Matchday two of the Champions League is already upon and it's Chelsea's turn to set sail abroad, making the short trip to the north of France where they will be welcomed by LOSC Lille.
Frank Lampard will aim to continue their mini momentum at the Stade Pierre Mauroy on Wednesday evening, but the Ligue 1 side will be no pushovers, currently placed fourth in their respective division.
This is a first for the pair to have met in any competitive fixture as both attempt to get the group stages up and running, having tasted defeat on the opening round of matches.
Form
As mentioned, the Blues have began to build ahead of steam after winning two home games on the bounce, having lost the previous two at Stamford Bridge.
Lampard was awarded his first Premier League victory and clean sheet on home soil against Brighton & Hove Albion, netting twice in a comprehensive performance that should have yielded more goals. A tie that certainly fielded it's fair share of goals was Chelsea's 7-1 smashing of Grimsby Town in the third round of the Carabao Cup last week.
Chelsea went seventh with that win over the Seagulls, level on points with Tottenham Hotspur and will be desperate for another three to lift them away from Lille, separated only by goal difference in Group H.
Les Dogues themselves are on a decent run of form, unbeaten in four league games and have only tasted defeat on three occasions in all competitions this campaign.
Christophe Galtier's team were humbled by Ajax 3-0 in the first European tie, whilst Chelsea fell to a surprising 1-0 home defeat to Valencia.
History
There is virtually no history between the Chelsea and Lille, their only appearances against one another coming in 1950 during a set of friendlies.
This will be the fifth French outfit to play the Blues with an almost identical record to match prior (five wins, five draws, six defeats). Lampard will want to avoid the unwanted statistic of being the only Chelsea boss to lose three Champions League games in a row, unaided by the fact they have one win from eight attempts away to French opposition.
Lille are relatively new to the biggest European domestic competition, this only their sixth excursion and a first since 2012/13 and have failed to make it past the group stages in five of those six. They're also win less at home in the Champions League since 2006, having not fared much better in the Europa League, the trophy Chelsea infamously lifted in May.
Chelsea's last triumph in this tournament was in 2012, when Roberto Di Matteo masterminded a startling victory over Bayern Munich in their backyard. Since 2014 however, they have been dumped out in the round of 16, twice to Paris St Germain, so revenge will be on the mind over their French neighbors.
Lille lending to England
Lille have a rich history of breading bright stars that have inevitably ended up in England's top tier.
Nicolas Pepe is the latest of the construction line, landing a £79 million move to Arsenal in the summer, following in the footsteps of former Gunners Mathieu Debuchy, Gervinho and Stephen Lichsteiner.
The list of noticeable names is nothing short of a half decent starting eleven, including the likes of Yohan Cabaye (Newcastle and Crystal Palace), Divock Origi (Liverpool), Lucas Digne, Idrissa Gueye and Kevin Mirallas (Everton), as well as Dimitri Payet (West Ham).
But there is one who will will stand out to Chelsea fans: Eden Hazard. Seven years ago he switched the Deûle River for the London underground and what a journey it would turn out to be.
His trophy collection matched that of his dazzling displays that made him a true Blue hero, finally departing for Real Madrid in June leaving a few misty eyed around the Bridge.
Hazard won six trophies with the club, including two Premier League and Europa League medals, scoring 110 goals in 352 appearances along the way. Yet, it is his individual honors that is most impressive: x2 Chelsea's Players Player of the Year, PFA Players' Player of the Year, PFA Premier League Player of the Season, x3 Premier League Team of the Year and a PFA Young Player of the Year among others.
Joe Cole, Salomon Kalou and Loic Remy also shared allegiances with Chelsea and Lille.
Team news
Lampard will be landed the luxury option of deploying his own fine Frenchman, as N'Golo Kanté trained with the squad in the preparations for Lille having missed the weekend win to Brighton.
Fellow countrymen Kurt Zouma and Olivier Giroud were also absent through illness, but returned to fitness to fill the 24-man roster.
Emerson, Antonio Rudiger and Ruben Loftus-Cheek continue to their stints on the sidelines through injury.
Predicted line-up: Kepa; Azpilicueta, Christensen, Tomori, Alonso; Jorginho, Kante, Kovacic; Willian, Abraham, Mount.
Lille
Galtier is likely to make a few changes from the team that drew 1-1 with Nice on Saturday: new signing Timothy Weah will not feature as he recovers from a hamstring problem, whilst new recruit Yusuf Yazici will be assessed after he was forced off at the weekend.
Lille's transfer window was wide open, spending close to £80 million on 11 new faces, most noticeably the talented Renato Sanches from Bayern, who was rested at Nice and likely to be involved from the off.
Predicted line up: Maignan; Celik, Jose Fonte, Gabriel, Bradaric; Renato Sanches, Soumare; Luiz Araujo, Ikone, Bamba; Osimhen.