Leeds United's return to the Premier League elite will have the optimists amongst the fanbase purring over the possibility of a return to European football one day. While that remains a distant possibility, they have shown they are capable of going toe-to-toe with English football's European stalwarts already this season.
Arsenal visited Elland Road, leaving with their tails between their legs, fortunate to have snatched a point from their 0-0 draw, while Manchester City left West Yorkshire two points lighter than they would have hoped after an enthralling contest which finished 1-1.
Everton have dabbled in European football over the past two decades and were introduced to Raphinha last weekend, who left the heady heights of Champions League football with Rennes to join Leeds United this summer.
This weekend's opponents were on their travels in midweek too, defeating Sevilla 4-0 thanks to a quartet of strikes from Olivier Giroud. Despite the good result, it is unlikely travelling to and from Seville will have done Frank Lampard's side any favours, especially if recent history is anything to go by.
The Blues' record in the Premier League immediately following their European fixtures suggests they suffer from a slight hangover on Champions League weeks.
Since Frank Lampard took the reins at Stamford Bridge, Chelsea have averaged 1.82 points per game in the league. However, their record in the 11 games which followed Champions League nights since the beginning of last season sees them post up just 1.64 points per game. It may only be a slight drop off, but a minuscule decrease in preparedness could be all Marcelo Bielsa's team need to make the difference in a league where the margins are even finer than the Championship.
Chelsea have lost to AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United and Liverpool on the weekend after a midweek outing in Europe's premium club competition since the start of 2019-20, which means a well-oiled Leeds are more than capable of taking all three points from the Bridge too.
Admittedly, this year their form has been better, with two wins and two draws in the league during Champions League weeks. Although, those wins have come at the expense of Burnley and Sheffield United, who have both started the season very poorly.
Nil-nil draws with Manchester United and Tottenham followed narrow contests with Sevilla and Rennes this season, and with Chelsea having faced the Spaniards again on Wednesday night, there could be a little bit of fatigue that sets in on Saturday.
The fact that the Blues have been unable to find that cutting edge against better sides suggests that fatigue - whether that be physical, mental or travel-induced - has played a part in their league form not being quite what it could be.
Nevertheless, Saturday promises to be an exciting contest, where two sides vying for the upper hand over each other will settle old scores.
