Chelsea: UEFA Champions League 2021/22 group stage draw preview

Who to hope for, who to avoid?

Starting with a caveat, all of the teams who have made it this far have done so on merit and are to be feared in one way or another. That being said, we’d all much rather avoid PSG and be drawn alongside Malmo (sorry, Malmo).

Here’s what a nightmare draw and a favorable one could look like for Chelsea.

Nightmare draw: Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain, RB Leipzig, AC Milan

The storylines are aplenty, all of which would make previewing group stage games much, much easier. Tuchel’s return to Paris alongside Thiago Silva, both of whom were shunned a year before their Champions League triumph. Timo Werner’s homecoming at Leipzig, the grounds where he made his name, where his ruthless streak made him one of the most feared forwards on the continent. Olivier Giroud and Fikayo Tomori (plus Tiemoue Bakayoko) coming back to Stamford Bridge to, perhaps, land one final blow to the hearts of the Blues’ faithful.

PSG is the team to avoid in this season’s draw, given its summer recruitment. Not many teams will relish the opportunity to face the likes of Neymar, Lionel Messi, Sergio Ramos, Gianluigi Donnarumma and friends. That being said, almost every other team in Pot 2 is a nightmare for Chelsea, whether it’s Juventus, Real Madrid or Barcelona. But hey, we’re the Champions of Europe!

Favorable draw: Chelsea, Sevilla, Benfica, Malmo

Not as many storylines here. As such, the focus will largely fall on Chelsea’s games against Sevilla, a team it drew and beat in the group stage of the same competition last season. Perhaps the Blues will do it again, perhaps with Jules Kounde in the team.

Benfica should provide an easier challenge to Chelsea than some of the other Pot 3 teams. The Portuguese side is in much more disarray than some of the other teams from the same pot. That and a trip to sunny Lisbon bodes much better for the players than one to the cold Saint Petersburg. There are easier pickings in Pot 4, so long as the Blues avoid AC Milan and VfL Wolfsburg. Again though, the hope would be to bag a trip closer to home, minimizing the traveling time and the subsequent effect on domestic performance.

Chelsea will go into the UEFA Champions League as the reigning Champions of Europe, but that means 31 other teams will be vying for the crown currently donned by the Blues. One can hope that they do a better job protecting it than they did the last time around!

Who would you like to see the Blues draw in the Champions League? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!