Europa League draw - LIVE: Arsenal and Chelsea learn group stage opponents plus Celtic and Rangers latest

Arsenal and Chelsea learned their Europa League fate on Friday afternoon along with Scottish Premiership sides Celtic and Rangers as the group stage draw took place in Monte Carlo, Monaco.

Arsenal, who reached the semi-finals last season before losing to eventual champions Atletico Madrid, face a nightmare schedule of long-distance trips to Azerbaijan and Ukraine after being drawn against FK Qarabag and FC Vorskla Poltava, with Sporting CP making up Group E.

But the draw has been far kinder to Chelsea, who will take on PAOK, BATE Borisov and Hungarian side Vidi.

Celtic have a testing group on their hands as stablemates Salsburg and RB Leipzig are paired together along with Rosenborg in Group B, while Rangers return to European football in Group G against Villarreal, Rapid Vienna and Spartak Moscow.

Follow live coverage of the draw below...

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12:19

Group A: Bayer Leverkusen (Germany), Ludogorets Razgrad (Bulgaria), Zurich (Switzerland), AEK Larnaca (Cyprus) 

Group B: Salzburg (Austria), Celtic (Scotland), Leipzig (Germany), Rosenborg (Norway) 

Group C: Zenit St. Petersburg (Russia), Copenhagen (Denmark), Bordeaux (France), Slavia Prague (Czech Republic) 

Group D: Anderlecht (Belgium), Fenerbahce (Turkey), Dinamo Zagreb (Croatia), Spartak Trnava (Slovakia) 

Group E: Arsenal (England), Sporting Lisbon (Portugal), Qarabag (Azerbaijan), Vorskla Poltava (Ukraine) 

Group F: Olympiakos (Greece), AC Milan (Italy), Real Betis (Spain), Dudelange (Luxembourg) 

Group G: Villarreal (Spain), Rapid Vienna (Austria), Spartak Moscow (Russia), Rangers (Scotland) 

Group H: Lazio (Italy), Marseille (France), Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany), Apollon Limassol (Cyprus) 

Group I: Besiktas (Turkey), Genk (Belgium), Malmo (Sweden), Sarpsborg (Norway) 

Group J: Sevilla (Spain), Krasnodar (Russia), Standard Liege (Belgium), Akhisar Belediyespor (Turkey) 

Group K: Dynamo Kiev (Ukraine), Astana (Kazakhstan), Rennes (France), Jablonec (Czech Republic) 

Group L: Chelsea (England), PAOK Thessaloniki (Greece), BATE Borisov (Belarus), Vidi (Hungary)

13:23

That's all from our coverage of the Europa League draw, with Arsenal handed a rather lengthy schedule for the group stage and Chelsea receiving one of the more simple itineraries available. 

 

The action gets underway on 20 September, so be sure to stay across Indy Football for all the latest Europa League news this season.

13:18

Chelsea handed dream Europa League draw

13:00

Arsenal avoid big teams but handed 14,000-mile Europa League trip

12:52

Well at least Arsenal will definitely make Baku this season as they are paired with Azerbaijani side Qarabag, but their rather nightmarish draw that also includes Ukranian side FC Vorskla Poltava and a sun-kissed trip to Lisbon to face Sporting CP will see them rack up 14,000-miles in the Europa League group stage.

 

Bad for football, great for air miles.

12:50

12:46

Arsenal and Chelsea's Europa League group stage opponents confirmed

12:44

That's it! Here's the full run down of the groups:

Group A: Bayer Leverkusen, Ludogorets, FC Zurich, AEK Larnaca

Group B: 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 CP, Qarabag, FC Vorskla Poltava

Group F: Olympiakos, AC Milan, Real Betis, Dudelange

Group G: Villareal, Rapid Wien, Spartak Moscow, Rangers

Group H: Lazio, Marseille, Eintrackt Frankfurt. Apollon Limassol

Group I: Besiktas, Genk, Malmo, Sarpsborg

Group J: Sevilla, Krasnodar, Standard Liege, Akhisar Belediyespor

Group K: Dynamo Kiev, Astana, Stade Rennais, Jablonec

Group L: Chelsea, PAOK, BATE Borisov, Vidi

12:43

Group L: Chelsea, PAOK, BATE Borisov, Vidi

12:43

Group K: Dynamo Kiev, Astana, Stade Rennais, Jablonec

12:42

Group I: Besiktas, Genk, Malmo, Sarpsborg

12:41

Group J: Sevilla, Krasnodar, Standard Liege, Akhisar Belediyespor

12:41

Group H: Lazio, Marseille, Eintrackt Frankfurt. Apollon Limassol

12:40

Group F: Olympiakos, AC Milan, Real Betis, Dudelange

12:40

Group E: Arsenal, Sporting CP, Qarabag, FC Vorskla Poltava

12:39

Group D: Anderlecht, Fenerbahce, Dinamo Zagreb, Spartak Trnava

12:38

Group G: Villareal, Rapid Wien, Spartak Moscow, Rangers

12:38

Group C: Zenit St Petersburg, FC Copenhagen, Bordeaux, Slavia Prague

12:37

Group B: Salzburg, Celtic, RB Leipzig, Rosenborg

12:37

Group A: Bayer Leverkusen, Ludogorets, FC Zurich, AEK Larnaca

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When and where is the draw?

The group stage draw takes place at the Grimaldi Forum in Monaco on Friday 31 August. It will take place at midday.

How can I watch the draw?

On BT Sport 2 from midday. You can also follow live coverage and reaction right here with The Independent.

The Europa League draw takes place on Friday (Getty)

What do I need to know?

48 teams are involved in the group stage: 17 teams which automatically qualified and another 21 teams which survived the various play-off rounds. There are then six teams added that lost in the Champions League play-off round, as well as four defeated in the Champions League third qualifying round.

No team can play a club from their own country.

The pots

Pot 1: Sevilla, Arsenal, Chelsea, Zenit, Bayer Leverkusen, Dynamo Kyiv, Besiktas, Salzburg, Olympiakos, Villarreal, Anderlecht, Lazio.

Pot 2: Sporting CP, Ludogorets, FC Copenhagen, Marseille, Celtic, PAOK, AC Milan, Genk, Fenerbahce, Krasnodar, Astana, Rapid Wien.

Pot 3: Real Betis, BATE Borisov, Qarabag, Dinamo Zagreb, RB Leipzig, Eintracht Frankfurt, Malmo, Spartak Moscow, Standard Liege, Zurich, Bordeaux, Rennes.

Pot 4: Apollon, Rosenborg, Vorskla Poltava, Slavia Prague, Akhisar Belediyespor, Jablonec, AEK Larnaca, Vidi, Rangers, Dudelange, Spartak Trnava, Sarpsborg.