The Champions League quarter-final is now upon us after Chelsea, Man City and Liverpool progressed through to the final eight of the competition for back to back seasons.
Thomas Tuchel's side rounded off their Round of 16 efforts with a tight and scrappy 2-1 win (4-1 on aggregate) against a Lille side who caused the Blues multiple problems throughout the first 45 minutes. The Blues found themselves a goal down when Jorginho's handball was penalised and Lille had a spot kick. Burak Yilmaz capitalised from 12 yards to hand the champions of Europe a scare away from home.
However, Christian Pulisic and Cesar Azpilicueta ensured that the turmoil off the pitch didn't enter the field of play as Chelsea moved a step closer to making more history in potentially being the first English team in the Champions League era to retain their crown. So, with Chelsea now through to the last eight of the competition in their bid to retain their European crown, football.london took a close look at the seven teams in the draw and who the west London outfit can be drawn against.
READ MORE: Cesar Azpilicueta hands Chelsea £8.9m boost that Roman Abramovich sanctions can't impact
Liverpool (ENG)
Manchester City (ENG)
Atletico Madrid (SPA)
Real Madrid (SPA)
Villarreal (SPA)
Benfica (POR)
Bayern Munich (GER)
For this round, English teams can finally be drawn against each other so a prospect of a Chelsea vs either one of Man City or Liverpool could be in the making. As Rio Ferdinand alluded to in his prediction, there is still a 'dream' way that the Blues can come out on top in this draw despite the abundance of big names left in the hat.
He said and predicted his dream tie on BT Sport: "I'd go Liverpool vs Man City. I think there’s a league game between that and there would be three games in the space of a week. It would suit Chelsea too!" If this was to come to fruition, it would certainly increase the odds of current world and European champions facing one the supposedly easier ties against the likes of Benfica or Villarreal.
All will be revealed in the draw that takes place on Friday in Nyon, Switzerland. The quarter-finals themselves takes place on 5/6 April (first-leg) and 12/13 April (second-leg).
