Where will Chelsea finish this season? Independent readers doubt top-four ambitions
POLL RESULTS: The reigning champions suffered yet another setback at the weekend leaving readers pessimistic on how high up the table Jose Mourinho's men will finish
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Your support makes all the difference.Just nine per cent of readers of the Independent believe Chelsea will qualify for the Champions League following their dismal season to date.
The reigning Premier League champions suffered yet another setback at the weekend when they were beaten 1-0 at home to newly promoted Bournemouth, their eighth loss of the campaign.
In the aftermath of the match, which left Chelsea 17 points from the summit of the table but just two from the relegation zone, manager Jose Mourinho suggested his club might have to re-evaluate their ambitions for the season.
"Our objective is to finish top four," he told Sky Sports. "Before this game it was realistic to think that our quality would take us out of this position, but maybe now we have to think about top six."
The result and Mourinho's comments prompted us to ask readers where they thought Chelsea would end the campaign.
With 5967 people taking part, just nine per cent believed the Blues would finish in the top four. Four per cent backed them to win the title and another five per cent placed them in the qualification places for the Champions League.
15 per cent of those who participated backed Mourinho's side to qualify for the Europa League by finishing in the top six.
But many more, 36 per cent, are only expecting the reigning champions to finish top half of the table - an ambition more often associated with teams such as Stoke or Crystal Palace.
28 per cent of readers do not think Chelsea will escape the bottom half of the table while 12 per cent think they will be relegated.
Chelsea's next Premier League game is against table-topping Leicester on Monday night.
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