Joe Cole fears Chelsea's defence of their Champions League title may be derailed by their focus on the Premier League.
The Blues defeated Manchester City in last season's final to be crowned champions of Europe for the second time in their history.
Thomas Tuchel achieved the feat just four months into his managerial tenure and his side have only grown stronger since the summer having signed Romelu Lukaku for a club-record £97.5million.
The Blues sit top of the Premier League after eight rounds of fixtures but their European form has been mixed, with a 1-0 victory over Zenit St Petersburg followed by a loss to Juventus via the same scoreline.
The only team to defend the Champions League in its current format are Real Madrid, who won three consecutive titles between 2016 and 2018 under Zinedine Zidane.
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Cole - a runner-up in the competition in 2008 - highlighted just how hard it is to win back-to-back continental titles as he assessed the task facing his former side.
Asked whether Chelsea can retain the Champions League, the former Blues playmaker said: "Well, it’s very difficult. Only one team has managed it being Real Madrid, that great team!
"So, it will be very, very difficult.
"I don't think that Chelsea will try and win the UEFA Champions League, but I think they will want more consistency in the league, so the Premier League I think takes more of a meaning.
"I think with how hard it is you can’t put all your eggs in that basket because it’s so difficult to win the UEFA Champions League but get through the group stage then you can reassess your squad, but it is so, so tough to retain it."
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Cole expects Chelsea will face a stern challenge for Champions League glory from their three Premier League rivals in the competition as well as 2020-winners Bayern Munich and the Lionel Messi-led Paris Saint-Germain.
"I think all the other English teams, you know Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City," added the 39-year-old when asked who the main threats to Chelsea are.
"You throw Bayern Munich in there, we still don't know how Paris (PSG) are going to be, we know about the quality there but off the ball I still question whether they are going to be good enough.
"Is Poch (manager Mauricio Pochettino) the man to put this altogether and organise them off the ball whilst still allow their star players to play well? We will have a better idea after Christmas."
Although Pochettino has played down PSG's chances, his team have been in excellent form in the Champions League in their last two fixtures, defeating Manchester City 2-0 and RB Leipzig 3-2.
Joe Cole was talking as he participated in the first episode of the second series of Hotels.com ’s Dream Island. The series will showcase Hotels.com ’s role as the Official Travel Partner of the UEFA Champions League and will see presenter Yung Filly grill UEFA legends on their fantasy get-away. Fans will enjoy hearing about where the former players’ dream holidays would be, what they never forget to take with them and who would make up their dream beach football team, as well as answering fans’ travel questions along the way. To watch Dream Island, visit Hotels.com Europe on YouTube: YouTube.com/hotelseu
