Europa League round of 32 draw: Celtic to face Valencia, Chelsea and Arsenal handed favourable fixtures – d
There are only three British teams left as the competition enters the knockout rounds
Celtic will face Valencia in the Europa League round of 32, while Chelsea and Arsenal have been handed more favourable draws.
The Bhoys were unseeded heading into Monday’s draw, and they were unfortunate to be pulled out the pot along with Los Che, who were one of the teams to drop out the Champions League after finishing third in their group, behind Juventus and Manchester United.
Premier League sides Chelsea and Arsenal were both seeded for the draw, and they leave feeling confident of securing progression to the last 16.
The Blues have an encounter with Malmo of Sweden, while Unai Emery’s Gunners have been drawn to face BATE Borisov, who finished second in Chelsea’s group.
The matches will be played on 12/14 and 20/21 February, though it has been confirmed Arsenal’s second leg fixture will take place on a Wednesday, rather than the traditional Thursday.
Both the Gunners and Chelsea topped their respective groups and will therefore play their second legs at home – with UEFA rules stipulating the pair cannot play in the city on the same night.
Arsenal will therefore be the team whose fixture is brought forward with UEFA confirming that, as FA Cup winners, the Blues are given priority.
The situation is clouded further as the tie cannot clash with any Champions League fixtures played on the same day, meaning Unai Emery’s side will kick-off at 17:00.
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“Due to the city clash between Chelsea FC and Arsenal FC, and in order to respect the sporting criteria of the competition (both teams are seeded and have to play the return leg of their respective round of 32 ties at home), one of the two return-leg matches will be played on a Wednesday,” a UEFA statement read.
“In accordance with the principles set by the Club Competitions Committee, Chelsea FC have priority, having won the national domestic cup. Arsenal FC with therefore play their return leg in the round of 32 at home on Wednesday 20 February 2019, at 18.00 CET (17.00 GMT), irrespective of their opponents.”
Europa League round of 32 draw in full
Viktoria Plzen vs Dinamo Zabreg
Club Brugge vs FC Salzburg
Rapid Vienna vs Inter Milan
Slavia Prague v Genk
Krasnodar vs Bayer Leverkusen
FC Zurich vs Napoli
Malmo vs Chelsea
Shakhtar Donetsk vs Eintracht Frankfurt
Celtic vs Valencia
Rennes vs Real Betis
Olympiakos vs Dynamo Kyiv
Lazio vs Sevilla
Fenerbahce vs Zenit
Sporting CP vs Villarreal
BATE Borisov vs Arsenal
Galatasaray vs Benfica
