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Chelsea’s Champions League schedule was released on Friday, but how does each match fit into the team’s overall schedule?
Chelsea learned of their opposition for the upcoming Champions League campaign on Thursday. The Blues found themselves in Group E, along with what is believed to be one of the easiest of the eight groups. Frank Lampard’s team will compete with Seville (Spain), Krasnodar (Russia) and Rennes (France) over the course of the next two months as they look to advance from the group stage for the sixth consecutive season in the competition.
The Blues will battle demons from their own past, as they will eventually hope to get past the knockout stages for the first time since the 2013/14 competition. However, a big step to achieve this would be to win their group, something the club has not done since 2015/16. Chelsea I found out the dates of their Champions League matches on Friday are as follows:
- Matchday 1: vs. Seville (October 20)
- Week 2: in Krasnodar (October 28)
- Matchday 3: vs. Rennes (November 4)
- Week 4: in Rennes (November 24)
- Week 5: in Seville (December 2)
- Week 6: vs. Krasnodar (December 8)
With a roster of matches already packed, not all six matches were going to be ideal for all parties involved. In the draw, the Blues received the best and worst possible scenarios, so the situation seemingly evens out. In the end, Lampard and his staff will be delighted with how it went for them.
The first week of the match is less than three weeks away and it is against the toughest opponent in the group. Sevilla, the current winner of the Europa League, arrives in London on October 20. This tops off a three-game home run for the Blues. In addition to hosting Crystal Palace later today, Stamford Bridge will host two games after the international break: Southampton and Seville. Chelsea will have three days to prepare for their opening game of the 2020/21 UCL group stage following the fight against the Saints.
After the Blues play Sevilla, a trip north awaits them as they travel to face Manchester United at the Theater of Dreams. From Manchester, the Blues will travel a couple thousand miles to Russia, where a match in Krasnodar is squeezed between two league matches. To make matters worse, in the later half of the road trip, the team ends up in the north of England; this time in front of Burnley. Due to the few thousand miles covered in a week, this is the toughest streak of matches Lampard faces in the group stage.
After the trip to southern Russia, the Blues conclude the first half of their group matches against Rennes at the Bridge. The reverse match is three weeks later in France with matches against Sheffield United and Newcastle in the nearly three-week span between home and away with Chelsea’s newest business partner. After the trip to the French city, the Blues face one of their toughest stages of the season: Spurs (H), Seville (A) and Leeds (H) in a matter of seven days. Fortunately, they end the group stage of the Champions League with the weakest opponent in the group, Krasnodar, at home three days after the rivalry game with Leeds.
The crowded match roster will pose problems for Lampard’s team until at least December in the grand scheme of things. Fortunately, the Blues have the easiest game to close the group on December 8, so if there is any doubt about moving forward, Chelsea has a good chance to pass. In the end, the dominoes could have fallen in a more favorable way, but they could also have been much harder on the Blues.
Which Champions League game do you most want to play? Let us know in the comments or On twitter!
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