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Why Chelsea's Stamford Bridge could be used for Champions League home games this season Chelsea will not be in the Champions League, or European football at all for that matter, but Stamford Bridge may be set for an appearance Shakhtar Donetsk are hoping to use Stamford Bridge for their home matches in the Champions League. The Ukrainian side qualified for Europe's elite competition this season, while Chelsea missed out on all European football this season. Shakhtar have not been able to play at their home-ground since 2014. Two years after the Donbass Arena played host to several EURO 2012 matches, Russia annexed the eastern Ukrainian city, thus preventing Donetsk from being able to use the 52,000 capacity stadium. As a result, the club have had to play their home matches in the Ukrainian cities of Kyiv and Lviv, with European fixtures also being hosted in Germany, Slovenia and Poland. However, it's understood they now want to take their home matches to Stamford Bridge for this season's European campaign. When approached for a comment by football.london, Shakhtar explained they have nothing to add apart from an announcement is due to be made soon. According to the BBC, Chelsea have made it clear this move has nothing to do with commercial motives for the club. It's also understood Brentford's G-Tech Community Stadium and Fulham's Craven Cottage were also discussed as potential venues. However, Stamford Bridge is believed to be the preferred destination due to it's bigger capacity. Moreover, the west Londoners have a positive relationship with Shakhtar dating back to the transfer of Mykhailo Mudryk. In addition, there are understood to be around 32,000 Ukraine born people who live in London, making Stamford Bridge the ideal location to attract those people to games - a further 100,000 people of Ukrainian heritage are also believed to be in the capital. In 2023, Stamford Bridge also played host to the Game4Ukraine friendly match which raised money for the reconstruction of the Mykhailo-Kotsiubynsky School in Chernihiv Oblast, which was struck by Russian missiles. Shakhtar reached the semi-final of the Europa League, where they were knocked out by Crystal Palace. Despite the disappointment, it was an extraordinary achievement considering they had no regular home ground. They secured an automatic place in next season's Champions League after Paris Saint-Germain and Arsenal both qualified through their league finishes. This paved a path for Ukraine to move into the league phase after they topped the UEFA coefficient ranking, finishing 9.75 points ahead of second placed Crvena Zvezda. Meanwhile, Chelsea are not competing in Europe this season as a result of last season's disappointing 10th placed finish. This makes the prospect of Shakhtar playing at the Bridge easier, as there should not be too many fixture clashes. Sky's Essential TV and Sky Sports bundle includes at least 215 live Premier League clashes across the 2026/27 season, with more than 1,500 games from the EFL and beyond, plus F1, golf and darts. This introductory offer saves £384 compared to the standard price, with every package also providing 100 regular channels alongside free Netflix and discovery+ subscriptions.