“Need to be bigger” – Sky Sports pundit fires back at Opta’s Chelsea prediction | OneFootball

One Sky Sports pundit has fired back at a prediction that has been foretasted by stats website Opta on Chelsea this week.

The Blues are getting ready to face Everton in their next Premier League match this afternoon and they will be looking to keep the pressure on top place Liverpool and pull away from Arsenal again, who thrashed Crystal Palace 5-1 last night to keep their own pressure up on Liverpool and Chelsea.

EXCLUSIVE! Chelsea already agree terms for player to sign in the summer!

Enzo Maresca will continue to play down any talk of Chelsea being in a title race. But as long as they continue to get results and continue to be up there in the top three, nobody can deny the fact that actually, at this current moment, they ARE in a title race!

Sky Sports pundit Paul Merson is actually now a known Chelsea fan, so for me personally, I always like to hear what he is saying about The Blues. And he has called one prediction that has been forecast by Opta as being ‘ridiculous’ this week.

Opta forecast needs to be bigger

Maresca still not entertaining title talk

As cited by The Metro, despite their current league position, Opta currently give Chelsea only a 5.8 per cent chance of winning the Premier League title, while Liverpool lead the way on 80.2%, while Arsenal are given a 13.2% chance.

‘Well that 5.8 per cent needs to be bigger, whatever happens,’ Merson told Sky Sports.

‘That does need to be bigger, that’s ridiculous.

‘Arsenal need consistency, they need consistency as Mikel Arteta said, they’ve drawn their last two games.

Drawing at home to Everton, the chances they had, they’ve got to win those games, they’ve got to be more ruthless, they’ve got to put those teams away.

‘Bit inconsistent but they’re right in there. Forget the two games in hand, if I was Liverpool I’d forget the two games in hand because that comes around, for me I look at the league like it is now. Arsenal are in it, I’d definitely be having Chelsea at more than 5.8 per cent.

‘The thing with Chelsea is they’ve got no distraction. They’re not in Europe, they’ve got another team for European football, Cole Palmer, none of them play. They’ve got no two-legged Carabao Cup games in January and February.

‘Chelsea are in this 100 per cent. But Arsenal are probably 13 per cent and Chelsea five [per cent] because they haven’t been in this position.’