After the embarrassing heavy defeat in the UEFA Champions League, here is what the schedule for the rest of the season now looks like for Liam Rosenior's Chelsea team
On Wednesday night, Chelsea were unceremoniously dumped out of the UEFA Champions League by holders PSG, losing by three goals once again, a 3-0 defeat on the night, and a whopping 8-2 on aggregate.
Despite the money spent, Liam Rosenior's side are so far off the best teams in Europe. To lose both ties so heavily is just embarrassing. The team actually played well for 70 minutes in Paris. But the PSG players' vast superiority was telling for the final 110 minutes of the tie.
The season could still be saved with a go at the FA Cup, and a strong finish in the league, where the team will be hoping to secure Champions League football again for next season.
So, with that in mind, what does the schedule look like for the rest of the season?
This weekend, Chelsea will make their first-ever trip to the Hill Dickinson Stadium to play Everton in the Premier League, with a teatime kick-off on Saturday. Then, we have the international break.
After the break, the Blues will host Port Vale in the FA Cup on Saturday, the 4th of April, for a 17:15 BST kick-off (that feels good to type). They will then have a free week after being knocked out of the Champions League.
Following the FA Cup game, they will host Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday, the 12th of April at 16:30 BST. Then, a home game against Manchester United on Saturday, the 18th of April at 20:00 BST. That will be huge in the Champions League race.
Then, there is a game away to Brighton and Hove Albion scheduled for Sunday, the 26th of April. However, if Chelsea manage to defeat Port Vale in the FA Cup, they will instead play their semi-final tie that weekend, and the trip to Brighton will be rescheduled.
After that weekend, the team will host Forest, go away to Liverpool, host Spurs, and then finish off away to Sunderland. Those four dates are all to be confirmed except Sunderland, which will be at 16:00 BST on the 24th of May, alongside all the other games.
So, although there could be some congestion with the FA Cup, having no European commitments means there is even less excuse not to finish in the top five and secure a Champions League spot. At the moment, you'd be brave to back this team to deliver, though. Let's see if they can prove us wrong.
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