Their inconsistency this season coupled with a lack of right mentality and momentum makes it difficult to see Chelsea secure a top four finish.
Chelsea (or any other team) will probably qualify for the champions league even if they finish the premier league at 5th position.
Currently, England has the highest coefficient from the three UEFA club competitions and as I already said in
my previous post in this thread, the premier league will probably have 5 berths in the next season of the champions league.
That will be the only reason for them to be among the Champions League teams; if not, it will be very hard for them to join before maintaining their present performance till the end of the season, which will be somehow very hard for Chelsea, as their performance is not that consistent, but if the team that will qualify for the Champions League next season is five, then that will be a chance for Chelsea to be in the Champions League once again after being absent for several seasons.