CHELSEA

On August 12, defending champions Chelsea will take the pitch at Stamford Bridge against Burnley with not too happy memories of their pre-season campaign.

The Antonio Conte-coached side began well with a 3-0 win over Arsenal in Beijing, but then suffered defeat against Bayern Munich in Singapore.

It was followed by another defeat against Inter Milan and then the most significant loss, against the Gunners in the Community Shield final via a shoot-out.

But despite the rather discouraging start, there is no reason why the Blues supporters should be worried.

Chelsea were the best team in the top flight last season by quite a distance as they won a record of 30 games on their way to lifting the Premier League trophy under their Italian manager.

Given the way the Blues have built their squad this season, it won’t be an exaggeration to say Chelsea will once again be the team to beat.

The only thing which perhaps could turn out to be a factor is that they did not have the distraction of European football last season and they managed to focus all their attention on winning the Premier League title. In other words, they were fresh week in week out.

This time, with the Champions League’s midweek games, the league could become a bit more of a task. The Chelsea fans, however, would be eagerly following the imminent exit of Diego Costa, a prolific striker.

The Spaniard hasn’t left the Blues officially yet, but after his bitter fall out with manager Conte, it is almost impossible for him to continue at Stamford Bridge.

At the same time, Chelsea have reasons to feel excited by the arrival of Spanish striker Alvaro Morata after a reported deal worth 65.6 million euro. He is a natural finisher, who always works hard for whichever team he is playing for.

After years at  Juventus and Real Madrid, Morata wasn’t always the No.1 striker, yet kept his head down and always worked hard to get his chance.

He will wear the No. 9 shirt, which for former Chelsea stars was somewhat a jinx… The likes of Radamel Falcao, Fernando Torres and Hernan Crespo, all failed with that number on their back. Conte worked with Morata at Juventus, so knows exactly what he is getting and will feel very confident that he can replace Costa. And along with Batshuayi, he will have enough fire power to help him try and retain the title this season.

But all said and done, like the last time, Eden Hazard will continue to remain the most important player in Chelsea’s game plan this time too.

Though Eden is likely to miss the first month because of injury, he will be the key in the long run. In the previous season, he barely had any bad games. He often plays the lead role in creating chances, whether for himself or teammates, and is a constant thorn in the flesh of the opponents.

In their attempts to diminish Eden’s impact on the game, some of Chelsea’s rivals even resorted to dedicating a player to man-mark him.

Only Manchester United’s Ander Herrera, and only in one of his two attempts at it, was able to succeed in this task. In the other, he was sent off!

Eden also has a tendency of saving his best for Chelsea’s biggest games.

His laid back and seemingly carefree approach will always attract criticism, but the only team in the top twelve of the league he failed to score against last season was Liverpool.

Chelsea’s new signings — Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko and Antonio Rudiger — look promising to replace the likes of Costa, Nemanja Matic and club legend John Terry.

Conte has also allowed many young players to leave or be loaned out; the likes of Nathaniel Chalobah, Dominic Solanke and Juan Cuadrado have left permanently, whilst Tammy Abraham, Ruben Loftus-Cheek and Kurt Zouma have been loaned out.

But then, the void of Terry will be huge to fill, maybe too big just like when Frank Lampard and Didier Drogba left.
But German Rudiger has been brought in by the coach from AS Roma and could be of some help. He is big, strong and very quick.

• Major signings: Alvaro Morata, Tiemoue Bakayoko, Antonio Rudiger, Willy Caballero
• Manager: Antonio Conte
• Last season: Champions

 

CORNER KICK

NUMBERS GAME

• Most titles: 13 — Manchester United

• Most consecutive titles: 3 (twice) — Manchester United

• Manager with most titles: 13 —Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

• Longest-serving manager: 21 years — Alex Ferguson (Manchester United)

• Most appearances: 632 — Ryan Giggs

• Most consecutive appearances: 310 — Brad Friedel (August 14, 2004 - October 7, 2012)

• Most goals: 260 — Alan Shearer

• Most assists: 162 — Ryan Giggs

• Most wins in a season (38 games): 30 (2016–17) — Chelsea

• Fewest wins in a season (38 games): 1 (2007–08) — Derby County

• Fewest losses in a season (38 games): 0 (2003–04) — Arsenal

• Longest unbeaten run: 49 games (May 7, 2003 – October 24, 2004) — Arsenal

• Most losses in total: 336 — Everton

• Most consecutive home games undefeated: 86 — Chelsea (March 20, 2004 – October 26, 2008)

• Most consecutive away games undefeated: 27 — Arsenal (April 5, 2003 – September 25, 2004)

• Most goals in a season: 103 — Chelsea (2009–10)

• Fewest goals in a season: 20 — Derby County (2007–08)

• Best goal difference in a season: 71 — Chelsea (2009–10)

• Most goals (team): 1,856 — Manchester United

• Most goals conceded (team) : 1,231 — Tottenham Hotspur

• Most away goals: 90 — Wayne Rooney

• Oldest scorer: Teddy Sheringham — 40 yrs 268 days (for West Ham, vs Portsmouth, 2006)

• Youngest scorer: James Vaughan — 16 yrs 271 days (for Everton, vs Crystal Palace, 2005)

• Most hat-tricks: 11 — Alan Shearer

• Most hat-tricks in a season: 5 — Alan Shearer (Blackburn Rovers, 1995–96)

Source: wikipedia

WHAT’S NEW

• Pitch patterns: Pitch patterns and designs will no longer be allowed in the Premier League in 2017-18. According to rules, the playing surface must contain no markings other than the traditional horizontal and white lines. This amendment brings the Premier League Rules in line with Uefa’s regulations for its competitions.

• Friday start: The 2017-18 Premier League season will kick-off on a Friday evening for the first time in top-flight history. Arsenal and Leicester City will play the opening match. This will be the first occasion the opening encounter does not take place on a Saturday.

• New stadiums: This season of the Premier League will feature three new stadiums for the first time. While White Hart Lane undergoes reconstruction, Tottenham Hotspur will play their home matches at Wembley Stadium. Newly promoted Brighton & Hove Albion will play their home fixtures at the Amex Stadium. Huddersfield Town will be playing at the John Smith’s Stadium.

• Diving ban: Players who dive or feign injury could face a two-match suspension starting from this season. Footage from the weekend’s fixtures will be reviewed each Monday and any player found guilty of simulation will be banned. The three-man panel will consist of one former match official, a former manager and an ex-player.

• For the fans: Fans travelling to support their teams on the road this season will be able to take in the action from closer than ever before. Premier League clubs have agreed to a new rule whereby away supporters will be seated together at all stadiums, and at least one block of away fan seats will be made available pitchside.

 Source: premierleague.com