In all competitions, Chelsea have scored 57 goals in 22 games this season. This is already seven more than they scored in 2022-23 (50 in 50 games).

Their current goals-per-game ratio of 2.6 is their best in a single season in their entire history.

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea have five Premier League games before the end of 2024 and they will fancy themselves against each of their opposition.

But who will they face? Here are their upcoming fixtures:

• 8 December: Tottenham v Chelsea
• 15 December: Chelsea v Brentford
• 22 December: Everton v Chelsea
• 26 December: Chelsea v Fulham
• 30 December: Ipswich Town v Chelsea

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca may be denying that the Blues could win the Premier League this season but their table position tells another story.

They are currently second with eight wins from 14 matches. Chelsea are just seven points behind leaders Liverpool.

Seven points is a deficit that they could overhaul, especially in their current form.

In their last five league games they have beaten Southampton, Aston Villa and Leicester City and drawn against Arsenal and Manchester United.

Not long ago at all, anon.

• 2021-22: 1st after 14 games (finished 3rd)
• 2022-23: 8th after 14 games (finished 12th)
• 2023-24: 10th after 14 games (finished 6th)
• 2024-25: 2nd after 14 games

Image source, Getty Images

Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca displayed the amount of talent in his squad as he made seven changes to his team to play Southampton from the one who beat Aston Villa 3-0.

There was a change of goalkeeper with Filip Jorgensen making his Premier League debut last night, he was in for Robert Sanchez.

The other new faces in the starting XI were Malo Gusto, Axel Disasi, Tosin Adarabioyo, Noni Madueke, Joao Felix and Christopher Nkunku.

That meant Levi Colwill, Pedro Neto, Romeo Lavia, Jadon Sancho and Nicolas Jackson dropped to the bench.

And Wesley Fofana did not feature in the matchday squad.

Nizaar Kinsella
BBC Sport football news reporter

Image source, Getty Images

Jadon Sancho scored his first goal for Chelsea as they ruthlessly capitalised on a series of Southampton errors to run out comfortable winners.

Sancho wrapped up the scoring for the Blues after goals from Axel Disasi, Christopher Nkunku, Noni Madueke and Cole Palmer had put them in control.

Substitute Sancho opened his Chelsea account by finishing in a one-on-one situation from Malo Gusto's through ball.

Saints briefly levelled at 1-1 through Joe Aribo but their capacity to self-destruct was underlined when, after falling 3-1 down, captain Jack Stephens was sent off by referee Tony Harrington for pulling Marc Cucurella's hair.

Chelsea thumped Southampton last night 5-1 from expected goals of 5.29, according to Opta.

This is the highest xG for an away team since records began.

Enzo Maresca says winger Noni Madueke "must work more" to secure a place in the Chelsea side, despite scoring in the 5-1 win at Southampton.

England international Madueke had only scored once since August before the trip to St Mary's and was left out of the XI against Aston Villa last weekend.

He scored a fine angled shot at Southampton and also created a goal for Christopher Nkunku - but Maresca wants more.

He said: "Noni can do much more. He can do much more. The moment he starts to score or assist and is happy, he starts to drop a little bit and the reason why he was not playing is because I do not like the way he trained.

"He has to understand that he has to train every day good. He has to be ambitious. He scored one tonight, he has to go for the second one and the third one. He has to give more assists.

"But overall, he is doing great, he is doing fantastic. He is doing even better in terms of numbers. Noni has to understand he has to work more because he can be much, much, much better."

Image source, Getty Images

Guillem Balague
Spanish football journalist for BBC Sport

On 29 November 2008, Enzo Maresca was Sevilla's defensive midfielder when Pep Guardiola's high-flying Barcelona were the visitors.

It would turn out to be a key moment in his career. A lightbulb moment of clarity, when thoughts the 28-year-old Maresca had on how the game should be played were turned on their head.

It would be more than eight years before he, as a young coach, could begin to try to put into practice what he had witnessed that night when Barca strolled to a 3-0 victory as Sevilla spent most of the game trying to figure out how to get the ball.

The die was cast; Maresca always knew that he wanted to be a coach, but now, thanks to Guardiola and that night in Seville, he knew exactly what type of coach.

And now he has taken Chelsea to second place in the Premier League table after 14 games.

They are on a run of five wins and two draws in seven games in all competitions, including Wednesday's 5-1 win at Southampton, means they sit above Arsenal and Manchester City.

Lee Dixon
Former England defender on 5 Live Breakfast

That's all they can do [chip away at Liverpool's lead in the Premier League] with the way Liverpool have started, sometimes a run-away train, you've just got to let it go a little bit and hope that you catch it up at some point and with the injuries that Arsenal have had, they've fallen behind a little bit but last night was a really good performance, it was a difficult one in the first-half.

I thought [Manchester] United got their tactics absolutely spot on in the first-half, they really frustrated Arsenal. You can see what Amorim has done, you can see a shape to United last night. It wasn't the most prettiest thing to watch at times in the first-half but they set up really well, really disciplined and they made it really difficult for Arsenal and after half-time they came out with a bit more zip in their passing, a bit more energy and their set pieces, they are off the charts, they change games and they certainly did last night.

Izzy Christiansen
Former England midfielder on the Football Daily podcast

The way they play football. It’s a joy to watch, Bukayo Saka, even Trossard when he came on, so much energy, that is how you impact a game, build up play with Rice and Partey, Martin Odegaard when he gets in and around those areas and he starts to work his magic, they’ve just got so much strength in every department of the pitch.

Image source, Getty Images

Izzy Christiansen
Former England midfielder on the Football Daily podcast

You can see how accurate they [Arsenal] are, how much time they take in terms of setting up properly, getting themselves ready to attack the set piece, it's like a collective clock-work action. The delivery happens, the movement happens and they seem to be so effective from it. Every single set piece they've taken from a corner, went underneath the bar, literally dropped on to [Andre] Onana, apart from the one at the back post, which I think Jurrien Timber ended up scoring from. But the delivery has to be it.

What Arsenal have done is, they've clearly taken a lot of time, any player will tell you set pieces are boring to do on the training pitch, but you get the collective effort involved, you start to generate the enthusiasm around it and go hang on a minute, this is a real part of the way we play football, we're going to score from it. It's got them the three points.

Manchester United

Interesting point raised there by Andrew.

In Ruben Amorim's first three Premier League games, Manchester United have won, drawn and lost, scoring five goals in the process.

But their xG has been low - totalling 2.08.

Thanks mainly to the finishing of Marcus Rashford and Joshua Zirkzee in the win over Everton last Sunday, they've outperformed their xG by three goals in those three games.

But, as Andrew says, they've enjoyed plenty of possession; averaging 56.4% in those matches.

It's the age-old problem, turning possession into chances, but we're sure Ruben's well aware of that.

Izzy Christiansen
Former England midfielder on the Football Daily podcast

It's come at a time, to me there's no coincidence, Martin Odegaard back in the side, he is the metronome to this Arsenal team, he keeps things ticking. The intensity he sets, he has certainly set the tone again. They've recognised that this is their moment, Manchester City they're slipping away or they have done, an anomaly of a poor run, Arsenal have recognised that this is their moment. What's happening above them, with Liverpool dropping points, you can certainly feel that was filtering it's way into the stadium and they could smell blood with Manchester United, especially in the second-half.

But it's a wonderful performance, authoritative, they didn't really create too much in open play, Arsenal. Those set pieces, they are a real real problem, challenging a team who are under a new management, new coaching, new systems, new ideas, that includes set pieces, that really put them to the test tonight, Manchester United struggled.

Amazon Prime

Arsenal midfielder Declan Rice, speaking to Amazon Prime last night: "Massive. What a night. A new manager for Man Utd, they've looked really good for their last few games so we knew it would be a test. But we stuck to our game plan and what we knew. We could have had three or four.

On their goals from set pieces: "You have to believe in your process. We keep at it all the time. When you go up for a corner it is a chance to score a goal, not to relax and chill. So to score again with both of them, Nico [Jover] will be buzzing."

The two men with the most Premier League assists from set plays since the start of last season are both Arsenal players - Rice and Bukayo Saka, with seven each.

Image source, Getty Images