Group Stage Fan Preview: Chelsea

Chelsea are back. After a one-year absence from Europe's premier competition Chelsea come flying straight into Group C with the momentum of a Premier League title win and a record signing behind them.

Well, except they don't.

Despite Antonio Conte’s three-at-the-back revolution, star players re-finding their mojo and ‘lesser’ players hitting unforeseen peaks, the wind has been knocked out of the sails this summer. More than £182 million has been spent, but somehow the squad doesn’t look better.

Diego Costa, Nemanja Matic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Nathaniel Chalobah, Nathan Ake and Bertrand Traore have all departed; either exiled to the beaches of Brazil, sold or reassigned to the Chelsea Loan Army™. A deadline day splurge has helped matters somewhat with the arrival of Davide Zappacosta at right wing-back and Danny Drinkwater taking the central midfielder numbers up to four. The Blues severely lack numbers in certain areas however, and will struggle to cover the three domestic competitions as well as Europe with only one left wing-back and two strikers.