Chelsea Schedule 2013-14: List of Fixtures and Early Analysis

Chelsea are coming off a frustrating campaign.

Despite stretches where the Blues played like Premier League contenders, they finished in third place, well off Manchester United's title pace. They also failed to make another Champions League run.

Although Chelsea did salvage the season by winning the Europa League, bigger things are expected moving forward.

Looking ahead, the EPL released the schedule (via the club's official site) for the 2013-14 campaign, giving the players and fans their first glimpse at the journey every club faces in the coming months.

Let's take a look at the fixtures for Chelsea.

Date	Opponent	Home/Road
Aug. 17	Hull City	Home
Aug. 24	Manchester United	Road
Aug. 31	Aston Villa	Home
Sept. 14	Everton	Road
Sept. 21	Fulham	Home
Sept. 28	Tottenham	Road
Oct. 5	Norwich City	Road
Oct. 19	Cardiff City	Home
Oct. 26	Manchester City	Home
Nov. 2	Newcastle	Road
Nov. 9	West Bromwich Albion	Home
Nov. 23	West Ham United	Road
Nov. 30	Southampton	Home
Dec. 3	Sunderland	Road
Dec. 7	Stoke City	Road
Dec. 14	Crystal Palace	Home
Dec. 21	Arsenal	Road
Dec. 26	Swansea City	Home
Dec. 28	Liverpool	Home
Jan. 1	Southampton	Road
Jan. 11	Hull City	Road
Jan. 18	Manchester United	Home
Jan. 29	West Ham United	Home
Feb. 1	Manchester City	Road
Feb. 8	Newcastle	Home
Feb. 11	West Bromwich Albion	Road
Feb. 22	Everton	Home
March 1	Fulham	Road
March 8	Tottenham	Home
March 15	Aston Villa	Road
March 22	Arsenal	Home
March 29	Crystal Palace	Road
April 5	Stoke City	Home
April 12	Swansea City	Road
April 19	Sunderland	Home
April 26	Liverpool	Road
May 3	Norwich City	Home
May 11	Cardiff City	Road

The most important matches are obviously those against Manchester United and Manchester City, the two clubs standing between Chelsea and a return to the top of the Premier League. How they fare in those four fixtures will have a major impact.

United pose the biggest threat, of course. The defending champions are led by goal-scoring machine Robin van Persie, who gives the club a massive advantage, and an extremely deep roster. But the managerial switch from Sir Alex Ferguson to David Moyes could open the door for the Blues.

Then there are the matches against the next set of clubs—Tottenham, Arsenal, Everton and Liverpool—which are tricky. Chelsea must take care of business against those clubs at Stamford Bridge to give themselves a chance.

Jose Mourinho returns to the club after stops with Inter Milan and Real Madrid. The 50-year-old manager won two Premier League championships during his first stint with the Blues and is hoping to get Chelsea back on that level.

The roster certainly doesn't lack the necessary talent. When comparing the squad to those of the Manchester rivals and the league's other top clubs, there's no reason to believe Mourinho can't get the club into contention.

As was the case heading into last season, the biggest question mark is at striker. Fernando Torres continues to be wildly inconsistent and Demba Ba failed to maintain top form after a quick start with the club. Chelsea hopes new addition Andre Schurrle can help solve the problem.

Otherwise, the Blues are strong. The midfield is in great hands with the likes of Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar, none of whom are older than 25. They should be able to control the pace of most matches simply by working through that trio.

Chelsea also have depth along the back line and one of the league's top goalkeepers in Petr Cech. So if they can find some more consistent scoring up front, the other pieces are in place to make a serious run.

Only a couple of months remain before they start navigating the newly released schedule.