Chelsea 2025/26 Season Preview: Five Burning Questions for Enzo Maresca’s Side

Chelsea 2025/26 Season Preview: Five Burning Questions for Enzo Maresca’s Side

With the Premier League’s opening weekend just around the corner, anticipation is high at Stamford Bridge. Chelsea enter the new campaign buoyed by silverware, heavy investment and a belief that they might be ready to push beyond last year’s fourth-place finish.

The Club World Cup triumph in the United States was the highlight of a busy summer. Alongside that, big-money arrivals including João Pedro, Jamie Gittens and Liam Delap have added fresh competition up front. Supporters, however, have seen before how expensive recruits do not always translate into immediate success. The question now is whether this time will be different.

Here are the five storylines that will define Chelsea’s season.

1. Was Their Late-Season Surge and Club World Cup Win a Glimpse of What’s Ahead?
Chelsea ended 2024/25 with momentum, winning eight of their last nine matches in all competitions. Even removing their Conference League outings against lower-tier opposition, they managed five victories in their final six league games, losing only twice in their last 12 Premier League fixtures.

Few expected them to lift the Club World Cup. Ranked only fifth favourites by Opta’s supercomputer, they entered the final as clear underdogs to Paris Saint-Germain. Instead, they dismantled the European champions 3-0, PSG’s heaviest defeat of the season and only the second time they conceded three goals all year.

While they are far from being the best team in the world, the victory brought belief, unity and trust in Maresca’s methods. Whether that confidence carries into the Premier League and Champions League campaigns could be decisive.

2. Can Cole Palmer Deliver at a Consistently Elite Level?
Palmer’s start last season was explosive with six goals and five assists in his first seven league matches, sparking talk of record-breaking numbers. But his output dipped sharply, with just two goals and two assists in his final 16 appearances.

The 22-year-old is one of the most gifted attackers in England, ranking near the top of the league in shots, chances created and big chances fashioned. Still, Chelsea need him producing regularly, not in bursts. A steadier Palmer could elevate the team from contenders for the top four to outsiders for the title.

3. Can They Improve Against the League’s Heavyweights?
Against last season’s top six, Chelsea’s record was dismal with just three wins and six defeats from ten games. All victories came at Stamford Bridge, while they lost all five away fixtures to those rivals, scoring only three goals in the process.

The dismantling of PSG suggests they can compete with Europe’s elite. But unless they start taking points from domestic heavyweights, overtaking last season’s fourth-place finish will be a stretch.

4. Is João Pedro Ready to Be a Premier League Star?
The Brazilian forward has long split opinion, either as a potential top-tier talent or as an inconsistent showman. His £60 million move to Chelsea is his chance to settle the debate.

Thrown straight into the Club World Cup starting XI, Pedro scored twice in the semi-final against Fluminense and netted again in the final against PSG. Maresca appears to view him as his leading striker for the season.

That faith must now be repaid. Pedro has never scored more than five non-penalty goals in a Premier League season and surpassing ten would be a realistic and necessary target.

5. Is Robert Sánchez the Long-Term Answer in Goal?
Chelsea have been linked with elite goalkeepers such as Donnarumma and Maignan, yet none have arrived. For now, Sánchez remains the number one.

While he posted a respectable plus 2.0 in goals prevented last season, the club’s second-best shot-stopping performance in eight years, he also made a league-high five errors leading directly to goals. Those mistakes overshadow his strengths and fuel doubts about whether Chelsea can rely on him in a title push.

Chelsea start 2025/26 with promise, questions and the lingering sense that they could either surprise everyone or fall into familiar patterns. The next nine months will reveal whether Maresca’s side is ready to turn potential into something greater.