Chelsea suffer blow to Champions League hopes as last-16 opponents PSG have special fixture request granted

PSG were set to take on Nantes on the weekend of 13 to 15 March, but made a request to the French division to have the game moved to mid-April. This means the Parisians will have five days without a game between Chelsea’s initial visit to Parc des Princes on 11 March and the return leg at Stamford Bridge on 17 March.

This is a bitter blow to the Blues, who will have to host the Magpies on the Saturday between the two games. It will also provide a headache to Liam Rosenior who will need to rotate his starting line-ups across three games in eight days – potentially costing them a result in European competition or points in the Premier League.

This is not the first time that PSG have been granted this wish. The club’s wishes were facilitated on numerous occasions last season and helped Luis Enrique’s team stay fresh amid a rampant run to the European crown. Other French teams have also been granted similar favours in the past when running deep into continental competitions.

In a statement, a spokesperson for Ligue 1 said: "At the request of Paris St-Germain, in order to best prepare for their two-legged tie against Chelsea, the LFP [Ligue de Football Professionnel] board of directors, in agreement with Nantes, have decided the Paris St-Germain-Nantes match will be played the week of April 20.

"The exact date and time of the match will be determined later."

The Champions League draw has pitted a number of major clubs against one another, with PSG's tie with Chelsea just one of a few heavyweight clashes. Should the Blues progress, they will have to contend with one of Liverpool or Galatasaray in the quarter-finals.

Whichever side wins will meet one of Bayern Munich, Atalanta, Real Madrid or Manchester City. The draw has promised at least a handful of the most successful sides in Europe will be dumped from the competition long before its culmination in Budapest.

On the other side of the draw, a repeat of the 2006 final could take place in the semi-final with Arsenal and Barcelona on a collision course. The Gunners will be pleased to have been offered, at least on paper, a relatively straightforward route compared to their domestic rivals, knowing victory against Bayer Leverkusen and then one of Bodo/Glimt or Sporting CP will land them in the final four.

As for the Blaugrana, victory over Newcastle could earn them an all-Spanish quarter-final against Atletico Madrid, who will contend with Tottenham Hotspur in the round of 16. Albeit unlikely, as many as six English teams could occupy the eight quarter-final spots available in what would be another demonstration of the Premier League’s financial dominance in Europe.

Chelsea will fancy their chances against PSG despite the advantage the Parisians will enjoy from a rest between fixtures. The Blues dispatched of Enrique’s men in the Club World Cup final in July and Chelsea director of football David Barnard insisted the club was unfazed by the draw.

"PSG, we've played them quite a few times. They are the reigning champions but people will probably refer to what happened in the summer at the Club World Cup. It'll be tough but it holds no fear for us," he said. "You can look at the bracket but you can't take things for granted."

First, Chelsea will have to deal with three tricky fixtures in the league and FA Cup. On Sunday, they travel to Arsenal looking to dent the Gunners’ bid for title glory before heading to Birmingham to play Aston Villa in a crucial battle for Champions League qualification.

Wrexham then lie in wait in the FA Cup fifth round and the in-form Red Dragons will be desperate to add another narrative to their Hollywood story.