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Chelsea will debut their brand new third kit in their Premier League meeting with West Ham United on Friday evening.
The Blues will don the strip, a dark design inspired by the 2004/05 campaign, for the first time at the London Stadium as Enzo Maresca's team look to kickstart the new season. Twenty years ago, Chelsea were crowned Premier League champions for the very first time and the club have released the new third kit to reflect on that unforgettable campaign.
The Nike Total 90 kit is hoping to inspire a new era at Stamford Bridge as Maresca looks to improve on a memorable debut campaign with the club. Chelsea supporters will be hoping the new strip brings good fortune this evening in east London with the Blues having the opportunity to - temporarily, at the very least - move to the top of the Premier League table.
Chelsea, though, will be without Benoit Badiashile and Romeo Lavia, who are still working on their recoveries from their respective injuries. Nicolas Jackson and Christopher Nkunku are available for selection, but Maresca confirmed on Thursday neither will be in the squad amid ongoing speculation over their futures at the club.
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On Jackson, the Chelsea head coach said: "He is available but he's not going to be part of the squad because, as we already said, we have two strikers, we have two players in that position and also we know that something can happen before the transfer window closes.
"Christo is with us like Nico, but it's the same answer as Nico. And the other two players, they are training apart, waiting for some solution."
Chelsea, albeit temporarily, have the chance to move to the top of the Premier League table if they record three points this evening. If that did happen, the Blues can top the table overnight for the first time in 1357 days. Ironically, it was a 3-2 defeat at West Ham in December 2021 that bumped them off the top previously.
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