Eden Hazard leads the Blues against easy competition in Group E. (Ben Sutherland/Creative Commons)

Qualified as: 3rd in English Premier League (EPL)

Key acquisitions: Andre Schurrle (Bayer Leverkusen), Samuel Eto’o (Anzhi Makhachkala), Willian (Anzhi Makhachkala)

Key departures: Romelu Lukaku (Everton, loan), Victor Moses (Liverpool, loan)

Best result in competition: won the UEFA Champions League in 2012

Chelsea made a number of great acquisitions over the summer, including the signing of former Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho. The “chosen one” is in the process of making the Chelsea team his own, trying out different attacking options and revitalizing the attack that was often sluggish last year behind a struggling Fernando Torres. 

Chelsea struggled in the Champions League last year, unable to advance out of the group stage. But eventual success in the form of winning the secondary Europa League and finishing third in the EPL has Chelsea in good form coming into the competition. 

Prediction: Despite a slow start in the English Premier League (2-1-1), expect the Blues to make up for their poor performance in the Champions League last year. Mourinho came to Stamford Bridge to win major European trophies and any other result is a failure by Chelsea standards. 

FC Schalke 04

Qualified as: 4th in Bundesliga, qualifying win over PAOK FC

Key acquisitions: Kevin-Prince Boateng (Milan), Felipe Santana (Borussia Dortmund)

Key departures: Teemu Pukki (Celtic)

Best result in competition: semi-finals in 2011

Schalke is an exciting side that has the potential to surprise and go far in this competition, as they did in 2010-2011. The acquisition of Kevin-Prince Boateng is one that can’t be overlooked. Boateng is a world-class player, capable of revolutionizing the dynamic of a team, as he has done already finding the net in the early stages of the Bundesliga season. 

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar is another excellent player for Schalke. The Dutch international is a player that’ll keep defenses on their feet for the full 90 minutes. If Schalke is to make a run in this competition, expect Huntelaar to be a major part of it.

Prediction: I see Schalke and FC Basel fighting it out for the second spot in this group. It is too early to say who has the initial advantage in the race for second place but it’ll come down to which team can avoid dropping points against the weaker Steaua Bucuresti side and which team and take as many points as possible from Chelsea. 

Klaas-Jan Huntelaar must impress on his German side to reach the Round of 16. (DerHans04/Wikimedia Commons)

SEE MORE: UEFA Champions League: Group F Preview

FC Basel 1893

Qualified as: 1st in Swiss League, qualifying win over Ludogorets Razgrad

Key acquisitions: Giovanni Sio (VfL Wolfsburg), Ivan Ivanov (Partizan)

Key departures: Aleksandar Dragovic (Dynamo Kyiv)

Best result in competition: Round of 16 in 2012

FC Basel always finds a way to impress. They are often overlooked for being a Swiss team, but keep in mind that they dominated the Swiss league, finishing four points ahead of the second place team and thirteen points ahead of the third place team. 

Basel often does well in European competition as well; last year they knocked Tottenham out of the Europa League and just barely lost out to Chelsea in the final of the competition. The Swiss giants are a smart side who play an organized brand of soccer; they defend well and finish their chances. 

Prediction: As I mentioned before, I see Basel and Schalke fighting it out for the second spot to get out of the group stage. 

FC Steaua Bucuresti

Qualified as: 1st in Romanian league, qualifying win over Legia Warsaw

Key acquisition: Fernando Varela (Vaslui)

Key departures: Vlad Chiriches (Tottenham Hotspur), Raul Rusescu (Sevilla)

Best result in competition: won the UEFA Champions League in 1986

Prediction: Don’t expect the Romanian side to win too many games in this group. Although a decent side, Steaua Bucuresti doesn’t present much of threat to the other teams accustomed to playing far more competitive teams in their respective leagues. Anything above a fourth place finish would be an impressive result for the Romanian champions. 

Reach Staff Writer Gabe Quintela here.