The Toffees will be the ninth different Premier League opponent of ours that has started playing in a new stadium as a top-flight team. The likes of Brentford and Brighton and Hove Albion, for example, were already in situ when they got promoted from the Championship.

Chelsea have a good record on fresh territory, especially this century, and here we examine those groundbreaking matches in closer detail…

Riverside Stadium

Middlesbrough 2-0 Chelsea | August 1995

Chelsea were the very first visitors to Middlesbrough’s 30,000-capacity Riverside Stadium, which is located on the banks of the Tees and replaced Ayresome Park.

Boro had just been promoted to the Premier League and the feel-good factor proved too much for Glenn Hoddle’s Blues as goals from Craig Hignett and Jan Arge Fjortoft secured the hosts a 2-0 victory in their new surroundings.

Reebok Stadium

Bolton Wanderers 1-0 Chelsea | October 1997

Chelsea were again generous visitors as Bolton picked up their first-ever league win at the Reebok Stadium in their fifth home match of the 1997/98 campaign.

Dean Holdsworth volleyed in the only goal that day, but it was Chelsea who had the last laugh, winning two trophies while the Trotters were relegated after a solitary season back in the Premier League.

Pride Park

Derby County 0-1 Chelsea | April 1998

Our maiden victory at a new Premier League stadium arrived later in the same season as that Bolton defeat, as we travelled to Derby County’s Pride Park - opened by Queen Elizabeth II the summer prior - for the first time.

Mark Hughes headed the only goal from debutant Jon Harley’s cross, with the much-rotated Blues, fresh off a Cup Winners’ Cup defeat to Vicenza in Italy, winning after an away European match for the only time that season.

St Mary’s Stadium

Southampton 0-2 Chelsea | August 2001

After 103 years, Southampton bid farewell to the dilapidated but much-loved Dell – where Chelsea had a strong record – and moved into St Mary’s, near the site of the club’s founding.

The Blues were the first competitive visitors on a balmy summer’s day and it was the blue-shirted travelling supporters celebrating at the final whistle.

Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink had the honour of scoring the first goal at the new stadium while Mario Stanic made sure of the points late on.

City of Manchester Stadium

Manchester City 0-1 Chelsea | February 2004

After failed efforts to host the 1996 and 2000 Summer Olympics, Manchester won the bid for the 2002 Commonwealth Games, with a new stadium in the east of the city constructed.

A year after the athletics had ended, the running track was removed and the stadium converted into one suitable for football. Manchester City would be the new tenants after leaving Maine Road and on Chelsea’s first visit, Wayne Bridge scored the only goal in a narrow win.

Emirates Stadium

Arsenal 1-1 Chelsea | May 2007

Arsenal made the very short move from Highbury to the Emirates Stadium in 2006, and we had to wait until their final home league game that season to experience it for the first time.

The 1-1 draw might have ended any hopes we had of regaining the title, but the ten men of Chelsea showed plenty of spirit, epitomised by Michael Essien’s headed equaliser and Jose Mourinho’s ‘chin up’ gesture at full-time.

London Stadium

West Ham United 1-2 Chelsea | March 2017

This was actually our second visit to the London Stadium – host venue for the 2012 Olympics – after we were drawn against the Hammers in the League Cup fourth round.

That game ended in a 2-1 loss for Antonio Conte’s Blues, but the roles were reversed when the sides reconvened later in the season, Eden Hazard and Diego Costa netting as we took a step closer to the title.

Tottenham Hotspur Stadium

Tottenham Hotspur 0-2 Chelsea | December 2019

A Willian brace ensured it was a very happy start to life at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium for Chelsea, with players and fans pictured celebrating the 2-0 victory top.

Spurs had moved into their new ground – adjacent to White Hart Lane – towards the end of the previous season, so though we had to wait our turn to visit, it was worth it!