Belief is back at Stamford Bridge this season.

After the club imploded last year the Blues seem back to their best and have started this campaign in pretty decent form. The west London side have seen off West Ham, Watford and Burnley this year and really should have beaten Swansea too.

Regardless, they're still second in the league going into Friday night's game against Liverpool and there's a genuine feeling the club will challenge for the title this season.

They look a completely different team to the one that fell apart so spectacularly last season and you have to compliment Antonio Conte for the work he has done at his new club. The squad look much more together and he's bought some good players that have made a difference too so all the right signs are there.

We’ve teamed up with 7 Of The Best to bring you a footballing treat for the season. It’s free to play and the best individual score each week wins £500, the highest scoring team wins £1,500 a week and there is a prize of £2,000 for the best individual over the course of a month. Want to win bigger? Nab yourself a whopping £500k if you get all seven of your selections correct for seven consecutive weeks.

With that theme in mind, we think these seven have been the standout performers...

Eden Hazard

Hazard looks like the player of 2014/15 that led Chelsea to the title and the Blues fans must be absolutely ecstatic with that. The Belgian international is well underway on the goal-scoring front and looks as though he enjoys playing under new boss Antonio Conte. With him in the form he currently is Chelsea really could win the title this season in a remarkable chain of events from last campaign to this.

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Diego Costa

The definition of a marmite player you really do either love or hate the Spanish forward. Regardless of your opinion he’s a top player and it looks like he too is back to his best form giving opposing defences nightmares. He hassles and bullies defenders like few other strikers and has the ability to win the Golden Boot this season which if he does Chelsea will surely go close to the title.

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Cesar Azpilicueta

The ever consistent full-back deserves his place in this list simply because the Blues can always rely on him to deliver a strong performance. He very rarely gets caught out at the back and going forward he is a real threat too. He’s one of the best left-backs in the league and that says a lot when he prefers to play on the right. Many think he’ll shift over there now Marcos Alonso has been signed so who knows how good he could get.

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N’golo Kante

 

If there were any doubts about Kante not being good enough or a one season wonder at the beginning of the campaign they are surely long gone now. The French international has been brilliant in the centre of the pitch for the Blues and has given them some much-needed energy and tenacity in that area. The club look like real title contenders once more and a lot of that is down to Kante because he really is that good.

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Willian

The Brazilian has been pretty decent again this season after being their best player last time around. His work rate was always going to be a big hit with Antonio Conte when he joined the club and so that has proved so far this season. With the rest of his teammates now pulling their weight again he should get better himself this season and that should put the Stamford Bridge outfit in a strong position this season.

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Oscar

Oscar is clearly a favourite of Antonio Conte’s and has performed well enough to keep Cesc Fabregas out of the side so far this season. The Brazilian seemed to fall out of favour last season but looks to be back and when he’s on form and confident, he can do things very few others in the squad can. He should get better as he gets to know Conte more as well as building on the link he’s got with Hazard and Willian.

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Thibaut Courtois

The Belgian keeper really lost his way last season as did most of the players and looked a real shadow of the imposing presence he was in 2014/15. He does seem to be getting back to his best though and that’ll mean he can start showing why he was kept on ahead of Petr Cech again. Courtois is one of the best goalkeepers in the league when on form and Chelsea sorely missed that last season.

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