Champions League Round of 16 draw: Who can Chelsea face?

Chelsea won its second Champions League title just seven months ago, defying all odds en route. The Blues shocked the world under newly appointed manager Thomas Tuchel and defeated the mighty Manchester City in the final. When the club drew Juventus for this campaign, fans experienced flashbacks to the 2012/13 UCL competition, the last time the Blues tried to defend their European crown. They were knocked out in the group stages that season. The goal wasn’t just to avoid embarrassment this time, Tuchel has his sights set much, much higher. Chelsea’s goal has been—and continues to be—winning the competition for a second consecutive season.

The Blues already achieved the bare minimum of getting out of the group stage this campaign. They had a chance to finish atop Group H following a 4-0 thrashing of the Old Lady at Stamford Bridge. However, a last-minute Zenit equalizer on matchday six—paired with Juventus’ 1-0 win over Malmo—saw Chelsea slip up and inexplicably finish second in the group. The Champions League Round of 16 draw takes place on Monday at 11 a.m. GMT, so who can the Blues take on?

Here are the teams Chelsea can draw in the Champions League Round of 16

As a second-place finisher, Chelsea can only face those that won their groups. The Blues’ three English counterparts—Liverpool, Manchester City and Manchester United—all won their respective groups, so that means the options are a bit more clear than those of other clubs. Chelsea can also not draw anybody from its own group, which means Juventus is off the table. Therefore, Tuchel’s men have four options: Ajax, Bayern Munich, Lille and Real Madrid.

The club that stands out above the rest in that group is the French outfit. Lille has struggled domestically, currently sitting 11th, and it unconvincingly won a relatively weak Group G that included the likes of Red Bull Salzburg, Sevilla and Wolfsburg. Lille is a team comprised of extremely young and inexperienced talent. Les Dogues haven’t reached the knockout stages of the premier European tournament since the 2006/07 season, which is music to the ears of the experienced reigning Champions of Europe.

Ajax would also be a favorable draw. Erik ten Hag’s men cruised through the group stages, taking the maximum amount of points from matches against Sporting CP, Dortmund and Besiktas. De Godenzonen sit second in the Eredivisie right now and although they have a history of European upsets, they’d have their hands full with the Blues. Chelsea possesses a lot more quality in its ranks and one would have to like the team’s odds against the defending Eredivisie champions.

While Ajax isn’t exactly an ideal draw, it’d be much better than either of the other options. Both Real Madrid and Bayern Munich represent daunting draws for Chelsea at any stage of the competition, especially so in the Round of 16. Both sides are currently breezing through their domestic leagues under new management and comfortably topped their groups. Carlo Ancelotti and Julian Nagelsmann both have experience squaring off against Tuchel and ironically enough, they both have losing records against the current Blues boss. Nevertheless, Tuchel would be less than pleased to draw either high flying European giant after his side sloppily gave away a 94′ equalizer in St. Petersburg to throw away the first place position in Group H.

An important thing to remember about this year’s competition is that the away goals rule no longer applies at any stage. If two sides are level after the final whistle of regular time in the second leg, they will go to extra time. The first place finisher from each group will get the privilege of playing at home in the second leg. Round of 16 contests will take place in mid-to-late February and early-to-mid March. The Blues still remain one of the competition’s favorites to win, but they haven’t exactly made it easy on themselves.

Who would you like the Blues to face? Let us know in the comments or on Twitter!