A blog of two halves

Welcome back, N'Golo Kante! It's been a bleak, listless October without you... but thank heavens you're fit again.

It’s The Sulky One v The Rattled One.

The games come thick and fast as Ferraris fight for space with ambulances in the players’ car park at Cobham.

The Blues are hamstrung. Identical injuries to Victor Moses, N’Golo Kante and Alvaro Morata mean Tony Conte can’t choose from a full squad until Manchester United visit the Bridge on bonfire night.

The Blues travel to Palace this weekend, conscious of underperforming in their home defeat to Man City and only too well aware that Selhurst Park has a reputation as a graveyard for Chelsea ambition.

Despite the boost in confidence that comes from scoring goals, young striker Michy Batshuayi still isn’t the real deal in the eyes of Blues manager Tony Conte.

On the back of their European high this week, Chelsea take on a rampant Manchester City.

Anything you can do, we can do better, whistled Chelsea Ladies while demolishing Bristol City 6-0 at Kingsmeadow… the day after the boys beat Stoke 4-0 away.

When Chelsea won the league last season

After Chelsea’s first European action for an age comes the mouth-watering prospect of a serious London derby.