The
Premier League is back - but what shape are Chelsea in for the season
restart?
Ahead of the top flight's big return, we run the rule over Frank Lampard's
side, from fixtures and fitness to the manager's view and more...
Who have they got left to play?
Chelsea resume with a trip to Aston Villa, live on Sky Sports.
A London derby with West Ham United also is being shown by Sky Sports on
Wednesday July 1, with a league trip to Manchester City and an FA Cup
quarter-final at Leicester on Sunday June 28 (4pm kick-off) between those
Sky games.
Lampard's team still must go to Liverpool and also face crunch clashes
against Sheffield United and Wolves in the race for European qualification.
Chelsea's confirmed Premier League restart
dates
Sunday, June 21
Aston Villa vs Chelsea
Kick-Off: 8.15pm; Live on Sky Sports and Sky Pick
Thursday, June 25
Chelsea v Man City
Kick-Off: 4.15pm
Wednesday, July 1
West Ham vs Chelsea
Kick-Off: 8.15pm; Live on Sky Sports and Sky Pick
Chelsea fixtures: Dates and times to be
confirmed
Chelsea vs Watford
Crystal Palace vs Chelsea
Sheffield United vs Chelsea
Chelsea vs Norwich
Liverpool vs Chelsea
Chelsea vs Wolves
Bournemouth vs Chelsea
Where can they finish?
Lampard's team are currently fourth - three points ahead of fifth-placed
Manchester United as the battle for the Champions League places will take
centre stage towards the top of the table after the restart.
A fifth-placed finish could seal Champions League football if Manchester
City's European ban - one they are appealing - is upheld.
City's potential ban - and the fact that they have already won the Carabao
Cup - could deliver Europa League football for the sides that finish sixth
and seventh and there might yet be further reward, although, Chelsea would
have to suffer a huge loss in form of being in danger of dropping out of the
top five.
Chelsea are favourites to land fourth spot, behind Leicester, but Manchester
United still have a 27 per cent chance of achieving a top-four finish,
according to modelling by Experimental361.
Any other commitments?
Chelsea are in the last eight of the FA Cup - a competition they have won
eight times.
Their quarter-final tie against Leicester at The King Power will take place
on June 27/28, with the semi-finals and finals scheduled at Wembley on July
18/19 and August 1 respectively.
Is everyone fit and available?
Before the suspension of the season, Chelsea had several players struggling
with injuries but the break has worked out well for the club in that regard.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek has spent the entire campaign recovering from his
Achilles' tendon rupture but is back in full training now, while Christian
Pulisic hasn't played since New Year's Day but also is back albeit will be
lacking match practice. Top scorer Tammy Abraham suffered an ankle injury
while playing against Arsenal but has now fully recovered.
There is an issue over N'Golo Kante, however, with the World Cup winner
carrying concerns around the Covid-19 virus.
What form were they in before the break?
Chelsea enjoyed a 4-0 victory over Everton in their final game before the
suspension but had slipped up on the road before that with a 2-2 draw
against Bournemouth and a 1-0 reverse at Newcastle leaving Lampard with a
few issues to ponder.
What's the manager said?
"One of the things for me as a manager that I've learnt in this two-month
period is that communication is so key," Lampard said.
"When we went into isolation we all felt like we went into this crazy bubble
that we're not used to. Me sending messages to the players and asking how
they felt was so important.
"I didn't want to bombard them so they were bored of me but I did want them
to know that I'm here. As the talk of restarting came it was an important
conversation that we had collectively. Everybody is different and we've seen
that with the reaction of players and that has to be respected in all ways.
We work every day as a family and a team and we'll respect everyone and how
they feel about the restart and coming back to work."
The betting - can they see the job
through?
Chelsea have perhaps surprised a few this season with their consistent top
four challenge in Lampard's first season in the job having not spent a penny
in the last transfer window.
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