Chelsea's fixtures for the 2022/23 Premier League season have been officially confirmed, with Everton, Leeds and Tottenham their first three opponents.
It was a difficult campaign for Chelsea last season, with injuries, cup final defeats and off-field issues playing a big part in their season. The Blues secured a third-place finish and will be looking to improve on that in the upcoming season.
The Premier League announced the official fixtures for next season at 9:00 AM BST on Thursday, June 16, 2022, and Chelsea have a good start to the season on paper. Chelsea's first clash with rivals Tottenham will be on August 13, whilst their first game against Arsenal will be at home on November 5.
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So, how could the Blues perform in these games next season, and what will their standout results be? To try and predict the future, we simulated their entire 2022/23 season to try and see where Chelsea could finish in the Premier League next season.
Chelsea's 2022/23 Premier League fixtures simulated
To complete this simulation, we used Football Manager 2022 and updated the game with the latest teams, transfers, and most importantly, the updated fixtures for the 2022/23 season. Let's see how Chelsea played in some of their games next season.
Opening game: Everton 2-1 Chelsea (Saturday, August 6, 2022)
Chelsea got off to a poor start in the 2022/23 season, losing on the opening day to Everton. The Blues were blunt in attack and found themselves 2-0 behind at half-time after Dominic Calvert-Lewin and Anwar El Ghazi scored.
N'Golo Kante pulled a goal back in the second half, but Everton held out for the three points. Not the perfect start for the Blues.
Biggest win: Newcastle 0-4 Chelsea (Saturday, November 12, 2022)
The Blues started to find their stride after a difficult opening month to the season, and they recorded their biggest win of the season in November when they faced Newcastle away from home. Two goals from Romelu Lukaku followed by goals from Kai Havertz and Mateo Kovacic put Chelsea 4-0 up at half-time, but the Blues took their foot off the gas and held out for the four goal victory.
Biggest shock: Chelsea 0-2 Leicester City (Saturday, August 28, 2022)
Not long after the opening day defeat, Chelsea lost again, this time at home to Leicester City. The blues had struggled in August, losing two, drawing one and winning one.
Goals from Ricardo Pereira and Harvey Barnes secured the three points for the Foxes, with Leicester just the second team during the season that would stop the Blues from scoring at home. Leicester also beat Chelsea 2-0 at their ground, proving a bogey team for Tuchel in the simulation.
Derby days
Chelsea didn't have the best luck during the 2022/23 season in derby games against Arsenal and Spurs, winning one, drawing two and losing one of the four games against both sides. The win came at home against Arsenal, with Armando Broja coming off the bench to score the winning goal - the striker proved to be a vital super-sub for Chelsea in the simulation.
The reverse fixture saw the Gunners hold Chelsea to a 0-0 draw at the Emirates, but the draw against Spurs came at home, with Kante scoring to earn a point. Chelsea suffered a big loss against Spurs in the reverse fixture, losing 3-1 to Antonio Conte's side.
Final game: Chelsea 4-1 Newcastle (Sunday, May 28, 2023)
A 4-1 win against Newcastle on the final day of the season saw Chelsea end the campaign on a high note. Goals from Havertz, Malang Sarr, Lukaku and Kovacic secured the win, making the aggregate score against the Magpies 8-1 over the two league games.
So, where did Chelsea finish Premier League? Did Tuchel's side battle it out for the Premier League trophy, or are reinforcements needed?
2022/23 Premier League final standings
With some big players leaving and no signings made as of yet, Chelsea struggled to improve on last season and dropped to fourth in the Premier League table. Tuchel's side earned one point less than the previous campaign, but Spurs leapfrogged the Blues as they built on their strong end to last season.
Overall, according to Football Manager 2022's Premier League simulation for the 2022/23 campaign, Chelsea may struggle to improve on last season without improving their squad in the transfer window. The simulation predicted the Blues to finish fourth, 21 points off Man City in second and away from the title race.
Would you be happy with these results for Chelsea next season? Let us know in the comments below!
