Newcastle vs Chelsea (1-2): Four talking points

#4 Dark horses for the Premier League?

Chelsea: The dark horses in this year's Premier League?

Chelsea's previous season left a sour taste in the mouth of everybody involved as the manager Antonio Conte reportedly fell out with the Chelsea board and both the parties ended their relationship this offseason. To add to the drama, Chelsea could not find agreement with Napoli in order to bring Maurizio Sarri to Stamford Bridge and it was only by the end of July that the Italian finally managed to join the Blues, replacing Conte.

Their title rivals have strengthened their respective squads and Chelsea are currently seen as a work in progress and even a top-four finish this season would be counted as progress in the eyes of everyone. However, early signs suggest that Blues could very well be the dark horses for this season's Premier League title. Liverpool and Manchester City look like favourites to win the title this season, however, Chelsea could potentially cause some stir in the race to the top.

A hungry squad with proven winners and adding Eden Hazard to the mix spells trouble for Chelsea's opponents this season. Also, the transition to "Sarri-ball" looks smoother as Jorginho, the metronome of last season's Napoli looks at home in the Premier League.

Chelsea has now won all of their opening games this season which is only bettered by Liverpool who is ahead on account of goal difference. Perhaps a more important thing to shed light on is that this Chelsea side is just under a transition period and the squad is expected to hit top form only after another month or two under the new manager Sarri. This season, the premier league could very well see a surprise winner come to the end of the season.