The Teams Arsenal & Chelsea Can Draw In Champions League

 Ahead of Monday morning’s draw in Nyon, Switzerland, we took a look at the side’s each English club
could draw, from Real Madrid to Gent.

Chelsea

Possible opponents: Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Juventus, Roma or Gent.
Chelsea’s Champions League form has been somewhat at odds with their Premier League displays this season.
Four wins from their six group stage matches sees the Blues qualify top of Group G, two points above Dynamo Kiev, with Porto missing out thanks to a 2-0 Chelsea victory in the final qualifying match. Maccabi Tel Aviv, the group’s whipping boys, finished the campaign with zero points and Chelsea put eight goals past them in their two meetings.

Finishing first in the group gives Chelsea a less daunting selection of possible opponents but Jose Mourinho will be desperate to avoid Paris Saint-Germain.

His side were knocked out on away goals by Laurent Blanc’s expensively assembled outfit in last season’s round-of-16, a year after inflicting the reverse on the Parisian side in the quarter-finals and Mourinho will want to avoid a third consecutive meeting this year.
Juventus are the most challenging prospect of the remaining sides after finishing a point behind Manchester City in Group D – the Italian champions are in fine league form, winning their last five games straight.

Aside from PSG, Chelsea will consider themselves favourites to progress but Mourinho will know that his side are in desperate need of improvement if they are to have any real success in Europe or domestically this season.

Arsenal

Possible opponents: Atlético Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Wolfsburg or Zenit St Petersburg
Arsenal made qualification to the knockout stages of the competition very difficult for themselves with disappointing defeats to Dinamo Zagreb and Olympiacos in their first two games.
An impressive victory over serious contenders Bayern Munich in October was followed by a 5-1 drubbing in the reverse fixture and the Gunners needed to win their final two games fairly emphatically to secure qualification.
And they did so, with gusto. Olivier Giroud’s hat-trick against Olympiacos in the final game secured the side a place in the round of 16 for the 13th year running, but what awaits them could be fierce.

 

Finishing third in the group has left the Gunners with the daunting prospect of drawing Spain’s three best teams, including the current holders, Barcelona.
Only four points separate Barcelona, Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid in first, second and third in La Liga, respectively, and the prospect of facing any of the three Spanish giants would be a formidable one.
Arsene Wenger will be praying for either Wolfsburg or Zenit St Petersburg, who present slightly less mountainous challenges but the Frenchman’s side could be set to be heavily punished for their poor early-season European form.

Manchester City

Possible opponents: Paris Saint-Germain, PSV Eindhoven, Benfica, Roma, Dynamo Kiev or Gent
Since Manchester City rose to prominence domestically, they have failed to assert themselves in any meaningful way in the Champions League. Their furthest progress to date is a spot in the round of 16 and Manuel Pellegrini will be hoping to go at least one better after finishing top of Group D.

Their form in Europe this season has by no means been commanding – though they have scored 12 in six games they have also conceded eight, and two losses to Juventus make their first place finish somewhat fortunate.
Topping their group does, though, give them a very favourable draw and a decent chance of progression into the uncharted territory of the quarter-finals.