Premier League 2018/19: Four reasons why Chelsea may struggle in the league

#1 Thursday night football

Chelsea will compete in Thursday night Europa League football

Chelsea will find themselves playing Europa League football on Thursday nights next season as result of their under-performance last year.

While it might represent a second chance back with Europe's elite as it did for Manchester United in 2016, or a shot at European glory as with Atletico Madrid last season or even The Blues themselves in 2013, the bottom line is that it is a scenario most of the big clubs would rather not find themselves in.

The reason is not far fetched. The Europa League represents the second-tier of European club competition, ditto second-tier European clubs, so while the mainstream European club heavyweights are playing against the Real Madrids and Barcelonas of this world on Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Chelsea would have Vardar Skopje and Botev Plovdiv for company on Thursdays.

No disrespect to any of the seasoned Europa League campaigners or the competition itself, but no big club wants to travel to the far reaches of the European continent to play against little-known players and clubs in a competition which fans have minuscule to no interest in.

The sheer number of clubs participating in the Europa League means it is an arduous competition to navigate in the first place, before adding the extreme distances covered to arrive at match venues.

Europa League matches take place on Thursdays (sometimes in places as far-flung as Kazakhstan and Macedonia) and league fixtures are played on Sundays. The players and coaches rarely have enough time to rest after their European exertions before resuming league duties.

Europa League competition takes a negative toll on league performances (as Manchester United found out), and Chelsea might find it difficult to successfully balance Europa League duties with their domestic targets.