Chelsea Champions League draw: Blues to face Ajax, Valencia and Lille in 2019 group stage
The Blues have never faced the Dutch giants, who were the revelation of last season’s competition
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Your support makes all the difference.Chelsea will play Ajax in Group H of this season's Champions League group stage.
The Blues are back in the competition after a year out and enter as Europa League winners.
Joining Frank Lampard's side and last year's semi-finalists are Valencia and Lille in what appears to be a wide open group.
Fixtures (8pm KO unless stated)
September 17: Valencia (h)
October 2: Lille (a)
October 23: Ajax (a) - 17: 55
November 5: Ajax (h)
November 27: Valencia (a) - 17:55
December 10: Lille (h)
Frank Lampard's side will hope the minimal travel will work in their favour in their top four battle.
Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 2019/20 Champions League group stage draw.
Before we go any further, first things first: the pots.
Pot one: Liverpool, Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris St-Germain, Zenit St Petersburg
Pot two: Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund, Napoli, Shakhtar Donetsk, Tottenham, Ajax, Benfica
Pot three: Lyon, Bayer Leverkusen, Salzburg, Olympiakos, Club Bruges, Valencia, Inter Milan, Dinamo Zagreb
Pot four: Lokomotiv Moscow, Genk, Galatasaray, RB Leipzig, Slavia Prague, Red Star Belgrade, Atalanta, Lille
What's that? How will the draw work? Let me explain, friends.
So, the top pot contains the two Uefa competition winners as well as the champions of the six highest-ranked nations. That means Liverpool and Chelsea are joined by Manchester City, Barcelona, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris Saint-Germain and Zenit St Petersburg.
The remaining teams are then split across pots two to four by order of the club coefficient rankings.
No team can be drawn against a club from their own league.
Champions League calendar:
Matchday one: 17, 18 September
Matchday two: 1, 2 October
Matchday three: 22, 23 October
Matchday four: 5, 6 November
Matchday five: 26, 27 November
Matchday six: 10, 11 December:
Round of 16 draw: 16 December
Round of 16 first legs: 18, 19, 25, 26 February
Round of 16 second legs: 10, 11, 17, 18 March
Quarter-finals and semi-finals draw: 20 March
Quarter-finals first leg: 7, 8 April
Quarter-finals second leg: 14, 15 April
Semi-finals first leg: 28, 29 April
Semi-finals second leg: 5, 6 May
Final: 30 May
'Why are Man City in the hat when Uefa ban looms over this season’s competition?'
Tony Evans has the answers and takes a look at what comes next for Pep Guardiola's club:
NEW BALL ALERT!
Admittedly, it's a tad garish and kinda looks like a Champions League mascot has thrown up on it. But, you know what, I like it. There, I said it. Cuff me.
This is the sort of content I'm here for. Self-deprecation at its finest. Kudos, lads.
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