Thomas Tuchel's Chelsea side and the other 19 Premier League teams are waiting to learn their fate ahead of the 2022/23 Premier League season, with the fixture calendar set to be confirmed this week.
All 20 sides will find out at 9am (UK) on Thursday 16th June who they will face in which order for the 38-game campaign.
Chelsea will see their season begin on the weekend of the 6 and 7 August after the calendar was adjusted due to the mid-season World Cup which will take place in Qatar in November.
They will be hoping to go one step better next season in the hope of challenging Manchester City and Liverpool for the Premier League title having finished third last term, with Tuchel expecting a fight from Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur also.
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"It will be a super tough race. Manchester United will be in the race and Tottenham will be in the race with Antonio Conte for sure," admitted the Chelsea head coach last month.
"We want to stay in the race and Liverpool and Man City do everything to make their squads bigger and they set the standard so high. This is the challenge in which we compete."
He added: "There is normally a lot of work and it will be the same to be competitive next season, while, like everybody else, tries to close the gap to us, while the two top teams are what they are. A benchmark of consistency."
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Chelsea began their 2021/22 season with a fine win at home to Crystal Palace, scoring three without reply, to mark a perfect start to Tuchel's first full season in charge of the Blues.
Now they are days way from finding out their opening day opponents and we simulated the fixtures for matchday one to see who Chelsea could face.
The 10 fixtures returned and Chelsea were handed an almighty task from the get go. They were drawn away to Liverpool at Anfield to start their 2022/23 title challenge. Jurgen Klopp's side were their bogey side last time out - they suffered two cup final penalty defeats to the Reds, while drawing to them on both occasions in the league.
Tuchel will be hoping his side are given an easier start to the campaign than to face Champions League runners-up Liverpool. Chelsea will start their preparations for next season on 2 July when they begin to report back to their Cobham training ground ahead of their pre-season tour of America next month.
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Meanwhile, current champions Man City were given an easier start to the season with a home clash against Eddie Howe's Newcastle United. Manchester United were drawn against Arsenal, while Spurs were given an away trip to Villa Park to face Aston Villa.
Simulated 2022/23 Premier League opening day fixtures in full:
Brighton & Hove Albion vs Nottingham Forest
Fulham vs Wolverhampton Wanderers
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Brentford vs West Ham United
Manchester City vs Newcastle United
Leicester City vs Crystal Palace
Aston Villa vs Tottenham Hotspur
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Arsenal vs Manchester United
Liverpool vs Chelsea
Southampton vs Leeds United
Everton vs AFC Bournemouth
Topics: Chelsea, Premier League, Football
Matthew Debono