Chelsea get their Premier League campaign under way tomorrow at the John Smith’s Stadium when Maurizio Sarri makes his league bow against Huddersfield Town.
However, there is also likely to be a debut for world record goalkeeper Kepa Arrizabalaga after making his move to the Blues from Athletic Bilbao on Wednesday evening.
Sarri stated that he ‘didn’t know’ if Kepa would start the match, but with London rivals Arsenal being the next match, it could well be a good chance for the youngster to get his first match under his belt and hope to keep a clean sheet or have a solid first match.
Meanwhile, in the middle of the park N’Golo Kante could return after his spell with France in the World Cup, and after an impressive pre-season with the Blues, Ross Barkley could also get his chance to start.
With Eden Hazard back, many Blues supporters will be hoping to get him into the starting team, but with Arsenal the following week it might be not worth taking the risk with the Belgian.
Following the departure of Michy Batshuayi on loan to Valencia, Alvaro Morata as a run-in as the leading striker for the Blues and will most likely lead the line, with either Olivier Giroud or Tammy Abraham on the bench.
But whatever the side, Sarri will be hoping to get his season off to a better start than Conte did last season, when the Blues had two men sent off and lost the game to Burnley 3-2.