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When Antonio Conte signed up to become the boss at Chelsea, he was expected to immediately turn a team around that Jose Mourinho had effectively destroyed. Under Mourinho in the 2015-16 season, the Blues were actually threatened by relegation into the new year before he was sacked, and they ultimately finished 10th. Conte did the job, leading Chelsea to a comfortable championship in the Premier League and reinstalling it as one of the most notable sides in Europe. Next up? A repeat performance and perhaps a Champions League title in 2018.
Chelsea Premier League Futures Odds
Odds To Win Premier League: +300
Odds To Finish Top 4: -400
Total Points Over/Under: 78.5
Chelsea actually isn't the favorite to repeat this season as Premier League champion; that title goes to Manchester City. The Blues are still going to believe they're on top until proven otherwise, though, and that's why they're the co-second favorites alongside Manchester United at +300.
Chelsea will obviously have huge expectations this year after logging a whopping 93 points a season ago, especially with those 30 wins, the most in the history of the EPL.
Chelsea Competitions in 2017-18
English Premier League
FA Cup (3rd Round)
EFL Cup (3rd Round)
Champions League (Group Stage)
Part of the reason why Chelsea was able to run away and hide from the rest of the Premier League at the end of 2017 was because of its lack of a European schedule. Sure, the team had the FA Cup to lean on through to the finale (where it lost to Arsenal), but not having all those midweek games to conquer really kept Conte's side fresh.
This year, the Blues will have to deal with all of the major competitions. Anything less than a deep run in the FA Cup and at least a trip into the quarterfinals of the Champions League will be considered a huge disappointment.
What's New?
Bringing in Alvaro Morata was Real Madrid was a huge steal, albeit one that came with a hefty 65 million Euro transfer fee. Morata figures to step right into an attacking position for Conte, perhaps signaling the ultimate end for Diego Costa, who was never really seeming to fit with what the Italian boss was looking for from him. Tiemoe Bakayoko will likely end up at one of the wing positions in the midfield more often than not, though he'll be fighting with both Pedro and Victor Moses for playing time.
What's Gone?
It isn't all that certain Nemanja Matic was going to have a spot in the Chelsea rotation anyway. The defensive midfielder was always likely to spend more time on the bench than on the pitch in the biggest of matches, thus it only made sense to try to transfer him out. Manchester United took the bait and paid almost 45 million Euros to move him to Old Trafford.
Nathan Ake and Juan Cuadrado were both probably only going to be temporary pieces to the puzzle, while long-time captain, John Terry's move to Aston Villa came as no surprise either.
Chelsea 2017-18 Predictions
The biggest challenge for Conte is going to be figuring out how to keep the same degree of balance defensively in 2017-18 as he had in 2016-17. At some point, we envision another defensive transfer, especially with as questionable as David Luiz and Cesar Azpilicueta looked at the end of last season.
The Blues are still going to be good, and they'll surely finish in the top four once again, but the only question that matters is if they can repeat as champions. We're doubting it. Costa seems like a lost soul destined for a move either before the end of August or at some point in January, and if Morata isn't truly read to wear that lone striker badge at Stamford Bridge, so many of those one-goal wins from a campaign ago could turn into costly draws.
By most metrics, the season will be a success, but we don't see any hardware coming Chelsea's way in 2017-18.
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