Credit: Imago

Evan Lloyd

Tue 3 March 2026 12:45, UK

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Chelsea’s hopes of achieving Champions League qualification have taken a serious blow after the weekend’s Premier League action.

On Sunday, Chelsea were beaten 2-1 by Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, marking a third consecutive game without victory in the league.

Liam Rosenior’s tenure in charge of the Blues had started superbly, but a difficult few weeks has seen reality set back in at Stamford Bridge.

William Saliba opened the scoring on Sunday, before Piero Hincapie’s own goal gave Chelsea hope. Jurrien Timber’s second-half goal was followed by Pedro Neto’s red card, however, with familiar issues hamstringing Rosenior’s side.

Chelsea have had more red cards than home wins in the Premier League this season, with the winger’s dismissal marking a seventh this campaign.

Supercomputer updates Champions League prediction

Another club struggling to keep hold of their hopes of qualification for Champions League football is Aston Villa.

The Villans have won just one of their last six games across all competitions, and looked like a team devoid of any fight as they were beaten by Wolves on Friday.

Unai Emery’s team had looked to be putting together a run for the Premier League title just weeks ago, but it has been a dramatic fall-off.

Having been so far ahead, Villa have now been leapfrogged by Man United in third place, and are under serious threat of falling out of the top four completely.

Liverpool are just three points behind the Villans, with the two still set to face off before the end of the season.

Chelsea, on the other hand, now find themselves six points off the pace and in serious need of instant results.

Finance expert Stefan Borson exclusively told Football Insider that Chelsea’s financial situation is concerning, and missing out on the Champions League could be catastrophic.

Opta‘s supercomputer has given the Blues just a 14.98 per cent chance of making it into the top four, while Villa retain a favourable 68.44 per cent chance.

How do both Chelsea and Aston Villa’s upcoming fixtures look?

Interestingly, Chelsea and Villa will face off on Wednesday, in what is undoubtedly a massive match for both teams.

A trip to Old Trafford is still coming up for the Villans, with difficult matches against Fulham, Nottingham Forest, Liverpool and Man City still coming up.

The situation is even worse for Chelsea, who must play Newcastle United, Everton, Man City and Man United in the coming weeks.

Liverpool, Tottenham and Sunderland will round off the season for the Blues, who could be needing to beat all three.