The long wait for Chelsea fans is nearly over.
The Blues start their 2020/21 Premier League campaign on Monday evening when they travel to Brighton & Hove Albion for their first game of the season.
After a summer of big spending in the transfer window, Chelsea head coach Frank Lampard will be desperate to make the perfect start on the south coast.
They face Graham Potter's Brighton side, who themselves will be looking to push up the table and avoid being dragged into a relegation battle again.
Chelsea supporters will be eager to see if Lampard hands debuts to several of his new signings, including Timo Werner and Kai Havertz.
The Germany duo, who arrived from RB Leipzig and Bayer Leverkusen respectively, are both fully fit and available for selection, and are set to play some part at the AMEX Stadium.
Hakim Ziyech misses out, however, after sustaining an injury at the same stadium several weeks ago in a pre-season friendly.
"Hakim Ziyech took an injury to his knee against Brighton in the friendly game so he won’t be fit," Lampard told reporters before the game.
"We hope it’s a matter of weeks, hopefully a couple of weeks, but we will have to see on that one."
New defenders Ben Chilwell and Thiago Silva are also to miss the game, with Lampard confirming that the pair are not fully fit.
"Ben Chilwell is working towards fitness. He won’t be fit for Brighton. He has developed and improved this week and going in the right direction, which is good news for us," Lampard added.
"Thiago Silva is now in London but not training with us until the weekend, so I doubt very much he will be in contention for the Brighton game.
"Other than that, Billy Gilmour is a longer-term injury, he will be out for a couple of months more, but other than that we are in decent shape."
Full Chelsea squad available for selection
Goalkeepers: Kepa Arrizabalaga, Willy Caballero.
Defenders: Cesar Azpilicueta, Reece James, Antonio Rudiger, Fikayo Tomori, Juan Castillo, Andreas Christensen, Kurt Zouma, Marcos Alonso, Emerson Palmieri.
Midfielders: Jorginho, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Ross Barkley, Mason Mount, Kai Havertz, N'Golo Kante.
Forwards: Christian Pulisic, Callum Hudson-Odoi, Tammy Abraham, Olivier Giroud, Timo Werner.
