Chelsea are being talked up as joint-second favourites for the title this season after the 2021/22 fixtures were announced.
The Blues’ calendar for the forthcoming campaign was unveiled on Wednesday morning and they have been handed a tough start with four of the traditional ‘big six’ set to come within the opening six matches.
Despite that, Chelsea are still expected to be challenging for the Premier League crown, at least with the bookmakers.
According to Grosvenor, the reigning European champions sit at 5/1 to lift their first league title since 2017. This puts them level with Jurgen Klopp’s Liverpool who sit at the same price.
Meanwhile, the odds-on favourites are Manchester City who can be backed at 7/10.
Away from the battle for the Premier League trophy, Chelsea supporters may also be interested in the odds of the Blues securing a place in the top four.
While Chelsea eventually managed to finish fourth last season, it took until the final day for their position in the top four to be confirmed.
The bookies expect the west Londoners to earn that position with more ease this time around. They sit at a price of 1/4 to earn a place in the top four, whilst rivals Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are some way behind at 5/1 and 4/1 respectively.
If Chelsea are to indeed challenge for the league title and once again a place in the top four, they will need to start the season well in their first match of the campaign against Crystal Palace at Stamford Bridge.
Following that, the Blues face Arsenal and Liverpool away from home in the opening month of the campaign.
