UEFA Europa League 2017/18: Round of 32 draw hands Arsenal easy trip to Sweden
Arsenal were handed a relatively easy draw, as they face Swedish side Ostersunds, while Borussia Dortmund vs Atalanta and SS Napoli against RB Leipzig were the other standout fixtures.
UEFA have announced the Round of 32 Draw for the 2017/18 Europa League, with the competition now consisting of the 24 teams from the group stages and the 8 teams who came in from their 3rd place finishes in the UEFA Champions League.
The draw was divided into two pots - 12 Group winners and the 4 best Champions League teams were seeded, while the rest were in the unseeded pot - with Borussia Dortmund and Napoli arguably the toughest teams in the unseeded portion.
Teams from the same country and teams who played together in the same group could not be drawn together.
Seeded: AC Milan (ITA), Arsenal (ENG), Atalanta (ITA), Athletic Club (ESP), Atlético Madrid* (ESP), Braga (POR), CSKA Moskva* (RUS), Dynamo Kyiv (UKR), Lazio (ITA), Leipzig* (GER), Lokomotiv Moskva (RUS), Plze? (CZE), Salzburg (AUT), Sporting CP* (POR), Villarreal (ESP), Zenit (RUS)
Unseeded: AEK Athens (GRE), Astana (KAZ), Celtic* (SCO), Crvena Zvezda (SRB), Dortmund* (GER), FC Steaua Bucuresti (ROU), København (DEN), Ludogorets (BUL), Lyon (FRA), Marseille (FRA), Napoli* (ITA), Nice (FRA), Östersund (SWE), Partizan (SRB), Real Sociedad (ESP), Spartak Moskva* (RUS)
* Transferred from UEFA Champions League
Here is the draw, in full:
Borussia Dortmund v Atalanta
OGC Nice v Lokomotiv Moskva
FC Kobenhavn v Atletico de Madrid
Spartak Moskva v Athletic Bilbao
AEK Athens v Dynamo Kyiv
Celtic v FC Zenit St. Petersburg
SSC Napoli v RB Leipzig
FK Crvena Zvezda v CSKA Moskva
Olympique Lyonnais v Villarreal CF
Real Sociedad v FC Salzburg
FK Partizan v FC Viktoria Plzen
FC Steaua Bucuresti v SS Lazio
PFC Ludogorets v AC Milan
FC Astana v Sporting Clube de Portugal
Ostersunds FK v Arsenal FC
Olympique Marseille v SC Braga
The 1st leg of the Round of 32 will take place on Thursday, 15th February 2018 and the second leg will take place on 22nd February, 2018. The confirmed schedule, with kickoff times, will be confirmed by UEFA later.