Chelsea's attention returned to Premier League action yesterday evening after Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali spent the final days of the January transfer window pulling all the stops to secure the club-record signing of Enzo Fernandez.
The World Cup winner finally earned his move to Stamford Bridge on deadline day for a fee in the region of £105million, making him, not only the club-record signing, but the Premier League's most expensive incoming.
Despite the expensive price tag floating over his presence, Fernandez made his Chelsea debut in fine fashion with a comfortable display against Fulham on Friday evening, but it was a disappointing evening for Graham Potter's men overall. Failure to overcome Marco Silva's stubborn Fulham - who have now taken four points off their London rivals for the first time since 1976 - leaves them quite the distance off the UEFA Champions League places.
READ MORE: Chelsea player ratings as Enzo Fernandez impresses on debut, Benoit Badiashile strong
The Blues are nine points behind Newcastle and Manchester United in the Premier League top four and could find themselves 12 points behind by the time they travel to West Ham United next Saturday. However, there remains 17 league games for Potter's side to produce a surge to the upper echelon on the table.
Here, football.london takes a look at the upcoming matches and what will be on the cards for Potter and his top four chasing rivals.
West Ham (A) - February 11
It's another London derby for Chelsea, their third in four fixtures, as they travel to struggling West Ham. The Hammers eased the pressure on manager David Moyes last time out with victory over Everton but face a difficult trip to Newcastle this afternoon.
David Moyes' side have proven to be tough opponents for Chelsea to beat in recent years though and were unfortunate not to get more from their trip to Stamford Bridge earlier this season. Chelsea have only won three of their last eight away matches against West Ham, losing five.
Borussia Dortmund (A), Champions League - February 15
The return of the Champions League has snuck up on Chelsea and they will be hoping to welcome some of their star players back for this huge fixture. Potter is so far unbeaten in the competition with four wins and a draw from his five matches in charge.
It was European performances that kicked his reign off and got the Blues on a positive run and the hope will be that the excitement of a trip to Germany can kick start a big push until the end of the season.
Southampton (H) - February 18
It's another struggling team next up after that, and perhaps more importantly it's a home game. Matches around Champions League gameweeks always attract attention due to fatigue and fitness concerns.
With two London-based fixtures against relegation-threatened sides, this is as good as Potter could have hoped for, though Nathan Jones' Saints have only lost one of their last four in all competitions. It's still a run of just one league win in eight though.
Tottenham (A) - February 26
Chelsea's toughest league game of this month comes towards the back end with a trip to Antonio Conte's Spurs. The north Londoners have - despite enduring a difficult run of late - managed to maintain their top four bid and are three points behind Man United.
Prior to this game, Spurs face a tricky run of fixtures including another London derby with West Ham the week before. If Potter's men are going to make a late bid to make the top four, defeating their Champions League rivals would do a world of good.
Leeds (H) - March 4
The fixtures at Stamford Bridge are kind to Chelsea with three of their next four visitors all indulged in the race to remain in the Premier League. Jesse Marsch's Leeds side will face the Blues looking to earn their first win in west London since December 1999.
Just as they did last year, the Whites find themselves fighting at the foot of the Premier League table and have managed to win four games all season. It's becoming a common theme here, but Chelsea must come away from this fixture with nothing but three points.
Liverpool next five fixtures:
Wolves (A) - February 4
Everton (H) - February 13
Newcastle United (A) - February 18
Real Madrid, Champions League (H) - February 21
Crystal Palace (A) - February 25
Manchester City next five fixtures:
Tottenham (A) - February 5
Aston Villa (H) - February 12
Arsenal (A) - February 15
Nottingham Forest (A) - February 18
RB Leipzig, Champions League - February 22
Newcastle next five fixtures:
West Ham (H) - February 4
Bournemouth (A) - February 11
Liverpool (H) - February 18
Man United (N), Carabao Cup final - February 26
Man City (A) - March 4
Manchester United next five fixtures:
Crystal Palace (H) - February 4
Leeds (H) - February 8
Leeds (A) - February 12
Barcelona (A), Europa League - February 16
Leicester (H) - February 19
Tottenham next five fixtures:
Manchester City (H) - February 5
Leicester City (A) - February 11
AC Milan (A), Champions League - February 14
West Ham (H) - February 19
Chelsea (H) - February 26
READ NEXT:
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Four things learned as Enzo Fernandez debut vindicates Potter but doesn't solve Chelsea problem
Chelsea confirm Champions League squad with major Joao Felix and Enzo Fernandez decision made
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