Chelsea bounce back in West Brom win – but the damage may already be done

Difficult season could end outside the top four

Chelsea beat West Bromwich Albion 3-0 on Monday night, but despite that, the odds suggest they’re on course to miss out on the top four.

Two goals from Eden Hazard and another from Victor Moses saw Antonio Conte’s men bounce back from dismal losses to Watford and Bournemouth.

Victory lifted the reigning champions above Tottenham Hotspur into fourth.

But Coral’s odds for the top four hint that Spurs may yet have the last laugh.

At 1/9 and 1/7 respectively, the bookies’ traders say it’s job done for Manchester United and Liverpool.

And with Manchester City home and dry at the top, that leaves London trio Chelsea, Spurs and Arsenal fighting for the final Champions League place.

At 4/11 it’s Tottenham who are now fancied to bag that coveted top-four finish, having collected seven points from games against Man United, Liverpool and the Gunners.

Chelsea have spent much of the campaign in third place, but have been pushed out to fourth in the betting at 4/5.

As for Arsenal, they’re very much the outsiders at 14/1.

But with just four points separating Jose Mourinho’s side in second and Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs in fifth, this battle is set to run until the very end.