Alistair Magowan, BBC Sport football reporter
The World Cup break cannot come soon enough for Chelsea manager Graham Potter, but he will hope to get back to winning ways against Manchester City and Newcastle before his players jet off to Qatar.
Most managers like to have pre-season under their belts with the players before they tackle the campaign ahead. In some ways, Potter is fortunate that he now has time to bed down his methods, even if many players will be away at the World Cup. The break will also give time for Reece James, Ben Chilwell and N’Golo Kante to recover from injury.
The Chelsea players have had a lot to deal with over the past eight months, including the former owner being sanctioned, restrictions being placed on the club, new owners taking over and then Thomas Tuchel being replaced by Potter. The former Brighton boss was not the dream they were sold when they joined the club in the summer, and some look confused by what is going on regarding tactics and selections.
Nowhere has that been more apparent than with Raheem Sterling. Recruited by Tuchel as a leader for his young attack, he has not looked at home since moving from Manchester City, even if he is the club’s top scorer this season.