Emma Hayes’ squad have been drawn in Group B along with Women’s Super League sides Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur, plus Championship outfit London City Lionesses.

The competition will kick-off on 7-8 October, with the format slightly adjusted for this season’s competition.The tournament will be increased from four groups to six, with four teams competing in five of the groups, and three in the other. The six teams finishing top of their group will progress to the quarter-finals stage, alongside the two best runners-up.

The Blues were the 2019/20 winners of Continental Cup after defeating rivals Arsenal 2-1 at Nottingham Forest’s City Ground at the tail end of February.

Chelsea’s Player of the Season, Bethany England netted the opener with only nine minutes on the clock with a poacher’s finish for her 20th goal of the campaign. However, the Blues were hit with a sucker-punch on the 85th minute when Arsenal’s centre-back Leah Williamson equalised. But just as the final was heading for extra-time, our No.9 poked home in added time to secure the trophy in the most dramatic fashion.

The full group stage draw is:

GROUP ACoventry UnitedAston VillaSheffield UnitedDurham

GROUP BChelseaTottenham HotspurArsenalLondon City Lionesses

GROUP C LiverpoolManchester UnitedEvertonManchester City

GROUP DWest Ham UnitedCharlton AthleticReadingBrighton & Hove Albion

Group EBirmingham CityBlackburn RoversLeicester City

GROUP FLewesLondon BeesBristol CityCrystal Palace

Fixtures and details of the date and venue for this season’s final will be released in due course.

Chelsea begin our Women's Super League title defence against Manchester United on Sunday. The match kicks off at 2.30pm and is being broadcast live on BT Sport.