At the start of the new season you would have got long odds on the chances of this weekend’s top-of-the-table Premier League clash being Chelsea v Swansea.

But that’s the intriguing game awaiting Blues fans at the Bridge, where one perfect start or another will come to grief.

Not that the fixture has gripped the nation. Despite the wide-eyed disbelief surrounding the Blues’ perverse 3-6 winning scoreline at Goodison Park, tickets were still on sale in midweek.

Jose Mourinho is working hard to dispel any thoughts among his squad members (scattered to the four winds on international duty) that the Swans may be soft opponents.

Garry Monk, his opposite number, may have fewer absentees, although he lost Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor to the Welsh side, which struggled to beat lowly Andorra on Tuesday night, but he is aware of the mountain his players will have to climb to overcome Chelsea.

Monk, who is steadily proving his potential as a tactician, knows his forwards will have to contend with John Terry and Gary Cahill at the heart of the Blues’ defence, with Cahill – who made a crucial clearance to help England keep a clean sheet during the country’s 2-0 win in Switzerland on Monday – on top form.

Up front, Diego Costa’s hamstring trouble means Chelsea could turn to Loic Remy to lead the line on Saturday.

Meanwhile, a reappraisal is going on at the Bridge into Fernando Torres – his life, times and influence.

It’s not precisely a rewriting of history (the disappointing goal stats speak for themselves), but a re-evaluation of the striker’s overall contribution in games.

Now that Torres has moved to Milan, we can admit that 20 goals in 110 league matches was not the hoped-for haul.

But his 17 goals in 40 European games for the Blues sounds altogether more respectable, and is partly why fans remained supportive of the Spaniard through thick and thin.