Chelsea: 5 most important fixtures of the 2021/22 season

Chelsea gets ready for another Premier League season as the fixtures are released for the 2021/22 season. The Blues’ full schedule is out and the supporters can begin marking the important matches on their calendars. It is difficult to know what games will be extremely important before a ball is kicked, but there are certain fixtures that already stand out from this far out.

Here are the five most crucial clashes on the Blues’ schedule at this moment in time:

Matchday 2: Arsenal vs. Chelsea

Chelsea took 16 out of 24 points from London derbies last season. The Blues took zero points out of six available against Arsenal though. This fact is made all the more distressing because of how poor Arsenal were in that season.

Unfortunately, the west London side always seems to mimic a League Two outfit whenever it faces Arsenal. This isn’t a recent thing either. Under Antonio Conte’s reign, the Italian’s men faced Arsenal six times in the 2017/18 season, drawing three times and losing three others.

Last season, the Blues faced a Gunners squad that had picked up seven defeats from their last 10 matches, while Frank Lampard’s men were unbeaten in their last 17 matches. That match saw Arsenal outplay Chelsea from top to bottom, leaving the Blues 3-1 on the losing side. The reverse fixture saw an in-form Chelsea—that had beaten Man City, Liverpool, Everton and Leicester City—struggle and come out again on the losing side. The Blues have to prove in this fixture that they have overcome their mental block against the Gunners. They have to make a statement in that game; think the 6-0 win under Jose Mourinho. The Blues have to win comprehensively to convince themselves that they can maintain the right mentality when playing against their north London neighbors.