Photo: Skysports
Photo: Skysports

Chelsea will hope to mount a genuine Premier League title challenge in 2021-22 after the highs of their second Champions League triumph, but Thomas Tuchel will have to navigate a testing opening run.

Crystal Palace come to town on the opening day, followed by trips to Arsenal and Liverpool, before the visit of Aston Villa and then champions Manchester City come either side of a derby away at Tottenham. Watford visit on the final day.

Thomas Tuchel largely worked wonders at Stamford Bridge after replacing underperforming club legend Frank Lampard in the managerial dugout in January, culminating in that memorable 1-0 victory over Manchester City in Porto.

The German tactician also guided Chelsea to the FA Cup Final at Wembley and back into the top four of the Premier League, with his reward for those considerable achievements coming in the form of a contract extension lasting until 2024.

Key Dates for Chelsea Premier League 2021-22 Fixtures

*Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea will kick off the 2021-22 Premier League season at Stamford Bridge against Crystal Palace on August 14.

*The Blues' opener is followed by a testing London derby against Arsenal at the Emirates on August 21 and they then travel to Anfield to face Liverpool on August 28.

*Games against Aston Villa, Tottenham and Manchester City follow in September, meaning the reigning European champions are in for a tough start to the campaign.

*Chelsea's first meeting with Manchester United in 2021-22 comes on November 27, when they host the Red Devils at Stamford Bridge.

*The London club's schedule in the run-up to Christmas includes a tasty encounter with Leeds United on December 11, while they welcome Jurgen Klopp's Reds to Stamford Bridge on New Year's Day.

*A relatively kind end-of-season run-in has been thrown up for the Blues as they take on Everton at the end of April before playing Wolves and Manchester United before wrapping up against newly-promoted Watford.

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The 2020–21 season was Chelsea's 107th competitive season, 32nd consecutive season in the top flight of English football, 29th consecutive season in the Premier League, and 115th year in existence as a football club. The season covered the period from 1 July 2020 to 30 June 2021.

Prior to the 2020–21 season, Chelsea made numerous high-profile signings in the transfer market, bringing in the likes of Timo Werner, Kai Havertz, Ben Chilwell, Hakim Ziyech, and Thiago Silva in the off-season, as well as Édouard Mendy shortly after the season began. The Blues began this season under the management of former Chelsea player Frank Lampard, in his second season at the club. However, Lampard was sacked in January and replaced by the German manager Thomas Tuchel. The season culminated in the club's second European Cup victory, as on 29 May 2021, Chelsea defeated fellow English side Manchester City in the Champions League final to be crowned champions of Europe.

The full schedule of Chelsea 2021/22 Premier League fixtures

Date Time Match
14/08/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Crystal Palace
21/08/2021 15:00 Arsenal v Chelsea
28/08/2021 15:00 Liverpool v Chelsea
11/09/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Aston Villa
18/09/2021 15:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea
25/09/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Manchester City
02/10/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Southampton
16/10/2021 15:00 Brentford v Chelsea
23/10/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Norwich City
30/10/2021 15:00 Newcastle United v Chelsea
06/11/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Burnley
20/11/2021 15:00 Leicester City v Chelsea
27/11/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Manchester United
30/11/2021 19:45 Watford v Chelsea
04/12/2021 15:00 West Ham United v Chelsea
11/12/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Leeds United
15/12/2021 20:00 Chelsea v Everton
18/12/2021 15:00 Wolverhampton v Chelsea
26/12/2021 15:00 Aston Villa v Chelsea
28/12/2021 15:00 Chelsea v Brighton
01/01/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Liverpool
15/01/2022 15:00 Manchester City v Chelsea
22/01/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur
08/02/2022 19:45 Brighton v Chelsea
12/02/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Arsenal
19/02/2022 15:00 Crystal Palace v Chelsea
26/02/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Leicester City
05/03/2022 15:00 Burnley v Chelsea
12/03/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Newcastle United
19/03/2022 15:00 Norwich City v Chelsea
02/04/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Brentford
09/04/2022 15:00 Southampton v Chelsea
16/04/2022 15:00 Leeds United v Chelsea
23/04/2022 15:00 Chelsea v West Ham United
30/04/2022 15:00 Everton v Chelsea
07/05/2022 15:00 Chelsea v Wolverhampton
15/05/2022 15:00 Manchester United v Chelsea
22/05/2022 16:00 Chelsea v Watford

Key dates for the 2021/22 season

The 2021/22 Premier League will start on Saturday August 14 - 34 days after the Euro 2020 final at Wembley.

The season will end on May 22 2022, with all 10 games kicking off at the same time.

The 2021/22 EFL season will kick-off on Saturday August 7.

Next season's League One campaign will finish on the weekend of April 30 2022, with League Two and the Championship on one of May 7 and May 8 respectively.

The League One play-off final will then be held on Saturday May 21, the League Two play-off final on Saturday May 28, and the Championship play-off final on Sunday May 29.

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