Chelsea and Arsenal will be confident of progressing to the last 16 of the Europa League after the draw was made in Nyon
The Europa League’s Premier League clubs were handed what appear on the surface to be entirely manageable draws on Monday, with Chelsea facing Swedish side Malmo and Arsenal playing Belarusian league leaders BATE Borisov.
Both London sides finished top of their groups with five wins and a draw each. Chelsea’s group contained PAOK of Cyprus, Vidi of Hungary and Arsenal’s round of 32 opponents BATE, while Arsenal finished above Azerbaijan’s Qarabag, Ukraine’s Vorskla and Sporting Club de Portugal.
Elsewhere in the draw, Scottish Premiership champions Celtic face the toughest draw on paper for the British sides, as they host Valencia in the first leg of their tie.
Other stand out ties include Lazio vs Sevilla, AKA the Ciro Immobile Derby, and Shakhtar Donetsk vs Eintracht Frankfurt.
🔸OFFICIAL: ROUND OF 32 DRAW!🔸
😃 or 😩 ❓#UELdraw pic.twitter.com/goTApmKddP
— UEFA Europa League (@EuropaLeague) December 17, 2018
