There is huge value in Chelsea’s Premier League outright odds next season

Liverpool’s dominance during this season’s edition of the Premier League left little room for speculation when it came to a title-challenger.

Manchester City have at times been typically ruthless, blowing sides out of the water with their sensational play - including against the aforementioned Liverpool just last week. Well, a version of the Reds anyway, more so a group of 11 players who still appeared to be half cut from the recent title celebrations and as such succumbed to a rather humiliating-yet-meaningless 4-0 thumping at the Etihad.

In the same breath, Pep Guardiola’s side have shown signs of faltering, dropping points to teams that they wouldn’t have dreamt of losing to before.

The juxtaposition was perfectly highlighted on Sunday evening, just four days after thrashing the league champions the Cityzens were stunned by Southampton at an empty St Mary’s, beaten 1-0 by statistically the second-worst performing home side in the whole division, despite being priced up as overwhelming 3/10 favourites to obtain all three points on the south coast.

To maintain such a high level of performance for the entirety of a third consecutive campaign was always going to be a huge ask, and naturally the cracks have begun to show, ever so slightly, in M11. Liverpool may well experience a similar thing next season, after what has been such a successful season (strictly on the pitch) for a club who had been desperately yearning for top-flight success for such a long period of time.

The Reds were flawless last term, but so were City so the title returned to Manchester. They were even stronger this time out and City - by their own obscenely high standards - were not, therefore the trophy’s final destination proved to be Anfield.

But the Premier League is not made up of just two clubs, even though at times it feels like it is thanks to seemingly endless amounts of media hyperbole. City have long been known as Manchester United’s noisy neighbours, but of late the roles have been reversed and it is the Sky Blue side of Manchester which resides in the gleaming new house with the white picket fence, while United’s four bed semi and Ford Galaxy just moments down the street do their utmost to disrupt daily proceedings. 

United have looked strong since the restart, unbeaten in the Premier League (three wins, one draw) while they also find themselves into the semi-finals of the FA Cup following a prolonged extra-time win over Norwich last month. Bruno Fernandes looks to be a top quality acquisition, while the return of Paul Pogba has breathed new life into Ole Gunnar Solskjaer’s previously flatlining side. It is greatly expected that next season the Red Devils will mount a serious challenge for the title.

Then there is Chelsea. An exciting young side, led by an exciting young manager who have at times displayed their stark quality this season. Homegrown talents such as Tammy Abraham, Reece James, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Mason Mount and Fikayo Tomori are all front and centre in the Blues’ refreshing new ideology, while players like Christian Pulisic, Ross Barkley and Olivier Giroud have all impressed since the restart, as the west London club are now as short as 2/5 to finish in the Premier League top-four betting.

The signings of highly rated striker Timo Werner from RB Leipzig and playmaker Hakim Ziyech from Ajax will only further strengthen a side who look more than capable of challenging Liverpool and Manchester City for next season’s Premier League trophy. Even 31-year-old winger Willian, who has been a club stalwart since arriving from Anzhi Makhachkala back in 2013, looks as if he is a new signing in his early-20s rather than a player approaching the twilight stages of his career.

The Brazilian is playing some of the best football of his career and has scored more goals this season than he has done throughout the previous seven years, finding the net nine times alongside registering five assists in his 32 league appearances. Willian is out of contract at the end of August and could well move on from Stamford Bridge as Lampard & Co. transfuse fresh blood into the club, though at the moment it does seem as if he has plenty more to give to the cause, in whichever capacity that may be.

One of the most poignant Chelsea performances this season came a fortnight ago when the Blues officially denied Manchester City the league title, just four years after they had done the very same thing to Tottenham at the Battle of the Bridge.

The west Londoners’ performance against Manchester City signalled a real change; the level of organisation, resilience in defending and speed on the counter attack all attributed towards a near-on perfect performance, against a team who so badly embarrassed them 6-0 when the two sides met just 17 months ago.

The Blues' Premier League winner odds for next season currently stand at 16/1 with William Hill, and I can’t help but feel that price offers tremendous value given the personnel they have available to them and the shrewd business they have completed so far.

Timo Werner's explosive pace and directness seems, on the face of it, to be a perfect fit for an agile side who rely heavily on the speed of their transitional play. Pressing from the front and deadly on the counter - just like they were against City - suits the Germany international down to the ground, and while his talents will be put to the test in the Premier League after years of the limelight being hogged in the Bundesliga, there is little to suggest that he will be a flop on English shores.

Hakim Ziyech is one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in world football right now, and played a pivotal part in Ajax's success in the Champions League last season. Again, the Moroccan is yet to taste the physicality of the English top-flight, though having witnessed his performances in Europe - albeit in bitesize format - he looks to have exactly what it takes to cut it against the very best in the business. 

Both Ben Chilwell and Declan Rice are being heavily linked with a move to the Bridge, two top-class players which would hugely benefit the club and fit effortlessly into Lampard's dynamic system. West Ham midfielder Rice actually began his career in the Blues' academy system before moving to east London in 2014, and is priced as short as 4/6 to re-sign for the west London club ahead of next season.

Chelsea are also favourites to sign England's first-choice left-back Chilwell from Leicester City at odds of 8/11, another player who would only strengthen the options available to manager Frank Lampard and further bolster their chances of winning the title next season.

Of course, it is going to take something special to overthrow Liverpool from the top of their perch considering how hard they have fought to get there, but as we saw this season with Manchester City, maintaining such a high level of consistent performance is bound to take its toll sooner rather than later. 

City themselves will be chomping at the bit to right the wrongdoings of this campaign in 2020-21. The current bookmaker favourites at evens, Pep Guardiola’s side will always be the team to beat in the top-flight but Chelsea have shown that they are capable of doing so this season, and I think that if they can iron out some of the inconsistencies that have held them back throughout this testing campaign, namely conceding so many goals (at the time of writing the Blues have shipped 44 goals - 19 more than Liverpool and 13 more than Leicester), then they could be genuine contenders for the title.

At 16/1, their odds certainly represent terrific value, especially with William Hill as they are priced at odds of just 10/1 with Betfair.