The Football League kicks off later this week as west London's clubs prepare to return to action.
Premier League sides have a little longer to wait for their curtain call but Antonio Conte has already been busy plotting the club's rise back to the summit of English football.
The good news for Chelsea fans is that when battle does commence, they don’t usually have to wait very long for their club’s first league goal of the season.
The Blues have scored their first league goal after just 28.1 minutes of play on average over the last 10 seasons.
That’s quicker than any other current Premier League side.
Chelsea’s quickest opening goal in that time was in 2012-13 when Branislav Ivanovic put them ahead with just two minutes on the clock.
The season before though saw Chelsea take 143 minutes to score their first goal, longer than in any of their last 10 seasons.
Average time of first league goal (minutes)
Chelsea
28.1
Man United
42.5
Watford
44.4
Manchester United are the Premier League’s next quickest team out of the starting blocks.
Their players take an average of just 42.5 minutes to score the club’s first league goal of the season.
Watford take an average of 44.4 minutes, while Burnley take 50.8 minutes and Southampton 54.4 minutes.
West Brom fans have to wait the longest amount of time for their team’s first goal of the season.
The Baggies have taken an average of 116.1 minutes to get off the mark over the last 10 campaigns.
Bournemouth have taken an average of 102.8 minutes, Stoke 100.2 minutes and Tottenham 93.9 minutes.
