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Breaking down Chelsea’s potential UCL Round of 16 opponents

By Ashish Thomas

Chelsea's midfielder Christian Pulicic (R) dribbles the ball past Barcelona's midfielder Oriol Busquets during a football friendly match between Spanish Liga team Barcelona and English Premier League club Chelsea in Saitama on July 23, 2019. (Photo by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP) (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP via Getty Images)
Chelsea's midfielder Christian Pulicic (R) dribbles the ball past Barcelona's midfielder Oriol Busquets during a football friendly match between Spanish Liga team Barcelona and English Premier League club Chelsea in Saitama on July 23, 2019. (Photo by TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA / AFP) (Photo credit should read TOSHIFUMI KITAMURA/AFP via Getty Images) /
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LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 12: Frank Lampard, Manager of Chelsea looks dejected following their sides defeat in the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park on December 12, 2020 in Liverpool, England. A limited number of spectators (2000) are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND – DECEMBER 12: Frank Lampard, Manager of Chelsea looks dejected following their sides defeat in the Premier League match between Everton and Chelsea at Goodison Park on December 12, 2020 in Liverpool, England. A limited number of spectators (2000) are welcomed back to stadiums to watch elite football across England. This was following easing of restrictions on spectators in tiers one and two areas only. (Photo by Clive Brunskill/Getty Images) /

The Champions League draw is on Monday and Chelsea can play against seven sides, who should Blues fans want to draw in the tournament?

Chelsea just finished a very dominant group stage in the Champions League and the Blues were rewarded by finishing first, putting them in position to face a relatively weaker opponent in the Round of 16. They bookmarked their first place finish in Group E by demolishing Sevilla 4-0 at the Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan in matchweek five.

Chelsea has reached the knockout stage in seven out of the eight Champions League campaigns they have participated in over the past decade, but seldom finished first in the group throughout recent years. The Blues have finished second in their group in their last two Champions League campaigns and they were met with tough fixtures against heavyweights Bayern Munich and Barcelona. Even in the campaigns where they finished first in their group, they were drawn with possibly the toughest opponents who finished second meeting Paris Saint Germain twice during that time period. As with any knockout style competition, there is always an element of luck involved in winning the tournament with regards to the draw, as well as in game situations. Chelsea has been rather unlucky in the draw as it’s faced some powerful foes in the Round of 16, which has seen the Blues fail to progress beyond this stage since the 2013/14 campaign.

This season represents as good a chance as any for the west London side to progress further than the Round of 16. This begs the question: who can the Blues draw? This article will list the different possible opponents Chelsea could face in increasing order of danger. Before we dive into things though, here’s a few things to remember. The winners can only face the runners-up from other groups, barring those from their group. In addition, for this stage only, a team cannot play a team from its own country.

Therefore, Chelsea will take on one of these seven sides: Atalanta, Atletico Madrid, Barcelona, Borussia Monchengladbach, Lazio, Porto and RB Leipzig.

1. Porto

Why should Chelsea not fear Porto?

Porto is possibly the weakest team the Blues could draw in the Round of 16. The Portuguese team has been very consistent in reaching the knockout round every season, but the Dragoes always get ransacked of their best young talent every season for bargain prices due to their financial troubles. They are also in the midst of a poor domestic campaign, four points behind leaders Sporting Lisbon in third. One side note here: Chelsea loanee Malang Sarr has had a very good season on loan there, but he would be unable to play against the Blues should these two teams play one another.

Why should Chelsea fear Porto?

This is the Champions League and no team should be taken lightly. The Dragoes can be a very dangerous side and could take advantage of a slight hint of complacency on Chelsea’s end. Porto also has formidable presence at its stadium, the Estadio do Dragao, which would make for a tough away leg.

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