Chelsea have hit a real run of form but that has been scuppered by the international break over the next two weeks.
The Blues have gone eight games unbeaten and were making real moves in the Premier League table and establishing their place in the Champions League group.
Frank Lampard will have several of his players flying around the world to play for their countries, leaving training a little sparse.
But what will be on the Chelsea boss’s to-do list during the international break.
Christian Pulisic’s future
There have been more injury worries for Christian Pulisic as another hamstring problem means that he has missed the last three matches.
The winger is set to be playing for the USA in the two weeks on international duty, but if he isn’t going to be fit then he will be remaining with the Blues.
One of the Chelsea staff’s priorities will be to get the American back to full fitness in order to get him back on the pitch as quick as possible.
The 22-year-old is still a key member of the side and can be massively important for the success that the Blues could have.
Fikayo Tomori’s future
Fikayo Tomori was the deadline day story as he almost made the loan move to West Ham, however it fell through when he decided to stick with the Blues.
However, the 22-year-old has barely featured this season for the west London side, with just one appearance in the Premier League off the bench.
The England international has slipped down to number five centre-back, with Andreas Christensen and Antonio Rudiger now above him in the pecking order.
There could be some open conversations about whether or not he should be loaned out in January in order to get more playing time.
Continue the momentum
Chelsea were really building momentum over the course of the past few weeks just before the international break put an end to it.
The attacking play was really coming together while the defence had started to look tight and together as a unit.
The key for Lampard when the majority of his players come back from international duty will be to really get that momentum back.
There will be some choices over who should be getting a rest for the match against Newcastle, but keeping the momentum going will be massive.
Make decision on Billy Gilmour
There has been a big boost for the Blues to have Billy Gilmour back in training over the past couple of the weeks.
The young Scot had to have surgery on his knee and has been out of action since July.
But the international break has come at a good time for the youngster to get back to full fitness and fight for a place.
The decision could be made for Gilmour to come back into the side, with a busy fixture list going into December.
.png?w=600)
