The Blues play away three times on the trot, followed by three homes in a quirk of scheduling skewed by European commitments.
This weekend, after the thumping success at West Brom which resulted in Tony Pulis’s sacking, Chelsea traipse to Anfield.
Then it's home, home, home as the Blues host Swansea, Newcastle and Atletico in six days.
Now is the time newly bearded Tony Conte yearns for the depths of squad his rivals enjoy, with the summer’s lack of strengthening curtailing his options, especially up front.
The risk is that the Blues manager may see his future back in Italy, leading the national side out of the wilderness after failure to qualify for the World Cup.
On the plus side, the 4-0 win at West Brom was a fresh exhibition of the mesmerising skills of Eden Hazard.
Conte's 50th Premier League game in charge of the Blues suggests that reverting to a settled line-up (as was the case for most of 2016/17) really works. The team that lined up against the Baggies was the same that beat Man Utd.
The Hawthorns has, in the past, been a graveyard of Chelsea managers; the traditional final chance before Roman Abramovich ran out of patience. So for once the boot was on the other foot in terms of overnight unemployment.
The board don’t want to lose Conte, so expect cash to be flashed in January.
The views expressed in this blog are those of the author and unless specifically stated are not necessarily those of Hammersmith & Fulham Council.
