Thomas Tuchel will be hoping to avoid a terrible Tuesday for the second week running after spurning the optimism built from a Stamford Bridge victory against Leicester, losing meekly to Southampton in concerning fashion.
Tomorrow night offers a different challenge, Dinamo Zagreb is a brand new opponent for Chelsea in European competition as the UEFA Champions League returns.
Saturday's dramatic, and arguably lucky, victory over West Ham again provides the basis to kickstart an already frantic campaign. Deadline day additions Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Denis Zakaria could make their first appearances having travelled with the squad, whilst Thiago Silva has been left at home, opening up a spot for someone to grab.
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Chelsea will be hoping to kick off their group stage with a win in their longest away trip, before returning to domestic action at Fulham on Saturday. Tactically, Tuchel is unlikely to return to a shaky four-man defence that looked ragged at St. Mary's, but the impact from the bench in an attacking sense promotes the need for rotation.
Here are The Burning Questions before Chelsea's clash with Zagreb.
Mando start?
It came as a disappointment to some that Armando Broja did not start against West Ham on Saturday, with Tuchel instead choosing to field a striking pair of Christian Pulisic and Raheem Sterling. His eventual 71st-minute introduction and subsequent impact added weight to the argument that was a mistake from Tuchel.
Broja made life more challenging for West Ham's back-three of Emerson, Kurt Zouma and Thilo Kehrer. Although he did not score or assist, his mere presence offered Chelsea a more direct route to goal and naturally attracted more attention. He had the hockey assist for Kai Havertz's eventual winner who looked freer alongside the Albanian, than playing solo as the main striker.
Tuchel needs to place some faith in the 20-year-old, especially if Aubameyang is not fully fit yet, he has earned a shot from the start.
Filling the box?
There was something noteworthy about Havertz's winning goal on Saturday, and that was the number of Chelsea shirts inside the box when the ball was played.
It has been of consistent frustration to supporters the number of times a cross is floated into the box, only for a Chelsea forward to miss it, be outnumbered, or it just flashes across with no one daring to capitalise. That changed with Havertz, Mount and Sterling all waiting for a ball to be played in, helping the Blues overcome West Ham's stubborn back five.
Not only in attacking personnel but the consistent intent seen from the likes of Manchester City when they get into the final third makes them such a nightmare to nullify, will we see more of this from Chelsea on Tuesday evening?
Has Chilly got the rhythm?
Ben Chilwell's influence won the game for Chelsea on Saturday. In 20 minutes on the pitch and with only 18 touches, he wrestled his team back into another contest that was slipping away, scoring an inventive equaliser before providing the cross for Havertz's winner.
However, after the game Tuchel was still expressing doubt about Chilwell's level and whether he would be ready to play for large periods.
"I think he has the full fitness he can have from training and pre-season matches. Of course, he can feel fitter and be fitter if he is playing in consecutive Premier League matches. In my opinion, he lacks rhythm and a bit of feeling from the game. This is what I see in training. The player always thinks he is ready, and I think there are some things still missing." Tuchel said.
Marc Cucurella has started five of the six games so far, but Zagreb feels like the moment Chilwell fully returns to the team after such a defining impact.
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