Chelsea fans will have been happy to wave goodbye to the 2022/23 season and to have a break from football and a frustrating term. Within two days the transfer window has opened and Premier League fixtures have been released and attention cannot fail to turn to 2023/24.
Unsurprisingly Chelsea will play 38 games as Mauricio Pochettino gets his time as Chelsea boss underway against Liverpool as he looks to inspire the Blues back into contetion in the higher eschelons of the league after a 12-placed finish.
There are a range of fixtures that capture the eye, and Chelsea do have two nightmare stretches over the course of the season, with some favourable journies to Stamford Bridge for opening, final day and Boxing Day matches. With such games, a pause is always reserved for derby games too, of which there are no shortage in London.
The west London side do not have to wait long to face a side from London with a trip to West Ham awaiting in the second week of the season but it is more than a month until their next when the short journey to Fulham presents itself in late September.
Chelsea's season ratchets up when they welcome Arsenal in October, their first fixture against a team in the Champions League and that is followed by hosting Brentford seven days later and a trip to Tottenham the week after that. The Blues face Crystal Palace on Boxing Day.
Chelsea's first London derby of 2024 sees the return fixture against Fulham before a trip to Selhurst Park to face the Eagles in early February. Pochettino's side then face another flurry of London fixtures as Tottenham, Brentford and Arsenal again line up in close proximity from February 24 to March 16.
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It is then an almost two-month wait until Chelsea's final London fixture in May. They face West Ham at Stamford Bridge in their 36th match of 2023/24, which could prove pivotal in any European challenge.
Chelsea matches vs London sides
19/08/2023 15:00 West Ham United (a)
30/09/2023 15:00 Fulham (a)
21/10/2023 15:00 Arsenal (h)
28/10/2023 15:00 Brentford (h)
04/11/2023 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur (a)
26/12/2023 15:00 Crystal Palace (h)
13/01/2024 15:00 Fulham (h)
10/02/2024 15:00 Crystal Palace (a)
24/02/2024 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur (h)
02/03/2024 15:00 Brentford (a)
16/03/2024 15:00 Arsenal (a)
04/05/2024 15:00 West Ham United (h)
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