Former Chelsea winger has a stark warning for Maurizio Sarri amid the battle for the top four

chelsea premier league paul canoville slavia prague

With Chelsea currently sitting sixth in the Premier League, winning the Europa League may be the Blues' best route into the Champions League next season.

But while they have been handed a decent draw in the competition, with Slavia Prague their opponents in the quarter-finals and one of Eintracht Frankfurt or Benfica to play in the semi-final, should they win, former Chelsea winger Paul Canoville has said that winning the competition would not make it a good season for the Blues in Maurizio Sarri's first as the club's manager.

Indeed, he says that as things stand, with Chelsea losing in the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City, out of the FA Cup and behind rivals Tottenham, Arsenal and Manchester United in the battle to finish in the Premier League top four, this is shaping up to be "not a very good season" for the club.

"Not enough for me," Canoville told Love Sport Radio when asked if winning the Europa League would make it a successful season for Chelsea.

"Don't get me wrong, dropping down to the Europa League is obviously not a nice feeling, and the Champions League is always looking for us at Chelsea.

"But yes, if we were able to win that, it would be a bonus.

"But at the moment, it is not a very good season, I would say, in my opinion.

"Looking at that, we have got some players we should look at and give a chance, and that's the situation at the moment."

And Canoville says he wants to see Callum Hudson-Odoi get more opportunities in the team, adding that he cannot understand why the teenager is not starting games for the Blues.

Chelsea's next game in the Premier League is against relegation-threatened Cardiff City after the international break, with the two legs of their Europa League quarter-final against Slavia Prague to come in April.

2019-03-21 08:27:00

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