Europa League draw LIVE - Arsenal vs BATE Borisov, Chelsea vs Malmo and Celtic vs Valencia
Re-live the latest from the Europa League last-32 draw in Nyon
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Your support makes all the difference.Follow the latest reaction from the Europa League last-32 draw as both Arsenal and Chelsea discovered their knockout stage opponents, as well as Scottish Premiership champion Celtic.
Arsenal avoided a number of big teams, including those who dropped down from the Champions League, as they were paired with Belarusian side BATE Borisov, while Chelsea were handed a slightly more difficult draw against Malmo - the most successful club in Swedish history.
But while both Premier League teams will expect to progress to the last 16, the same cannot be said of Celtic, with the Scottish Premiership champions handed a difficult tie against La Liga side Valencia that was among the hardest outcomes for Brendan Rodgers' side. Follow the live updates below.
What time does the Europa League last-32 draw start?
The draw gets underway at 12pm GMT on Monday 17 December.
Where can I watch it?
The draw will be shown live on BT Sport 2 from midday.
Teams
Seeded: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kyiv, Eintracht Frankfurt, Genk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Real Betis, Red Bull Salzburg, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal, Zenit Saint Petersburg
Unseeded: BATE Borisov, Celtic, Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Krasnodar, Lazio, Malmo, Olympiakos, Rapid Wien, Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague, Sporting, Viktoria Plzen, Zurich
Good morning and welcome to The Independent's live coverage of the Europa League last-32 draw, with Arsenal, Chelsea and Celtic set to discover their knockout stage opposition.
The draw is expected to get underway at 12pm once the Champions League ceremony has been completed - which you can follow live here - and the 24 group winners and runners-up will all go into the hat alongside the eight Champions League teams who drop down to the Europa League after finishing third in their groups.
Who can Arsenal face?
BATE, Celtic, Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, FC Krasnodar, Lazio, Malmo, Olympiakos, Rapid Vienna, Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague, Viktoria Plzen, Villarreal and FC Zurich
Who can Chelsea face?
Celtic, Club Brugge, Fenerbahce, Galatasaray, FC Krasnodar, Lazio, Malmo, Olympiakos, Rapid Vienna, Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague, Sporting CP, Viktoria Plzen, Villarreal and FC Zurich
Who can Celtic face?
Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kiev, Frankfurt, Genk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Real Betis, Sevilla, Villarreal, Zenit.
So with the Champions League draw all wrapped up, it's time to focus on the Europa League last-32.
However, if you're yet to see the Champions League draw in full, here it is for your disposal:
We're five minutes away from getting the ceremony underway, with Uefa's technical team pulling off a quick turnaround on stage to swap out the Champions League branding for the Europa League.
This draw will be a fair bit longer, with 32 teams to come out of the hat.
Here's a reminder of how Arsenal reached the knockout stages unbeaten, in a tournament that saw them reach the semi-finals last season only to come unstuck against Atletico Madrid.
It was a former Arsenal man who fired Chelsea into the last-32 unbeaten in Europe as his free-kick ensured they safely negotiated Vidi.
Here's a reminder of all 32 teams in the Europa League draw
- Seeded: Arsenal, Bayer Leverkusen, Benfica, Chelsea, Dinamo Zagreb, Dynamo Kyiv, Eintracht Frankfurt, Genk, Inter Milan, Napoli, Real Betis, Red Bull Salzburg, Sevilla, Valencia, Villarreal, Zenit Saint Petersburg
- Unseeded: BATE Borisov, Celtic, Club Brugge, Fenerbahçe, Galatasaray, Krasnodar, Lazio, Malmo, Olympiakos, Rapid Wien, Rennes, Shakhtar Donetsk, Slavia Prague, Sporting, Viktoria Plzen, Zurich
So who are the teams to avoid?
For both Arsenal and Chelsea, they will be relieved to see Valencia, Napoli and Inter all seeded alongside them, but they will not want to be drawn with Shakhtar or Galatasaray, who drop down from the Champions League.
For Celtic, the draw is littered with potential landmines as they could face either Arsenal or Chelsea in a 'Battle of Britain' as well as the likes of Valencia, Napoli and Inter Milan. The ideal draw for Brendan Rodgers' side would be a Genk or Red Bull Salzburg, but then that is no easy matter either.
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