Although Chelsea are yet to play their first Premier League fixture under Graham Potter's management after games against Fulham and Liverpool were postponed, the new Blues boss will have the chance to get off to a winning start against Crystal Palace on Saturday.
The Blues drew 1-1 against Red Bull Salzburg in their opening game of Potter's tenure as Chelsea head coach after Raheem Sterling's opener was cancelled out by Noah Okafor. The result showed that there's a lot for Potter and his team to improve on, but with the talent at his disposal, you have to expect that he'll get things going in the coming weeks.
Chelsea currently sit seventh in the Premier League table and face an extremely busy October. The Blues will play nine games next month with a hectic schedule packed full of Champions League and Premier League midweek action.
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Chelsea need to start picking up points in order to close the gap between them and league leaders Arsenal. So, with some tough tests on the horizon, football.london compares the west Londoners' next five games with their rivals at the top of the table.
Crystal Palace (A) - October 1
Potter's first Premier League game in charge of Chelsea will be a London derby away against Crystal Palace. Patrick Vieira's side have won just one of their opening six games this season but still have the players available to cause the Blues problems.
Wilfried Zaha has scored four goals in five appearances so far this term and is Palace's main danger in attack. Chelsea will need to be solid at the back and fluid in attack if they are to get a positive result against the Eagles.
Wolves (H) - October 8
Wolves pose a similar proposition to Chelsea after Bruno Lage's side have also won just once in their opening seven fixtures. Ex-Blues striker Diego Costa could be in line to start against his former side and may come back to haunt them in Potter's first Premier League home game in charge.
Chelsea drew 2-2 in the same fixture last season as a quick-fire double from Romelu Lukaku was cancelled out with two late goals from the visitors.
Aston Villa (A) - October 16
Villa have turned their form around of late after a poor start to the season and again pose a tricky test for Potter's side. Chelsea will be hoping to get off to a strong start following the international break after Potter has been given plenty of time to work with his new players on the training pitch to help aid the settling in and adaptation period.
Brentford (A) - October 19
Brentford have already picked up a 4-0 win against Manchester United this season and star striker Ivan Toney is always going to be a key threat. The Blues won't be able to afford any mistakes against the Bees but a second away game just days after their trip to Villa could prove to be a difficult test.
Manchester United (H) - October 22
Potter's first huge game in charge of Chelsea comes against United at Stamford Bridge. The atmosphere will be electric and the Blues will be hoping to feed off that and pick up a statement win after Erik ten Hag's side also turned a corner of late.
This fixture ended as a 1-1 draw last season after Jorginho scored a penalty to cancel out Jadon Sancho's opener for the visitors. Chelsea will be hoping to close the gap at the top of the table with a run of good results and pick up a minimum of 13 points from 15 available.
Arsenal's next five fixtures:
Tottenham (H) - October 1
Liverpool (H) - October 9
Leeds United (A) - October 16
Southampton (A) - October 23
Nottingham Forest (H) - October 30
Tottenham's next five fixtures:
Arsenal (A) - October 1
Brighton (A) - October 8
Everton (H) - October 15
Manchester United (A) - October 19
Newcastle United (H) - October 23
Manchester City's next five fixtures:
Manchester United (H) - October 2
Southampton (A) - October 8
Liverpool (A) - October 16
Brighton (H) - October 22
Leicester City (A) - October 29
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