Yahoo Sports Champions League: Who can Chelsea face in group stage?
Chelsea begin their defence of the Champions League after becoming European champions under Thomas Tuchel last season with a 1-0 victory over Man City in the final in Porto.
The Blues edged past the Premier League champions thanks to Kai Havertz, for their second Champions League title following their success in Munich nine years earlier.
FOLLOW LIVE: Champions League draw takes place as Premier League clubs learn opponents
Tuchel is now armed with a more formidable squad, thanks to the arrival of Romelu Lukaku for £97.5m, with the Belgian stamping his authority on the side in his second debut on Sunday, scoring the opener in the 2-0 victory over Arsenal.
It is now two wins from two games to kick-start the Premier League campaign, with Tuchel now expected to contend at home and on the continent.
Here’s everything you need to know about the 2021/22 Champions League group stage draw and who the Blues could face.
When is it?
The draw for the group stage will take place in Istanbul on Thursday 26 August at 5pm BST.
How can I watch it?
European football governing body Uefa will stream the draw live on their website.
In the UK, BT Sport will also air the draw live on BT Sport 2 HD and the broadcaster’s site.
Group-stage draw pots
Pot one: Chelsea, Bayern Munich, Manchester City, Atlético de Madrid, Villarreal, Inter Milan, Sporting, Lille
Pot two: Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Manchester United, Paris Saint-Germain, Liverpool, Sevilla, Borussia Dortmund
Pot three: Porto, Ajax, Leipzig, Atalanta, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Benfica, Shakhtar, Salzburg
Pot four: Brugge, Young Boys, AC Milan, Malmo, Wolfsburg, Sheriff Tiraspol, Besiktas, Dynamo Kiev
Who can Chelsea draw?
Due to playing in the same league, Chelsea cannot draw pot two teams Manchester United or Liverpool, which means a tough test is almost certain to greet them in the group stage with one of Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, Paris Saint-Germain, Sevilla and Borussia Dortmund.
Chelsea can therefore face any of pot three teams Porto, Ajax, Leipzig, Atalanta, Benfica, Zenit Saint Petersburg, Shakhtar Donetsk or Salzburg.
That means the Blues could face AC Milan in pot four, with Brugge, Wolfsburg, Young Boys and Malmo options too, as well as Sheriff Tiraspol, Besiktas and Dynamo Kiev.
To conclude, an example of a tough group on paper for the Blues could be: Paris Saint-German, Zenit Saint Petersburg, AC Milan.
A slightly kinder draw to many might be: Sevilla, Ajax, Sheriff.
How does the draw work?
The teams will be split into four seeding pots. Pot 1 will be made up of the holders (Chelsea), the Europa League winners (Villarreal) and the champions of the six highest-ranked nations – given neither Chelsea nor Villarreal won their domestic leagues. Pots 2 to 4 will be determined by club coefficient rankings.
No team can play a side from their own domestic league. The pots will be confirmed before the draw ceremony begins.
A number of awards from the 2020/21 edition of the competition will also be handed out.
When does the Champions League group stage take place?
Matchday 1: 14/15 September
Matchday 2: 28/29 September
Matchday 3: 19/20 October
Matchday 4: 2/3 November
Matchday 5: 23/24 November
Matchday 6: 7/8 December
Who are the favourites to win the competition?
PSG: 16/5
Chelsea: 9/1
Man City: 41/10
Bayern Munich: 41/5
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