Ranking Chelsea’s potential Round of 16 opponents by narrative

2. Barcelona

Under normal circumstances, Barcelona would be Chelsea’s most narrative packed opponent. European rivalries are rare, but years of testy clashes between the two sides have made them genuine adversaries. Things are clearly serious when “good boy” Lionel Messi says Barcelona hates Chelsea more than anyone.

Barcelona is also the last club to knock Chelsea out of the Champions League. Antonio Conte’s Chelsea put up a fight, but ultimately Messi’s aim for the space between Thibaut Courtois’ legs was simply too much. Call it unfinished business.

Barcelona is not quite as shiny as trend setting as they used to be, but they still seem to beat everyone in front of them until at least the semifinals. A match against them would be incredibly tough but not impossible. Lampard knows how big this rivalry can be and, like a match up against Bayern Munich, he could tap into his own playing days. Add in the two academies clashing frequently in recent seasons and this match up could be fun.

1. Juventus

Could there have been any other number one? It is also the most likely given the Champion Leagues love for the most obvious narratives in draws playing out. And this is a big one because of Maurizio Sarri.

Love him or loathe him, a lot of Chelsea’s current season is because of Sarri. Namely, the fact that he quit as soon as he got a trophy and the biggest Italian club batted their eyelashes at him. Also, he complete lack of connection with the fans and dismissal of the academy players all led Chelsea towards Frank Lampard.

And, again love it or loathe it, a lot of how some view Lampard is viewed through Sarri’s lens. The fans that refuse to accept he quit (he was sacked/pushed out they will cheer) are the ones most critical of any hiccup in the Lampard regime. “Lampard’s players” are also more harshly treated than, say, Sarri’s.

Of course, the Italian will be oblivious to all of this as he simply does not care. His Juventus side has only lost once, but familiar fears and criticisms have already popped up among Juventus fans. Battle lines are seemingly being drawn between him and Cristiano Ronaldo as well.

This will come down to how badly the Chelsea players want to prove that it was never them, but their manager last season. Lampard would nearly need to channel that towards overcoming a Juventus side that probably did not watch Chelsea last season.

Who do you want to see Chelsea draw in the next round? Let us know in the comments and on Twitter!