Chelsea’s season could hinge on Naples trip

Chelsea head to Napoli for the first leg of their Champions League first knockout tie in need of a big result.

The Blues have struggled in recent months to find their form and could only draw with Championship Birmingham in the FA Cup in their last outing.

Pressure

Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas is now under intense pressure from the media, the fans and it seems Blues owner Roman Abramovich. Villas-Boas has asked for public backing from his boss but it’s yet to happen.

The Portuguese boss could be one bad defeat away from the sack. His teams poor performances and struggles have made this evenings Champions League clash even more important. Villas-Boas appeared confident at his press conference on Monday but there is clear cracks in his team.

Tough

The trip to Naples will be a tough one. Napoli have already seen off Manchester City, beating the Citizens at the San Paolo and drawing at the Etihad Stadium. No doubt they are they are a dangerous team.

No English club have managed to defeat the Azzurri on their home patch in European competition. Chelsea have also only ever won once in ten attempts on Italian soil.

Patchy

Although Napoli have qualified for the knockout stages of the Champions League, their form has been patchy of late. They were expected to challenge for the Serie A title this season but currently find themselves sixth in the Italian top flight, 13 points behind league leaders AC Milan.

They are not unbeatable but on their day they can defeat anybody. They have beaten the Rossoneri this season but then they have slipped up against some of the lesser lights of Italian football. Napoli are the ultimate Jekyll and Hyde team. Fantastic one week, awful the next.

Confidence

Chelsea are on a five match winless run in the Premier League and confidence seems to be low in the Blues camp. That poor run of form has lead the club to drop out of the Champions League places. This hasn’t gone down well with the Chelsea fans and they are becoming increasingly anxious at their teams form.

Transition

We hear this word a lot in football that teams are in a transitional period. Chelsea really are though. They are attempting to rebuild an aging team, which in truth had gone stale. Andre Villas-Boas is attempting to put some life back into the team but it may get worse before it gets better.

It will take time for the Chelsea squad to be rebuilt but that’s something rarely given in the Premier League and especially at Stamford Bridge. Failure is not an option for the Chelsea bosses. If they don’t win the Premier League they tend to get sacked.

Questions

Chelsea fans are now questioning whether Andre Villas-Boas is the man for the job. It doesn’t look like at the moment judging by their poor season so far. Maybe this job has came too soon for him because he did seem to have good coaching abilities before he arrived in England.

Lift

Everybody at the club needs a lift, including the Chelsea boss himself even if he won’t admit it. A win in Naples would give the Blues a major lift and would maybe inspire the team to enjoy a strong finish to the season.

Unfortunately for Chelsea and Andre Villas-Boas I can’t see it happening. At the moment the rookie boss looks like a dead man walking and I can’t see a way back for him at Chelsea, which is a shame because he obviously has talent.

Pivotal

Whatever happens in Naples I believe this game will prove pivotal in Chelsea’s season. Chelsea are currently in the midst of a mini crisis and that won’t be allowed to continue for much longer. Something has to give and I believe that will happen in the next few weeks.

Can Chelsea win in Naples?