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Chelsea's best, and possibly only chance of returning to the Champions League next season requires the Blues to be the last team standing from this campaign. But before having a real shot of claiming the prize away in very unlikely fashion - as they did in 2012 -, the Blues need to get past Paris Saint-Germain in the round of 16.
Overturning the 2-1 loss at Paris in the first leg won't be an easy task, but Chelsea defender César Azpilicueta is confident that Chelsea can still go through in the continental competition.
"We have as much confidence as the other years. We know we're forming a good team who are going to take on PSG - who are also another very good team that are hard to play against. It will be tight until the end."
"We experienced a very bad period in the league [before Christmas] but with Guus Hiddink we've climbed up the table well. We were in a position that a club like Chelsea cannot be in. Little by little we're in the process of getting out of it."
"But the Champions League is something else. Every match is very, very difficult. We know we have to win and above all not to concede -- because we know that away goals are decisive. We saw that last year - we conceded two goals and in the end we were eliminated."
"We're going to take on this match with the desire to win and therefore to score. We will have to concentrate for 90 minutes or even 120 minutes. We know that we're a good team - that we have the means to knock out PSG, even if they are among the sides that are very difficult to play."
On paper, there are many teams still in contention for the Champions League with a better squad overall. But Chelsea have found themselves in good form as of late, and while they didn't manage to get a more favorable result against PSG at Parc des Princes, the team performance gave fans enough hope to start believing in a turnaround for the Blues next week. Here's hoping that this squad has enough talent and grit to push on not only in the Champions League, but throughout the season.