The Europa League has already completed its round of 32 draw and so while the second legs of the Champions League round of sixteen get underway, the Europa League moves on to that same stage.
Celtic were the only one of the three British sides remaining in the competition to fall at the round of 32 stage. They missed out at the hands of strong Spanish side Valencia.
English Premier League sides Chelsea and Arsenal line up in the final sixteen of the competition, are both are strong at the head of the outright winner market.
Following the draw for the Europa League Round of 16, Chelsea are the 7/2 outright favourites* (betting odds taken from February 22nd, 2019 at 5:15 pm)
Europa League Winner Odds*
Chelsea 7/2
Napoli 9/2
Arsenal 9/2
Sevilla 11/2
Valencia 9/1
Itner 10/1
Benfica 16/1
Eintracht Frankfurt 20/1
Salzburg 25/1
Villarreal 28/1
50/1 bar
* (betting odds taken from February 22nd, 2019 at 5:15 pm)
Europa League last-16 draw
Chelsea v Dynamo Kiev
Eintracht Frankfurt v Inter Milan
Dinamo Zagreb v Benfica
Napoli v FC Salzburg
Valencia v FC Krasnodar
Sevilla v Slavia Prague
Arsenal v Rennes
Zenit St Petersburg v Villarreal
Round of 16 match dates
7 March: Round of 16, first leg
14 March: Round of 16, second leg
Chelsea v Dynamo Kiev
Chelsea have not had the most settled of seasons to be fair, but they are in the last sixteen of the Europa League. On their only other appearance in the knockouts of the Europa League, they went all the way and won the trophy. Is a repeat on the cards? After seeing off Malmo in the last round, they move on to face Dynamo Kiev, who are coached by former Chelsea striker Andriy Shevchenko.
Dynamo bowed out at this stage last season against Lazio, their best ever run in the competition happened with a quarter-final in the 2010/11 season, after having beaten Man City in the round of sixteen. Chelsea get the first leg at Stamford Bridge and the Blues are 1/4 odds-on favourites to qualify* (betting odds taken from February 22nd, 2019 at 5:15 pm). Chelsea are at home for the first leg.
Arsenal v Rennes
Arsenal had to mount a fightback on home soil against Belarus Championship BATE in the last round. The Gunners had lost the first leg away. But they got themselves through relatively comfortably in the end and now they will face French side Rennes. Rennes finished fifth in last season’s league, one of their best campaigns ever.
They are back to being a mid-table kind of side this season. Arsenal and Rennes have never met before so it will be new ground for both. The Gunners are strong 1/7 odds-on favourites to qualify from the tie* (betting odds taken from February 22nd, 2019 at 5:15 pm). Arsenal will be at home in the second leg.
Other draw highlights
Joining the English clubs as the strong contenders at the head of the outright winner market are the Italian and Spanish clubs still in the draw. Napoli have a tricky draw against RB Salzburg in the round of sixteen. The Austrians have actually produced some good stuff this season and topped their group ahead of Celtic and RB Leipzig. They put six goals past Club Brugge in the last round. That should be an interesting contest.
Inter could also have a tricky tie on their hands as they face up against German side Eintracht Frankfurt. That actually is the only tie of the round of sixteen this season to feature two former winners of the UEFA Cup/Europa League. That could be a great tie with Frankfurt beating Shakhtar Donetsk 6-3 on aggregate in the round of sixteen. The Germans though are 2/1 underdogs To Qualify from this meeting* (betting odds taken from February 22nd, 2019 at 5:15 pm).
As for the Spanish sides, three-time Europa League winners Sevilla have a good looking draw as they take on Slavia Prague. Those two met back in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League group stage, with Sevilla easing their way to a 4-2 and a 3-0 win. Valencia, who took out Celtic in the last round, will be taking on Krasnodar and are big 4/11 odds-on favourites to qualify* (betting odds taken from February 22nd, 2019 at 5:15 pm).
The third of the Spanish sides, Villarreal also look as if they have a fair chance of making progress through to the quarterfinals of the competition this season. They go up against Zenit St Petersburg next. The last time these two met was in the round of 32 in the 2007/08 edition, with Zenit making it through on their way to winning the title outright.
