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.
Klopp talks down Liverpool's title chances
Jurgen Klopp thinks Liverpool face a daunting task in their bid to retain the Champions League title this season given the "crazy" depth of quality in the competition.
Klopp has led Liverpool to back-to-back Champions League finals but is adamant that their recent track record does not make them the title favourites.
"I will have no problem with it (reaching the final) if it happens again, but at this moment I am not too sure it will," the German said. "We have the same chance like everyone else, but that is all, and I don't see us, the English teams, dominating. I really think a lot of teams have a good chance."
Liverpool are among the top seeds in Pot One along with Chelsea, Barcelona, Manchester City, Juventus, Bayern Munich, Paris St Germain and Zenit St Petersburg for the Champions League group stage draw.
The quality of teams in the second pot - which includes Real Madrid, Atletico Madrid, Borussia Dortmund - have convinced Klopp there is no need to change the format of the competition when the current cycle ends in 2024.
"I don't think there was ever a stronger Pot Two. It is just crazy," the German added. "They should all be in Pot One, but there is not enough space there.”
Premier League fans want improved Uefa finals experience
Fans of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur have together submitted a list of demands to Uefa after numerous complaints following the Champions League and Europa League finals last season.
A joint statement by Arsenal Supporters' Trust, Chelsea Supporters' Trust, Spirit of Shankly and Tottenham Hotspur Supporters' Trust covers various problems such as inadequate ticket allocations and inconvenient travel arrangements.
"We have drawn up a six-point action plan to improve the supporter experience," the statement read. "It has been referred to the Football Supporters' Association (FSA) and Football Supporters Europe (FSE). We now call on Uefa to engage in meaningful dialogue with supporters and address these points."
The clubs' supporters called for an 80% allocation of tickets to be made available to the finalists after Liverpool and Spurs were allocated only 16,613 tickets each for the Champions League showpiece at Atletico Madrid's 68,000-seat Wanda Metropolitano Stadium.
Suggestions were also made to choose stadiums with a minimum capacity of 60,000 for the Europa League final and 75,000 for the Champions League final, helping to keep ticket prices affordable.
Arsenal and Chelsea fans struggled to get to Baku for the Europa League showpiece due to a lack of direct flights to Azerbaijan's capital. Supporters asked Uefa to pick cities with good connectivity and the capacity to deal with thousands of visitors.
Any Champions League draw wouldn't be complete without a predicted 'Group of Death'. In this case, though, there's more than one to consider.
'Group of Death' A:
Liverpool
Real Madrid
Inter
Leipzig
'Group of Death' B:
Manchester City
Atletico Madrid
Lyon
Galatasaray
'Group of Death' C:
Barcelona
Tottenham
Leverkusen
Lille
These are the worst case scenarios but given the quality on offer in each pot, it's safe to assume there'll be a number of difficult-looking groups drawn this evening.
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