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Europa League draw RECAP: Arsenal to face Stade Rennais, Chelsea meet Dynamo Kiev
EUROPA LEAGUE DRAW RECAP - Arsenal will face Stade Rennais while Chelsea will meet Dynamo Kiev in the last 16.
Arsenal: Unai Emery says Gunners can win the Europa League
Europa League draw RECAP
Europa League draw RECAP
That concludes the draw! Thanks for joining Express Sport for that draw. There will be plenty of reaction on the site to follow.
Zenit vs Villareal
ARSENAL vs Stade Rennais
Sevilla vs Slavia Prague
Valencia vs Krasnodar
Napoli vs Salzburg
Dinamo Zagrab vs Benfica
Eintracht Frankfurt vs Inter Milan
CHELSEA vs Dynamo Kiev
Let the draw begin (first team at home first leg)...
How it works
12.10: While host Pedro Pinto and co talk about the rules and regulations, I’ll run you through what I know.
There is no seeding or splitting up of countries so any team can draw anyone in the next round.
The one exception is that teams from Russia and Ukraine cannot be drawn together after the UEFA Executive Committee came to an agreement on the issues due to the conflict between countries.
To stop confusion the Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev will be drawn first and cannot face either Krasnodar or Zenit.
Former Valencia and Sevilla goalkeeper Andres Palop will draw one side.
All roads lead to Baku
12.00: The teams are aiming to reach the final, which this season will be held in Azerbaijan capital Baku.
The Olympic Stadium beat off Seville’s Estadio Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan and Vodafone Park in Istanbul.
It is the first European club competition final to be held in Azerbaijan. The stadium has also been chosen as a host venue for Euro 2020.
Anyway, enough of that. The head honchos of UEFA are set to step out and we let the speeches begin…
Almost time
11.50: UEFA officials have been hard at work at their HQ in Nyon, Switzerland.
The balls are ready, with the Europa League getting the full attention today.
Unlike the last draw, there are no Champions League ties to be made today with that competition being midway through the last-16.
Manchester United were the last English team to win the Europa League, lifting the trophy in 2017.
Who to watch out for
11.40: As well as Chelsea and Arsenal, there are a number of big guns left in the draw.
Valencia dispatched Celtic in the last 32 while Italian giants Napoli advanced with a 2-0 second leg victory over Zurich giving them a 5-1 aggregate win.
Inter Milan will also pose a threat to anyone they come up against as will five-time winners Sevilla.
The likes of Russian outfit Krasnodar and Ligue 1 side Rennes may prove to be the easier draws on paper.
How to watch Europa League draw
11.30: While we would obviously love for you to enjoy Express Sport’s coverage of the draw, if watching the balls actually being pulled out of their pots appeals then it can be watched on television.
Live coverage will be shown on BT Sport 2 and BT Sport 4K UHD in the UK.
Fans across Europe will be able to stream the action through the UEFA website.
Hudson-Odoi eyes the prize
11.20: Blues ace Callum Hudson-Odoi insists Chelsea can beat anyone moving forward in the competition.
“I’m happy with the result [vs Malmo]. We all worked hard and played really well,” Hudson-Odoi explained.
“Our mentality was strong. We paced ourselves and we deserved the win. The goal is a bonus for the work that the team did today.
“Hopefully I did well and made an impact.
“We are strong enough to beat any team [in this competition].”
Chelsea: Blues are ‘confident’ following Europa League win
Unai Emery confident
11.10: Arsenal boss Unai Emery isn’t ruling out winning the competition as we get into the final stages of the season.
He said: “We can [win it] and maybe if we can say 16 teams, one is Arsenal, but it is very difficult and a lot of teams want the same.
“We need to create a big atmosphere in this competition with our supporters and this feeling can give us more opportunities after our quality and capacity as a team.
“We need to feel stronger in this competition with every supporter and create this atmosphere around us.”
When will the last 16 ties take place?
11.00: We are one hour from the draw, which is set to begin at midday.
The games for the Europa League round of 16 take place on Thursday March 7 and Thursday March 14.
Kick off times will remain at either 5.55pm or 8pm.
The exact schedule will be confirmed after the draw.
Welcome
10.45: Hello and welcome to Express Sport’s live coverage of the Europa League draw.
Arsenal and Chelsea fans wait with bated breath to see who they will face with Europa League success key to for both teams.
The Europa League represents Arsenal’s last chance to win a trophy.
For Chelsea, they face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday, but the Europa League may be a better opportunity.
Teams remaining in the Europa League
Arsenal
Chelsea
Benfica
Dinamo Zagreb
Dynamo Kiev
Chelsea: Blues are ‘confident’ following Europa League win
Eintracht Frankfurt
Krasnodar
Napoli
Rennes
Salzburg
Sevilla
Slavia Prague
Valencia
Villarreal
Zenit