Milan

It’s almost 23 years since a certain Dennis Wise scored a rather famous goal in San Siro – and Chelsea haven’t been back to the old Italian stadium since. That will change this season, however, with Tuchel’s side drawn against the Serie A champions.

Milan are one of the most successful clubs in the history of the European Cup/Champions League having lifted the big-eared trophy on seven occasions. Their participation in last year’s competition came after an eight-year absence, but they failed to make it out of the group stage.

The Rossoneri will be hoping for better this time around and possess two players in Fikayo Tomori and Olivier Giroud that have close ties with Chelsea. Tomori joined the Blues at the age of seven and progressed through the academy ranks to the first team. He made 27 appearances for Chelsea before departing, initially on loan, for Milan in January 2021.

READ MORE UEFA Champions League draw confirms harsh Chelsea Premier League test for Thomas Tuchel

Giroud, meanwhile, spent three-and-a-half years at Stamford Bridge and was an important figure in an FA Cup win, a Europa League triumph over former club Arsenal, and the 2021 Champions League victory. He left for Milan in the summer of 2021 and eleven goals last term as Milan clinched the title.

There’s also the added wrinkle of Chelsea going up against Rafael Leao. The Portuguese star has been linked with a move to Stamford Bridge throughout the summer but is still expected to remain at San Siro for the forthcoming campaign. If that proves the case, the games between the two sides will be an opportunity to evaluate the 23-year-old at close quarters.

Red Bull Salzburg

Part of the Red Bull stable of clubs, Salzburg have established themselves as the dominant force in Austrian football over the past decade. Die Rotten Bullen have won the last nine Bundesliga titles and have developed a reputation as an ideal proving ground for young talent.

The likes of Sadio Mane and Erling Haaland shone for Salzburg before moving on to Southampton and Borussia Dortmund respectively while their current standout attacker, Benjamin Sesko, was linked with Chelsea before he agreed to join sister club RB Leipzig next summer.

In last season’s Champions League, Salzburg made their way out of a group that included Sevilla, Wolfsburg and Lille. They even claimed an impressive 1-1 draw against Bayern Munich in the first leg of their last-16 tie. Unfortunately for the Austrians, Bayern won the second leg 7-1. at the Allianz Arena.

Dinamo Zagreb

In a similar fashion to Salzburg, Dinamo are the undisputed and most powerful club in Croatia. They’ve won a record 23 Prva HNL titles but haven’t made it beyond the Champions League group stage since the 1998/99 campaign.

Changing that this season will be difficult, but by reaching the Europa League quarter-finals two seasons ago, Zagreb showcased the quality within their squad. They’ve since added Josip Drmic and the Swiss international has quickly adapted with five goals in eleven matches, two of which came in the Champions League qualifiers.

Chelsea’s visit to Croatia will also be a homecoming for Mateo Kovacic. The midfielder joined Dinamo at the age of 13 and went on to make 73 appearances for the first time before leaving for Inter Milan in the summer of 2012.