Newcastle boss Rafael Benitez believes that Chelsea are among the heavy favorites to win the Premier League this season. Maurizio Sarri’s team have begun the league remarkably with wins over Huddersfield Town and Arsenal. Newcastle United host Chelsea tomorrow. The Magpies have so far gained only one point from their two matches so far, drawing against Cardiff City.
When asked if Chelsea can lift the Premier League this year, Benitez replied, “I think so. Maybe at the moment, there are three teams that you could say that they are a little bit ahead of the others, for me – Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City – because of the level, the performances last year and the money they spent. Then Manchester United, Tottenham and Arsenal, they have to go back to things they were doing well. They have quality in the squad and they can compete, for sure. But if you have to pick three, I will pick these. They have enough quality to do well.”
The Newcastle boss also praised Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri about his stint at Napoli. Sarri was the one who replaced Benitez at Napoli.
He said, “We did what we had to do. He did well, played good football and they had a very good group of players. We were an offensive team in Italy playing well, and he received this group and he carried on working with them and was doing well.”
