We know Chelsea’s UCL group, but what’s the schedule look like?

Chelsea’s Champions League schedule was released on Friday, but how does each match fit into the overall agenda of the team?

Chelsea learned its opposition for the upcoming Champions League campaign on Thursday. The Blues found themselves in Group E, paired with what is widely believed to be one of the easiest of the eight groups. Frank Lampard’s side will compete with Sevilla (Spain), Krasnodar (Russia) and Rennes (France) over the course of the next two months as it looks to advance past the group stage for a sixth straight season in the competition.

The Blues will be fighting the demons of their own past as they will eventually hope to advance past the round of 16 for the first time since the 2013/14 competition. However, a big step towards doing that would be winning their group—something the club hasn’t done since 2015/16. Chelsea found out the dates of its Champions League matches on Friday, they are as follows:

• Matchweek 1: vs. Sevilla (October 20)
• Matchweek 2: at Krasnodar (October 28)
• Matchweek 3: vs. Rennes (November 4)
• Matchweek 4: at Rennes (November 24)
• Matchweek 5: at Sevilla (December 2)
• Matchweek 6: vs. Krasnodar (December 8)

With an already crowded fixture list, not all of the six fixtures were bound to be ideal for all parties involved. In the draw, the Blues were given the best and worst possible case scenarios, so the situation seemingly evens itself out. In the end, Lampard and his staff will be thrilled with how things played out for them.

Matchweek one is less than three weeks away and it’s against the toughest opponent in the group. Sevilla, the reigning Europa League winner, comes to London on October 20. This caps off a three match homestand for the Blues. In addition to hosting Crystal Palace later today, Stamford Bridge will be the venue for two games following the international break: Southampton and Sevilla. Chelsea will have three days to prepare for its inaugural 2020/21 UCL group stage game following the bout against the Saints.

After the Blues play Sevilla, a trip up north awaits as they travel to take on Manchester United in the Theatre of Dreams. From Manchester, the Blues will travel a couple thousand miles to Russia where a match at Krasnodar is squeezed in between two league fixtures. To make matters worse, the back half of the road trip sees the team end up back in north England; this time facing Burnley. Due to the few thousand miles being traveled in a week, this is the toughest run of fixtures Lampard’s side faces in the group stage.

Following the trip to southern Russia, the Blues conclude the first half of their group games against Rennes at the Bridge. The reverse fixture is three weeks later in France with contests against Sheffield United and Newcastle in the near three week period between the home and away with Chelsea’s most recent business partner. Following the trip to the French city, the Blues face one of their toughest stretches of the season: Spurs (H), Sevilla (A) and Leeds (H) in a matter of seven days. Luckily, they end the Champions League group stage with the group’s weakest opponent—Krasnodar—at home three days after the rivalry match with Leeds.

The crowded fixture list will pose problems for Lampard’s squad until at least December in the grand scheme of things. Luckily, the Blues have the easiest match to wrap up the group on December 8, so if there is any doubt about advancing, Chelsea has a good shot of getting through. In the end, the dominos could have fallen in a more favorable fashion, but they could’ve also been a lot more harsh on the Blues.

Which Champions League fixture are you most looking forward to? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!