Chelsea will be looking to bounce back after a lacklustre campaign, which seen a squad of players that should have been fighting at the the top of the the table, surrender themselves to a mid table finish. The hierarchy of the club will be hoping the arrival of passionate manager, Antonio Conte, will spur the under-performing players back to the level which saw them win the 2014/15 league title.

Chelsea are a tough team to pick fantasy football playess from, given the fact they all performed so poorly last season (with the exception of Willian)! Conte will recruit a few more players to go join the likes of N’Golo Kante and Michy Batshuayi, as he looks to rebuild a fractured squad. Getting back in the Champions League has to be a priority and with the non negotiable objective of the board so I’m expecting big things.

STAR MAN- Eden Hazard (10.0m)

The star man of Chelsea’s squad is somewhat difficult to pick, as Willian walked home with Chelsea player of the year, but it wasn’t much of a contest given the level of performances from his fellow teammates. Hazard had a excellent Euro 2016 providing 4 assists, but it wasn’t enough for the Belgians against Wales in the quarter finals. If we are treated to the Hazard of old then he’s a must for all your fantasy teams. Over his first 3 seasons, he has managed an impressive record of 37 goals and 36 assists. Perhaps the best bet with Hazard is to take the ‘wait and see’ approach. If he performs like he did last year, he’s 100% not worth the 10.0m price tag.

It is worth a mention that Conte stated in an interview he has the belief in Hazard to become a world star with the likes of Suarez, Messi, Ronaldo and Neymar, so he clearly does rate him highly. As noted, Willian is also a good option. The formation at Chelsea up in the the air and could be hard to guess who will start with Conte in charge. Hazard and Costa will be guaranteed starters. Pedro, Willian and loan-returnee Juan Cuadrado will all be competing for a simular position and Chelsea could even play two up top with Batshuayi!

HIDDEN GEM – Juan Cuadrado (7.0m)

The hidden gem is always a tough one with such a well known club like Chelsea, with their players always being in the public eye. In this case the hidden gem is a player that scores a good amount of points, with a fairly low “teams selected by” percentage.

The majority of Fantasy Premier League players will opt for Hazard or Fabregas from Chelsea’s midfield, leaving a few options that might slip under the radar. Antonio Conte has confirmed Cuadrado will remain at the club, so he may be one to keep an eye one in pre season to see if he favours the Columbian over Willian and Pedro. At 7.0m he could prove to be a steal.

If Conte does adopt a 2 man attack then Bertrand Traore is also worth a shout. At 5.5m he looks a steal, as if one of the 2 main men in Costa and Batshuayi get injured, Traore could prove to be a real differential. We saw glimpse of his potential during periods of last season when Diego Costa was injured.

BARGAIN OPTION – Cesc Fabregas (7.5m)

At just 7.5m, Cesc Fabregas seems an absolute bargain! With the capture of N’Golo Kante we might finally see Fabregas deployed in his most favoured position, No 10. Matic and Kante sweeping things up and Cesc pulling the strings, it’s a thing of beauty when it works. With the array of attacking talent, assists should be aplenty for the Spaniard.

As mentioned earlier, last season we saw a glimpse of what Traore is capable of and the talent he holds already at the age of 20. With a price of just 5.5m, the Burkino Faso international may prove value for money but he certainly won’t be first choice, so it’s hard to consider him a bargain at this point in the season. Keep him on your watch list though. If any injuries do occur to the Blues forward line, he could be your guy.

Written by FPL Avids (@FPLAvids)