The ill-disciplined 3-2 home defeat to Burnley on the opening day played into the hands of the doom-mongers, and while it's true there was a shambolic look about Conte's side as the Clarets raced into a shocking 3-0 lead, from half-time in that game, Chelsea have looked every inch the champions of England they are.

Impressive back-to-back victories over Tottenham at Wembley and Everton at home diluted the argument that Chelsea were not going to be a force to be reckoned with this season. If anything, the international break provided a significant pointer to suggest the Blues are not going to surrender their title meekly, if at all.

Key summer acquisitions Alvaro Morata, Antonio Rudiger and Tiemoue Bakayoko have blended into the first-team picture seamlessly, as will latest signings Davide Zappacosta and Danny Drinkwater. There is no reason to suppose they won't.

Andreas Christensen has the feel of a new signing, and then there is the return to fitness of star man Eden Hazard to consider. Meanwhile, wayward Diego Costa might yet have a part to play at Chelsea.

Hazard's availability to Conte should not be underestimated. An ankle injury sustained while training with Belgium in June means the 26-year-old has yet to feature for Chelsea's first team this season. But he was back in action for the Red Devils in World Cup qualifying, starting and scoring in the 9-0 rout of Gibraltar and featuring off the bench in the 2-1 win over Greece.

Hazard is in contention for Saturday's trip to Leicester, and while Conte will have one eye on Chelsea's fixture schedule, which is about to be busied by Champions League and Carabao Cup matches, it seems certain the Blues' talisman will get minutes at the King Power.

Hazard's record of 72 goals in 249 appearances speaks for itself, and in an age of inflated transfer fees, his reinvigorated presence will be akin to Chelsea having a new £100 million signing in their ranks.

An intriguing consideration is want-away striker Costa, whom Hazard spoke of in glowing terms recently, the playmaker going as far to suggest he'd welcome Costa's return to the fold. It's easy to understand why. Costa's record is as impressive as Hazard's -- 59 goals in 120 appearances have helped power Chelsea to the title twice in the past three years, and the prolific duo work well in tandem.

While Costa is not registered to play in the Champions League, Chelsea have ensured he is eligible to feature in the Premier League. It would take a climb-down of almighty proportions on the part of both Conte and Costa for the disruptive hatchet to be buried, but at Stamford Bridge, a football theatre no stranger to spectacular, show-stopping drama, anything is possible.

The seeds of Costa's spectacular fallout with Conte were sown at the beginning of 2017, when a disagreement with a member of the Italian's fitness team, coupled with head-turning interest from Chinese Super League club Tianjin Quanjian, saw the striker dropped for an away game at Leicester.

Despite restoring him to his first XI, at the end of the season Conte infamously texted Costa to advise him he wasn't a part of his future plans. The tempestuous forward has been in self-imposed exile in Brazil ever since, making no secret of his desire to return to Atletico Madrid. A move back to La Liga has, however, been complicated by a transfer ban imposed on Atleti and their failure to meet Chelsea's £50 million valuation.

The ban will be lifted come the January transfer window, but between now and then, Costa will need to return to match fitness. If there was a shortcoming to Chelsea's transfer window, it was the failure to secure the services of a back-up striker to club record signing Morata.

Long-term target Fernando Llorente slipped through the net when moving from Swansea City to Tottenham, and while Morata has impressed with two goals and two assists for Chelsea, Conte clearly has reservations about Michy Batshuayi's capabilities to play as a striker within his system.

A fit Costa could certainly fill the breach, if required, between now and his probable January departure to Atleti. There is a pantomime villain aspect to him, which makes him impossible to dislike, and should he renew his prolific partnership with Hazard, even for just a few games, goals would surely follow, and he would have the opportunity to end his Chelsea career on a high note.