Today’s Champions League draw will see Chelsea find out the three teams they will play twice to try and qualify for the last 16 of the competition.
The Blues were knocked out in the quarter-finals in heart-breaking fashion to Real Madrid, who went on to beat England’s best other sides on route to winning the competition.
Thomas Tuchel will be keen to make a statement in the competition again this year, after winning the whole thing in his first season with the club.
Chelsea will be in Pot 2 this year, with Pot 1 reserved for league and European trophy winners.
In what will be an accelerated group stage, fixtures will be squeezed in before the top players depart for the winter World Cup.
Here’s the best and worst case scenarios for the Blues in this afternoon’s draw.
Best case
Eintracht Frankfurt
Despite more than earning their place in Pot 1 from winning the Europa League last season, it is fair to say the majority of clubs will be hoping to draw them from the list.
The Bundesliga side are currently without a win in their first three league fixtures, and will certainly be up against it with Pot 2 featuring a lot of strong sides.
RB Salzburg
The Austrian champions are arguably the most desirable option for the Blues to draw from Pot 3.
While they did threaten to shock Bayern Munich in the round of 16 last season, a 7-1 defeat in the second leg saw quality eventually show through
FC Copenhagen
The Danish side have not featured in the Champions League since 2016, with them failing to qualify from a group which featured Leicester City.
The Blues met Copenhagen in the round of 16 back in 2011, with them easing through to the next round with a 2-0 aggregate win.
Worst case
PSG
PSG have started the season in insane form, with Neymar, Lionel Messi and Kylian Mbappe all providing as they have won their first three games 17-3.
They showed their quality in the group stage last year with a big victory over Manchester City, and so far look even better than they did last campaign.
Inter Milan
Pot 3 holds a number of difficult options, with ties against Borussia Dortmund and Napoli also not desirable.
The match would see the return of Romelu Lukaku at Stamford Bridge, with European rules allowing him to feature against his parent club.
Rangers
Last night’s qualifiers thanks to a sensational win against PSV, Rangers have shown European pedigree in recent years with a Europa League final appearance last year.
Now, they will hope to go one better and show they can compete in a talent-filled Champions League, and would relish welcoming a side from England.
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