Chelsea kick-off life under Italian boss Antonio Conte with a home game against London rivals West Ham on Monday.
The Blues new boss Conte has been successful with Italian giants Juventus and also achieved a degree of success with his national side, as he team at Euro 2016 was mediocre but still reached the quarter-finals of the competition.
The former-Azzurri boss is a man that will get results, even if the team’s style of play is not ever so pretty on the eye. The current group of Chelsea players need a boss like Conte. They need a strong boss who will not take any prisoners.
An opening home game with West Ham is an intriguing one. The Hammers have strengthened their squad with the signing of the likes of Andre Ayew and Sofiane Feghouli. Slaven Bilic produced a team that played a very good style of play last season while remaining solid in defence.
The Irons will no doubt provide a challenge for their London rivals on Monday night. Bilic’s side will not fear the Blues, but Chelsea under Conte are likely to be fitter, stronger and far shrewder than under Guus Hiddink last season.
The appointment of Conte as Blues boss may have been an inspired one by the club's hierarchy. The Italian has not strengthened his squad heavily, with N’Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi being the only signings, but they will be a different team to last season.
This should be an intriguing London derby to kick-off both sides’ campaigns, but the Conte effect may just be enough to give the home side a win in a tight encounter.