John Terry has stated that Chelsea might have the upper hand in beating Liverpool to the Premier League title, pointing towards their squad depth.
After the weekend’s action, Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City firmly established themselves as the Premier League top three clubs. The trio are considered favourites to lift the title and expected to challenge each other closely as the season progresses.
The important factor here is the squad depth each team has at their disposal. Chelsea, in particular, have been missing the likes of Timo Werner, Romelu Lukaku and Matteo Kovacic late. However, they have still managed to steamroll teams to assert their dominance at the very top of the pile.
Liverpool, who comprehensively beat Arsenal at the weekend, climbed to second, only for Manchester City to reclaim their spot behind Chelsea after beating Everton at the Etihad. Both those teams had key players missing, and without even flinching, got a result against their opposition.
Eventually, squad depth could dictate which team has the legs to go the distance in the Premier League and Champions League. Liverpool, in particular, have outscored everyone in the league with a formidable frontline, led by Mohamed Salah. Meanwhile, Manchester City and Chelsea have the tightest of defences, leaking fewer goals.
Former Chelsea captain John Terry believes that the Blues’ quality will be enough to overcome the Liverpool into winning the Premier League crown. His comments while speaking to beIN Sports appeared on the Liverpool Echo, with the Chelsea legend tipping his old club to beat the Reds to the domestic crown.
Terry said, “Liverpool look a threat, they’ve got so many goals in them going forward. Defensively, I look at Van Dijk and think I’m not sure who gets past him. We all have an off day, which he will, but at the same time, they look very solid. Just having that threat upfront, we had it at Chelsea years ago with Drogba and Robben and those types of players.”
Terry continued to speak and pointed towards the squad depth of his former side, which he felt was enough to win the title in May. He continued, “You just feel like you’re going to outscore other teams.”
“I think the strength and depth in their (Chelsea’s) squad looks to me by far the best in the league. They’ve coped really well without him (Lukaku), and they’ve got players who turn up and score goals as well. I’ve been really impressed with how they’ve dealt with it. Having Lukaku back in the run up to Christmas will be a big boost as well.”
Terry’s assessment might not be far from the reality, as Chelsea’s backup players have fared reasonably well, while Thomas Tuchel has also rotated his troops smartly. However, the title race can change very quickly, and it will be interesting to see if Liverpool can claw their way back.