Frank Lampard became the third new appointment to the Chelsea job in four years this summer and will be seeking to prove he is worthy to be the long-term head coach of the Blues this summer.
Despite all his problems last year, Maurizio Sarri still managed to win the Europa League and take the club to third in the Premier League.
Keeping a foothold in the Champions League spots while the west Londoners wait for a two-window transfer ban to pass will be key, as will finding a way to get by without Eden Hazard.
Last season, Sarri's side flew out of the traps to be regarded in the early stages of the campaign as potential dark horses for the title. They even broke the record for the longest unbeaten run under a new manager.
However, that form wasn't to last, and was helped by a relatively comfortable list of fixtures to give the Italian a start to the season he could capitalise upon.
Will Lampard get the same chance to impress in his first campaign as head coach at Stamford Bridge?
The Fantasy Premier League Fixture Difficulty Ranking, or FDR, suggests that Chelsea should be able to build up some early momentum again at the beginning of the 2019/20 campaign.
In a quirk of fate, the Blues are expected to face their first big test of the season on November 23, almost a year to the day that they suffered their first league defeat under Sarri to Tottenham Hotspur.
Reigning champions Manchester City are the team tipped to hand Lampard a defeat in 2019 as they host their former player at the Etihad Stadium.
Liverpool away is the other match to be given the hardest possible rating for Chelsea with the trip to Anfield coming on May 9, on the penultimate weekend of the season.
Fantasy Premier League claim their FDR method is based on a complex algorithm developed by their team of experts.
It uses a set of formulas that process key Opta data variables, along with each team's home and away form for the past six meetings, to generate a rank for the perceived difficulty of each Gameweek opponent.
The FDR is designed to help FPL managers plan their transfer and team selection strategy. It is reviewed on a weekly basis and updated as the season progresses.
The Fixture Difficulty Ranking key is based from one to five, with one being the easiest and five being the hardest.
Unsurprisingly, Chelsea's most difficult fixtures, rated five out of five for difficulty, are expected to be Manchester City (away) and Liverpool (away).
Their next most difficult matches, scored four out of five, should be Manchester United (away), Liverpool (home), Everton (away), Tottenham Hotspur (away), Arsenal (away), Arsenal (home), Manchester United (Home), Tottenham Hotspur (home) and Manchester City (home).
In the above chart, Chelsea's away match against Newcastle United - a fixture that has often caused the Blues trouble - is rated as the start of what could be their toughest sequence of matches according to FDR.
Chelsea's hardest run of the season
January 18: Newcastle United (away) - 3 rating
January 21: Arsenal (home) - 4 rating
February 1: Leicester (away) - 3 rating
February 8: Manchester United (home) - 4 rating
February 22: Tottenham Hotspur (home) - 4 rating
February 29: Bournemouth (away) - 3 rating
Chelsea's easiest run of the season
By contrast, what should be Chelsea's simplest sequence of fixtures to navigate could begin in the second month of the season following the visit of Liverpool to Stamford Bridge on September 20.
September 28: Brighton (home) - rating 2
October 5: Southampton (away) - rating 2
October 19: Newcastle United (home) - rating 2
October 26: Burnley (away) - rating 2
November 2: Watford (away) - rating 3
November 9: Crystal Palace (home) - rating 3
