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

Chelsea: 2019/20 Premier League season preview

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.

[29 August 2019 09:57 · Vithushan Ehantharajah]

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of the 2019/20 Champions League group stage draw.

[29 August 2019 10:25 · Samuel Lovett]

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

[29 August 2019 10:32 · Samuel Lovett]

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.

[29 August 2019 10:37 · Samuel Lovett]

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

[29 August 2019 10:44 · Samuel Lovett]

Awks...

[29 August 2019 10:51 · Samuel Lovett]

'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:

[29 August 2019 10:57 · Samuel Lovett]

All 32 teams in this evenings’s group stage draw ranked and rated:

[29 August 2019 11:03 · Samuel Lovett]

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.

[29 August 2019 11:10 · Samuel Lovett]

This is the sort of content I'm here for. Self-deprecation at its finest. Kudos, lads.

[29 August 2019 11:30 · Samuel Lovett]

Chief football writer Miguel Delaney has taken a deep dive into Tottenham's current struggles. Here, he asks what is exactly going on behind closed doors at the club: