Europa League: Chelsea and Arsenal get favorable draws

Europa League round of 32 draws take place earlier today and the two Premier League clubs taking part in the competition were drawn with relatively small clubs.

Arsenal vs BATE

The Gunners made it through to the knockout stages of the competition as group winners, hence, it wasn’t a surprise they get BATE as their next opponent.

The Gunners shouldn’t have any problem defeating BATE who progressed from their group as runner-up to Chelsea.

Unai Emery men are in top form at the moment and they would be hoping to maintain their wonderful run of form throughout the season.

In-form or not, BATE shouldn’t cause Unai Emery any problem over both legs.

This is not to take anything away from the round-32 encounter, but it’s safe to say that Arsenal won’t have much to do against BATE.

In most of the group matches that were played, Emery gave some academy products chance to show what they’ve got.

Bukayo Saka, Joe Willock, Emile Smith Rowe and Eddie Nketiah all featured in some matches played by the Emirates outfits.

The Gunners will be on the road for the first leg of the clash while the return leg is scheduled to take place at the Emirates Stadium.

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Chelsea VS Malmo FF

Just as their Premier League counterpart, Chelsea have been paired with other minnows of European football.

Maurizio Sarri’s men are up against Malmo who was runner-up to Genk with nine points.

The Blues were winners of their group with 16 points, hence, Malmo shouldn’t be too difficult for Chelsea to overcome.

The 2012-13 Europa League winners are doing well on the European scene and they are expected to score plenty of goals against their less-fancied opponents when the competition resumes by February next year.

Considering the level of his next opponents, Maurizio Sarri should be able to give some youngsters another chance to feature with the senior players.

Reuben Loftus-Cheek and Hudson-Odoi — if they failed to go on a loan move to other clubs in January — should get some game-time against Malmo in the return leg of the encounter.

Conclusion

As much as Malmo and BATE appear as an easy draw for Chelsea and Arsenal respectively, the Premier League clubs must be in their best form to progress to the next round of the competition.

They must avoid overconfidence as that will be their greatest enemy during the game.

All in all, nothing should stop both clubs from making it through to the next phase of the competition.