Chelsea came flying out of the traps at the start of the season, with the Blues racking up several wins that made it look as though retaining their Premier League title was going to be a formality.

However, Carlo Ancelotti’s team suffered a serious dip in form during November and December which has seen them playing catch-up with Manchester United ever since. Sunday’s home defeat to Liverpool could have been the final nail in the coffin.

Didier Drogba was ineffective in that match and the Ivorian claims that the Chelsea squad are in a bad mood after the weekend defeat and that catching the Red Devils is now a tall order.

“I am finding this bad spell hard to live with – and I am not the only one,” Drogba told the Sun. “The whole squad is suffering because you have to remember that no one at Chelsea is accustomed to losing so many matches.

“Carlo Ancelotti [the manager] has not been happy with us in recent weeks and all the injuries, the poor results and the lack of goals have created a bad mood around the place. For my own part, my performances this season have suffered because of injuries and because of the malaria I contracted at the end of last year.”

Chelsea are now best odds 10/1 with Betfred bookmakers to win the Premier League.