Chelsea predictions 2024/25: Premier League finish, top goalscorer and season preview

It's another new season and another new era for Chelsea Football Club.

Mauricio Pochettino left his role as head coach by mutual consent at the end of a whirlwind 2023/24 campaign, and into his shoes has stepped former Leicester City boss Enzo Maresca.

The Blues continue to make headlines off the pitch for their exuberant transfer dealings, but on it, Maresca will be tasked with getting 11 players at any given time to meet lofty expectations.

Chelsea will also return to Europe after qualifying for the UEFA Conference League, which should allow the season to have a more refreshing taste compared to the week-to-week Premier League-only soap opera of last term.

Here's 90min's season preview of Chelsea's 2024/25 campaign.

Chelsea's performance in the last five seasons

If there's any club whose previous performances you should disregard heading into the new campaign, it's Chelsea. Maresca has arrived to turn Pochettino's high-intensity blueprint based on pressing into a sophisticated possessional game plan.

During his sole year at Stamford Bridge, Pochettino at least managed to turn Chelsea's fortunes around, guiding them to a sixth-place finish after coming 12th the year prior.

Chelsea 2024/25 squad numbers

Get ready to see a long list.

From the 2023/24 season, there's only been one notable number change, with Levi Colwill vacating Chelsea's famed 26 in order to succeed Thiago Silva as number 6.

The club are yet to assign a shirt to new signing Pedro Neto, while Kepa Arrizabalaga, Bashir Humphreys, Tino Anjorin, David Datro Fofana and Romelu Lukaku are all without registered numbers.

*Numbers subject to change before end of transfer window

Chelsea summer transfers

In

Out

Chelsea 2024/25 kits

Home kit

Third kit

Chelsea have not yet released their third kit, but it is believed to be mainly black with pink accents.

Chelsea predicted top goalscorer

The only Premier League player to outscore Cole Palmer last season was Erling Haaland. Even if you take away penalties this term, it seems likely that the 22-year-old will be towards the top of the Golden Boot charts again.

With injuries hopefully in the rear-view mirror, there's scope for Christopher Nkunku to take on a significant portion of the scoring load having been a prolific outlet in his final two seasons at RB Leipzig.

Beyond them, Chelsea will be hoping to get a little more out of Nicolas Jackson, who ended his debut season at Stamford Bridge with a respectable 17 goals across all competitions.

Raheem Sterling has still proven a reliable enough source of goals from wide areas in his two years in west London, while 18-year-old striker Marc Guiu hasn't looked out of his depth in pre-season and could get minutes in the first team.

Chelsea predicted Premier League finish

As discussed on 90min's Chelsea season preview, there's such a wide range of outcomes for the Blues this year - they could just as easily finish third as they could 12th again.

Maresca's style will require patience from both players and fans, which may be tested if they start the campaign poorly and opposing teams are resilient in setting out deep blocks, which was his kryptonite at Leicester.

Chelsea had just finished finding out who could fit into their vision for the future under Pochettino, with many of his preferred players suiting his style of football. It will take time for Maresca to implement this new vision and get buy in from everyone at the club, from the stands to the boardroom and back down to the pitch.

With that in mind, this is likely to be another season of transition at Stamford Bridge, and Chelsea may well end up finishing closer to mid-table than a place in the UEFA Champions League.