Chelsea Could Face Tough Opponents In The Champions League Knockout Round

Chelsea Could Face Tough Opponents In The Champions League Knockout Round

Chelsea could only draw with Atletico Madrid and now face a nightmare last 16 draw in the Champions League after finishing second in Group C. It is not a bad result as it was a strong group, also containing Aletico and Roma, but the Blues should have topped it after Atletico flopped.

Instead they were humbled in Rome and now they must play a group winner in the first knockout round. Given the fact that the other four English teams topped their groups, and that you cannot face a domestic rival in the last 16, Chelsea are left with just three potential opponents for Monday’s draw: PSG, Barcelona and Besiktas.

Fans will be praying Chelsea are drawn against the latter, as PSG are the favourites for the tournament and Barca are joint third.

The French side broke the world record to sign Neymar in the summer and followed it up with another massive signing in the form of Kylian Mbappe, to team up with the prolific Edinson Cavani. They have assembled a terrifying attacking triumvirate and were installed as outright favourites after beating Bayern Munich 3-0.

Check reviews of betting websites for the best odds and you will see that the odds have drifted slightly after Bayern gained revenge with a 3-1 win over Unai Emery’s men on Tuesday, but they are still ahead of Man City and champions Real Madrid in the betting.

Barca are top of La Liga, unbeaten still and eight points clear of Real Madrid after embarking on a superb start to the season. They also went unbeaten in a Champions League group containing Serie A champions Juventus, and look stronger defensively than ever before.

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Lionel Messi is playing like a man possessed as he bids to wrestle back the Balon d’Or from Cristiano Ronaldo, while Luis Suarez has been as lethal as ever. Both Barcelona and PSG would represent nightmare opposition and Chelsea would be underdogs to qualify for the quarter-finals.

But should Chelsea be scared of teams like that? After all, they are the champions of England, not exactly cash poor themselves and in fine form at present.

Eden Hazard’s comments were encouraging when he was asked about the prospect of facing Barcelona or PSG in the wake of the 1-1 draw against Atletico Madrid. “It’s not a problem,” he said. “We are Chelsea. We can face any team. We know PSG and Barcelona, they are very good. But we are Chelsea and we have to be ready for everything. We can do everything.”

That is exactly the sort of attitude Chelsea players need to adopt going into the knockout stage of the competition. You cannot succeed in Europe unless you beat the very best teams, and Chelsea have done it before and can do it again. A lot will rest on Hazard maintaining his sensational form as he is one of the most devastating attacking forces in the world and he could easily rip through the PSG or Barcelona defence.

A lot will also rest on the health of N’Golo Kante. He was badly missed in that 3-0 defeat against Roma, and Chelsea look a far better side when he is running the engine room. Cesc Fabregas and Timoue Bakayoko looks a bit too lightweight as a partnership, but if Kante is fit and Hazard is on song then Chelsea really can beat anyone in the world.

The odds have drifted out on Chelsea as the bookmakers know they could face a tough draw and you can currently get 25/1 on them winning the Champions League. That looks worth a punt. No team will want to face the Blues in the next round. It goes in reverse: Chelsea would be a nightmare draw for PSG and Barcelona, whose fans will be praying to avoid them. If the players all adopt Hazard’s self-belief they could certainly seize glory this season.