Arsenal were handed two mammoth trips across the continent in Friday’s Europa League group stage draw while Chelsea will be confident of progressing with ease.
Unai Emery, a three-time Europa League champion with Sevilla, will lead the Gunners on an 8,000 mile round-trip to Azerbaijan and Ukraine for games against Qarabag and Vorskla Poltava. Portuguese side Sporting Lisbon completed Group E.
Maurizio Sarri’s first European campaign with Chelsea will see them play in Group L alongside Greek side PAOK, BATE Borisov of Belarus and Vidi in Hungary.
The Gunners crashed out in the semi-finals of last season’s competition to eventual champions Atletico Madrid but face a tough task early on this time round.
Qarabag were in the Champions League last season and claimed memorable draws against Atletico that sent them crashing out of the competition.
Portuguese club Sporting are also a danger and have started their domestic campaign unbeaten, despite a troublesome summer that saw seven players cancel their contracts following an attack by fans at the training ground last season.
Steven Gerrard’s Rangers were handed the most difficult task of the British teams. They were drawn to play against Spanish side Villarreal, Russians Spartak Moscow and Austria’s Rapid Wien in Group G.
Celtic, meanwhile, were handed a difficult trip to last season’s semi-finalists Red Bull Salzburg and their parent club RB Leipzig in Group B. Brendan Rodgers will also see his team take on Norwegian side Rosenborg.
Europa League Groups
Group A
- Bayer Leverkusen
- Ludogorets
- FC Zurich
- Larnaca
Group B
- FC Salzburg
- Celtic
- RB Leipzig
- Rosenborg
Group C
- Zenit St Petersburg
- FC Copenhagen
- Bordeaux
- Slavia Prague
Group D
- Anderlecht
- Fenerbahce
- Dinamo Zagreb
- Spartak Trnava
Group E
- Arsenal
- Sporting Lisbon
- Qarabag
- FC Vorskla
Group F
- Olympiacos
- AC Milan
- Real Betis
- Dudelange
Group G
- Villarreal
- Rapid Vienna
- Spartak Moscow
- Rangers
Group H
- Lazio
- Marseille
- Eintracht Frankfurt
- Limassol FC
Group I
- Besiktas
- Genk
- Malmo
- Sarpsborg
Group J
- Sevilla
- Krasnodar
- Standard Liege
- Akhisarspor
Group K
- Dynamo Kiev
- Astana
- Rennes
- Jablonec
Group L
- Chelsea
- PAOK
- BATE Borisov
- MOL Vidi
