The heralded return of Mauricio Pochettino to Albion shores brings a measure of promise to Premier League giants Chelsea in the wake of a disastrous 2022-23 campaign that saw the Blues finish in the bottom half of the table in what was their worst season in the Premier League era.
But that has not stopped Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali from continuing their massive retooling efforts on and off the pitch in West London after Chelsea once again helped themselves to the transfer market smörgåsbord. The Blues shelled out ~£200m on Christopher Nkunku, Axel Disasi, Nicolas Jackson, Lesley Ugochukwu, Robert Sánchez, and Ângelo, as well as seeing Levi Colwill return from a fantastic loan stint with Brighton and given a fresh long-term contract as a reward.
With no European football on offer in the capital this season and Pochettino being given the reins of a side that does boast a massive amount of long-term potential, the feeling surrounding the club is that, if all things gel well at the Bridge, Chelsea could be in with a chance to make a run at the European places and may even have enough in the tank to secure a top-four finish. Time will tell, but the Blues have all the makings of a dangerous side if they hit their stride.
Predicted XI
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/xlmedia/354I6UQJ4ZCO7ARC6TBNRSLJOM.png)
Team News
Mauricio Pochettino will be thrilled to get underway in the wake of his return to the Premier League, but the former Tottenham Hotspur fan-favorite begins the season with a number of selection issues. French star Christopher Nkunku will be laid up in drydock for a few months after completing surgery in the wake of an injury suffered in preseason, and will now join Benoît Badiashile, Wesley Fofana, Armando Broja, and Marcus Bettinelli on the sidelines, while England youth international Noni Madueke is also potentially unfit for service.
As such, a number of debuts are in line to be handed out, with Axel Disasi and Nicolas Jackson primed to start from the off, with former Aston Villa starlet Carney Chukwuemeka likely slotting in for Nkunku in the number 10 role while at least counting on Mykhailo Mudryk to his left, and likely Raheem Sterling on the opposite flank.
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/xlmedia/PFBCEFIEYFF43PDRDQUDVLFFMY.jpg)
:quality(70)/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/xlmedia/31ed1d86-a42b-4acd-9517-813a526d3a0b.png)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/xlmedia/CUJY6H56TZC4HLNEXGCF3TRTSQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/xlmedia/MKWLYRSYMFAHDFOMOEX25BXHAQ.jpg)
:quality(70)/cloudfront-eu-central-1.images.arcpublishing.com/xlmedia/Y6KKEZJWXVGZ3E555R5R4Y7X2Y.jpg)