalescent home are defenders Branislav Ivanovic, who tore a knee ligament in the Blackburn game and will be out for a month, and Ricardo Carvalho, who was injured in the Portsmouth match. Carvalho will also be out for a month, possibly longer.

Ivanovic and Carvalho join Michael Essien, Ashley Cole, Jose Bosingwa and goalkeeper Henrique Hilario in convalescence.

Opportunities lost

Aston Villa beat Chelsea 2-1 at Villa Park in their previous encounter this season. Since that time Villa have kept up a steady pressure in their quest for the hotly-contested fourth place in the league.

Four clubs, including Villa, are in contention for that final Champions League qualifying position.

A win over Wigan last week will have whetted the Villains’ appetites for European qualification, but their ambitions have been blunted by a pair of disappointing home results since then.

Wolves managed to get a deserved 2-2 draw at Villa Park on Saturday, and then Sunderland held Villa to a 1-1 draw at Villa Park on Wednesday.

The two draws meant Villa were unable to take maximum advantage of Liverpool, who lost to Manchester United last weekend. Liverpool’s loss combined with Villa’s draws means both clubs go into the weekend on 51 points, although Liverpool hold the sixth position in the league and Villa the seventh due to goal difference.

Hope springs eternal,…

Villa still have a game in hand over Liverpool, however, and in light of Manchester City’s 0-2 loss at home to Everton on Wednesday, Villa manager Martin O’Neill isn’t quite ready to give up on finishing fourth, stating, “the Manchester City result keeps us in there still…Tottenham will be delighted that the two of us have dropped points but we all have some tough fixtures ahead. It is going to be really tight and there will be many twists and turns in the final part of the season before things are settled.''

Despite their disappointing results against Wolves and Sunderland, Manager Martin O’Neill and his men can at least draw comfort from the fact that they haven’t lost a league match since December. That was against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium.

The picture isn’t all rosy, though. Of the 10 games since their last loss, Villa have won only three; they’ve drawn seven. 

Injuries threaten Villa

Emile Heskey, James Milner and Richard Dunne are all suffering from Achilles tendon issues. And with Gabriel Agbonlahor possibly out too, any thought O’Neill had about mixing up his squad to rest players for the run in to the end of the season—a tactic he optimistically alluded to last week-- seems like wishful thinking now.

Neither club can afford to squander points

Every league game is big for Chelsea now but none bigger than the showdown with Manchester United at Old Trafford on April 3. That game may decide the championship. Other fixtures loom large too, however. Chelsea face Tottenham at White Hart Lane on April 17 and Liverpool at Anfield on the penultimate weekend of the season. But first Chelsea have to get points against Aston Villa this weekend to keep the pressure on their title rivals.

Villa, on the other hand, will be unlikely to yield points cheaply as the season winds down. Despite injury concerns to key players, Villa’s Ashley Young and John Carew have proven troublesome for the opposition in recent matches and Martin O’Neill will be looking for the pair to take the game to Chelsea. 
 

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