Chelsea take to the pitch at Stamford Bridge one last time this season — a season that’s been nothing short of a disappointing failure even if by some miracle we end up with Champions League football still.
Here’s that most unlikely, but mathematically still possible scenario:
- Aston Villa must win the Europa League final on Wednesday (thus qualifying for next year’s Champions League)
- Then, Aston Villa, currently fourth, must lose their last game, away to Manchester City
- Liverpool, currently fifth, must win their last game, at home against Brentford: Liverpool would thus finish fourth on goal difference ahead of Villa, and the bonus spot for the Premier League would go to the sixth place, as Villa would’ve qualified via the Europa League instead — this loophole only works if Villa finish fifth
- AFC Bournemouth, currently sixth, must lose both of their remaining games, tonight against Manchester City then Sunday against Nottingham Forest, away
- Brighton, currently seventh, must lose their final game, at home to Manchester United
- Brentford, currently eighth, are already covered by their defeat in the third item in this list
- Sunderland, currently ninth, play Chelsea at home on the final day, and obviously we have to win that game
- But first, we have to win this game
And that’s how tenth-place Chelsea could yet finish sixth, and get in through the most backdooriest backdoor of all backdoors to next year’s Champions League. None of those outcomes are unlikely on their own, but this is like an 8-leg
parlay. You multiply the probabilities of independent events to arrive at the total probability of all the events happening, and that final number is likely to be in the single digits.
So, you know, don’t bet your house on it.
Also, first we actually have to a win Premier League game, which we haven’t done in over two months.
Date / Time: Tuesday, May 19, 2026, 20.15 BST; 3:15pm EDT; 12:45am IST (next day)
Venue: Stamford Bridge, SW6
Referee: Stuart Attwell (on pitch), John Brooks (VAR)
Forecast: Thunderstorms throughout the day, but they might clear up by gametime
On TV: Sky Sports Main Event (UK); NBCSN (USA); none (India); SuperSport MaXimo 1 (NGA); elsewhere
Streaming: Sky Go (UK); Peacock (USA); JioHotstar (India); DStv Now (NGA)
Chelsea team news: Robert Sánchez (and his Petr Čech-esque rugby cap), Pedro Neto, and Alejandro Garnacho all returned from injuries to feature in the FA Cup final over the weekend, which means that only longer-term absentees like Estêvão and Jamie Gittens, and young winger Jesse Derry who suffered that scary head injury the other day, are missing in action. Roméo Lavia saw how short our injury was lost getting however, so he’s picked up some random knock once again and is doubtful. Made from that glass, that kid, except it’s just a hologram of glass.
Levi Colwill could also be rested since he’s only just back from a season-long recovery from ACL surgery. He’s made a massive difference in our backline in those games, but there’s little reason to risk any sort of setback at this point of the season.
“[The FA Cup final] shows the level of this group, the quality of this group [but] we haven’t done it on a consistent basis. Otherwise, we wouldn’t be where we are in the league. […] But when this group is at their best, I think we’re up there with anyone in Europe.
“So how do we produce that on a more consistent basis? That’s what we’ll be looking at at the end of the season. That’s what we’ll be trying to help the group with and also they have to want to produce that and they’re capable of doing that. But for now, it’s two games left to get six points hopefully and push up the table as far as we can.”
-Calum McFarlane; source: Football.London
Tottenham Hotspur team news: The most amusing corollary to all this is that Spurs are still not safe from relegation, and if they were to lose their final two games, and West Ham were to pick up three points on Sunday against Leeds United, then Spurs would be relegated for the first time since the late 1970s. They are one of six teams never to have been relegated from the Premier League (born 1992), along with us, Everton, Liverpool, Arsenal, and Manchester United.
Beating Spurs is of course always mandatory, but doing so at this specific point in time is doubly so. Just for the giggles, if nothing else.
They did appoint next year’s head coach already when Roberto De Zerbi relieved Igor Tudor after perhaps the worst Premier League managerial spell ever, and De Zerbi has breathed new life into them with two wins and two draws in his five games in charge. In fact, they’re unbeaten in their last four and have won back-to-back away games, and could be feeling pretty confident about getting their second win in their last 41 visits, since 1990, to Stamford Bridge.
Xavi Simons, Wilson Odobert, Mohammed Kudus, Dejan Kulusevski, and Cristian Romero are all done for the season with various short- and long-term injuries, while Dom Solanke’s struggling with a hamstring and is doubtful. First-choice goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario could make his comeback after missing the last couple months due to surgery, but Antonín Kinský has done okay in his absence and De Zerbi has hinted that the young Czech Republic international could keep his place.
View from the enemy: Cartilage Free Captain
Previously: A win would mean our third consecutive double over Spurs, which even by this rivalry’s standards would be pretty funny (especially given the state of Chelsea during that time). The reverse fixture earlier this season — when Spurs were actually above Chelsea in the table, if you can believe that — was won by João Pedro of course.
