Chelsea have a "great chance" of finishing in the top four this season despite trailing West Ham in the race after the Hammes' huge win over Leicester City.
That's according to former Chelsea defender Wayne Bridge, who has backed the Blues to qualify for Champions League football again next season.
The race to finish inside the Champions League positions is as tight as ever with Liverpool in sixth within three points of Leicester City in third as things stand.
Chelsea find themselves in fifth, just a point behind West Ham in fourth and two behind Leicester in third with just seven games remaining.
And while the Blues have plenty of work to do, former full-back Bridge believes Thomas Tuchel's men have every chance of ensuring Champions League football for next season.
"I’d love to see Chelsea finish in the top four. It’s not going to be easy but they have a great chance now they’re playing well under [Thomas] Tuchel. They look solid so they’re harder to beat, which is always a good thing," Bridge told BettingExpert.com.
"It’s definitely going to be tight, you can’t write Liverpool off and even Spurs, because of [Jose] Mourinho and the things he can do with a team - you never write him off. He is a great coach and it’s not going well for him at the moment but he can always turn it around.
"West Ham and Everton are also flying at the moment, so you can’t write them off either."
Bridge also believes Chelsea can climb into title contention next season, as long as they find themselves a top striker.
"Chelsea are definitely heading in the right direction, they look solid and tough to beat and if there was one thing they were going to recruit it would be a striker," he added.
"Next season, they’ll still have to improve, which they are doing at the moment. Tuchel will have a pre-season with the team which is definitely key for any manager to get all of their ideas across for different scenarios, games and opposition, he can test out different systems and get all the players to believe in the way they want to play and their beliefs.
"You don’t know who he’s going to bring in, it’s always difficult bringing new players in.
"Look at [Kai] Havertz and [Timo] Werner, it’s difficult for them because they’ve come from a different country at a time in the world where everything is upside down and it must have been very hard for them.
"They’re a young squad and I’d like to see them keep the majority of their young players together and see them improve together and hopefully be where Chelsea were at the top of the league and fighting for every trophy."
