I also didn't think that Chelsea would improve this drastically and maybe it's not just me. Nicholas Jackson, who was not very visible last season, has now become a goal scoring machine, as well as Cole Palmer, who looks increasingly mature and more stable. If they only target the top 4, it is very likely that they can achieve it. If it's the Premier League champions, it seems the chances are still quite tough because Liverpool is so strong this season and it still remains to be seen how long Chelsea can be consistent.
Almost everyone literally has been surprised at the drastic improvement of Chelsea because all the while they have been really poor and unproductive few seasons back and it was so bad that even if we had expected improvements from them it wouldn't have been this drastic, but anyways it's a good one they are now this better and productive such that they are now amongst the top four teams this season.