With the final international break of the campaign over and FA Cup duties – at least until Wembley – completed, it is almost a straight shot for Liam Rosenior's side to the end of the Premier League campaign, with seven fixtures left to play.

Following Arsenal’s Champions League quarter-final first leg victory over Sporting Lisbon on Tuesday evening, the top five finishers in this season’s Premier League are guaranteed a spot in the top tier of European competition next season.

As things stand, sixth place will qualify for the UEFA Europa League and seventh the UEFA Conference League, although that could change depending on the winners of the FA Cup and final league position of League Cup winners Manchester City.

The Blues enter the season run-in sixth in the table but only one point behind Liverpool, who occupy the last of those Champions League spots. It is an incredibly tight race for European qualification, though, with only seven points separating the nine teams placed fifth to 13th.

Here is a look at who the Blues will need to overcome in our remaining games if we are to secure one of those top five places and a spot in the 2026/27 Champions League.

Manchester City

Our next Premier League fixture is a big one for both teams, as Manchester City arrive at Stamford Bridge for a 4.30pm kick-off on Sunday. In addition to our pursuit of Champions League qualification, Man City come to the Bridge knowing that dropped points could spell the end of their title challenge.

Pep Guardiola's side are second in the Premier League table but nine points behind leaders Arsenal. A 12-point deficit would almost certainly be too much to overcome, even with their extra game left to play. There is no room for error.

We have already dented City's title chances once this season, though, by securing a 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in January, when Calum McFarlane was in temporary charge of the team before Rosenior’s appointment as head coach.

Manchester United

The second of back-to-back home games against Mancunian opposition comes on Saturday 18 April, when we host Manchester United at Stamford Bridge at 8pm.

Since the January appointment of Michael Carrick as head coach, United's form has improved, and they currently sit third in the table and hold a seven-point advantage over the Blues.

United's run-in includes home matches against heated local rivals, Leeds United and Liverpool, with those two fixtures sandwiching their visit to Stamford Bridge.

We will need to avoid a repeat of our meeting with United earlier in the season when they arrived in SW6. A tough away trip in September saw the Blues reduced to 10 men early in the game and suffer a 2-1 defeat at a rain-soaked Old Trafford.

Brighton & Hove Albion

Due to our involvement in the FA Cup semi-final, we will travel to the South Coast for an 8pm kick-off at the Amex Stadium on Tuesday 21 April.

We will face a Brighton side with European ambitions of their own. Despite being tenth in the table at the moment, they are only three points behind Brentford and a spot in the Conference League.

The Seagulls also have, at least on paper, a favourable run to the end of the season, with five of their remaining seven fixtures being against sides in the bottom half of the table, including three of the bottom four.

Nottingham Forest

When these two sides met at the City Ground on the final day of last season, it was a head-to-head match for Champions League qualification. The game may have very different stakes for the visitors to Stamford Bridge this time around, as Forest currently sit just three points above the relegation zone in 16th place.

Their fate is likely to be clearer by the time they visit west London for a 3pm kick-off on the bank holiday Monday 4 May – and Forest will also have a say in the race for Champions League football with three of their final seven games coming against sides currently in the top six.

Our previous meeting with Forest this season came at the City Ground earlier this season, when Josh Acheampong put us ahead with his first senior goal for the Blues, before Pedro Neto made it two and Reece James completed the scoring on his 200th Chelsea appearance.

Liverpool

With just one point currently separating Liverpool and Chelsea in the race for the final Champions League qualification spot, this meeting at Anfield - pencilled in for 12.30pm on Saturday 9 May – could prove decisive in both teams’ seasons.

Although Liverpool are still able to qualify for Europe by winning this season’s Champions League, those chances were reduced following a 2-0 defeat to Paris Saint-Germain in the first leg of their quarter-final.

Arne Slot's side will have to battle to maintain – or improve – their league position. They are currently one point ahead of the Blues, but with the exception of Crystal Palace, their remaining top-flight fixtures are against sides above the Reds in the table or those also chasing European qualification.

In our previous meeting with Liverpool this season, a stunning Moises Caicedo strike was added to by a memorable Estevao Willian winner; the Brazilian scoring deep in second-half stoppage time to seal a 2-1 win for the Blues.

Tottenham Hotspur

Sometimes the fixture list throws up a real gem – and this could be right up there with the best of them.

The Blues' final home fixture of the season will see us hosting London rivals Tottenham at the Bridge for what could once again be a huge game for both clubs’ fortunes.

While Rosenior and his players will be hoping to take another step toward Champions League qualification, Tottenham may still need points to assuage fears of relegation.

The north London side, who appointed Roberto De Zerbi as head coach during the international break, currently sit 17th in the top-flight table, just one point above the relegation zone. Spurs' run-in also looks challenging, with just two of their remaining fixtures coming against sides not in the hunt for a European place.

When they visit Stamford Bridge on the weekend of 16-17 May, Spurs will be looking to avoid a repeat of the 1-0 defeat they suffered to Chelsea in north London in October.

Sunderland

Chelsea will head up to the Stadium of Light to take on Sunderland in our last Premier League match of 2025/26.

Few would have predicted when the fixtures were announced that our newly-promoted opponents could be in the mix for a European place, but the Black Cats are currently just three points off a Conference League spot and just six from the Champions League places.

It would be quite something if the Mackems were to end the season strongly and secure European qualification for the first time since 1974 – and first ever through their league position – but with several teams above them in the table despite the narrow point margin, they may need a result against Chelsea on the final day.