On Friday night, Chelsea safely passed through to the fifth round proper of the FA Cup, with a professional victory away to Championship outfit Hull City. 

Aside from the progression to the next round, there were plenty of other positives. A hat-trick for Pedro Neto, another goal for Estevao, Reece James back in the starting XI and a first start, good performance and clean sheet for Mamadou Sarr.

With a fifth-round tie now confirmed, we know what Chelsea's slate will be in March. The schedule is as follows: Arsenal and Aston Villa (A), FA Cup round 5 (TBC), Champions League R016 (opponent TBC, A), Newcastle United (H), Champions League round of 16 (H), and Everton (A). 

The game against Arsenal is on the 1st of March, whilst the clash with Everton is on the 21st, so we are looking at seven games in just 20 days. Fortunately, there is an international break straight after, albeit plenty of Chelsea players will be in action. 

Furthermore, there will be travel for the away Champions League tie. It could be a trip up north to play Newcastle, but it could also be a trip all the way to Azerbaijan to face Qarabag, an opponent Chelsea failed to beat in the league phase. 

If it is Newcastle, then it will be three straight games against Eddie Howe's side, though two of those would be at home. Although it's certainly a harder opponent, the team could probably do without the 6000-ish mile round trip to Baku - despite the good memories from that city.

Meanwhile, it could also be a game against Monaco or Paris Saint-Germain. All things considered, Monaco is certainly the perfect tie for Chelsea. A side of PSG's level is not what you want in the round of 16. The travel implications of Qarabag are very inconvenient. Newcastle is also a tough test. Meanwhile, Monaco is not as good as PSG or Newcastle, whilst also being far closer than Qarabag. 

Furthermore, the FA Cup fifth round tie could go to extra time, meaning a two hour slog, and 660 total minutes of action. Let's hope for another fairly soft draw - another Championship opponent would be pretty ideal. 

This schedule only increases the importance of avoiding the two legged play off for the last 16. Now, the players get more recovery time and Liam Rosenior has more time on the training ground to get his ideas across to the team.  

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