Sky Sports pundit and former Manchester United star, Gary Neville, says while he’s impressed with the way Chelsea are playing this season, he isn’t certain they’re the favourites. Yet.
Chelsea are currently on the top of the table and have won all of their last eleven Premier League games. Antonio Conte has had his side reverse the tide after their disastrous 3-0 loss to Arsenal in September. But Neville says the Blues still can't be the outright favourites given their habit of depending on two vital players – Diego Costa and Eden Hazard.
And should one of them get injured, it could curtail Chelsea’s season.
“I didn’t think they would be champions at the start of the season,” he said. “I’m still not sure, I wouldn’t fully trust any of them yet, but they do like they are producing the type (champions) performances.
“The Southampton away one, that’s the one where I thought, that’s a championship winning performance. But it is too early in the season to hand them the title. You still have to have doubts over them through the fact, for instance, if you got an injury to Eden Hazard, an injury to Diego Costa.
“You have to throw in the doubts that exist. They are such important players,” he added.
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But at the same time, Neville says the quality of their performances are championship winning-esque. “They have got the mental strength,” he continued.
“If they steer clear of injuries, they’ve got a great fixture programme over Christmas, they’ve got players who’ve won the league before, they’ve got a lot going for them.
“Does that mean to say I’m sure they’ll win the league?
"No.
"There are still too many variables for me. But I like what I am seeing from them, they are playing well, I like watching them and they have a really good balance.”
Chelsea are on a goal-scoring spree this season with Diego Costa leading the race for the Golden Boot. But what’s working for them is the kind of shape, their solid defence and when things get really bad, their keeper – who has the kind of talent to sniff out chances and clear the danger. And Neville feels Courtois is having a ‘world-class’ season with the club.
He said: “People think I’m critical of goalkeepers but they’ve got a world-class goalkeeper who I love watching. He is a goalkeeper I’d love to have in my net. Please put that in your headline: Thibaut Courtois - wonderful.”
