Europa League Odds 2019: Chelsea, Napoli, Arsenal Favourites to Win

Chelsea, Napoli and Arsenal are the favourites to win the UEFA Europa League following Friday's draw for the last 16 of the competition. 

The Blues beat Malmo on Thursday and will face Ukraine's Dynamo Kiev next. They are 7-2 favourites to clinch the trophy, according to Oddschecker.

Arsenal and Napoli are both 9-2 to lift the trophy this season. The Gunners have been drawn to face French side Rennes, while Napoli will take on RB Salzburg.

Chelsea overcame a slow start in their second leg against Malmo to secure a 3-0 win on the night and a 5-1 victory on aggregate.

The Blues have had few problems in the competition so far and are yet to taste defeat. They topped Group L with five wins out of six games and have been in superb form at home in the Europa League:

Chelsea will now face Dynamo Kiev and are yet to lose to the Ukrainian side in two previous meetings:

Thursday's win over Malmo eased some of the pressure on manager Maurizio Sarri after damaging defeats to Manchester United in the FA Cup fifth round and Manchester City in the Premier League.

The Blues have dropped out of the top four in the Premier League after a run of poor form, and they may need to win the Europa League in order to play in the UEFA Champions League next season.

The same could be said of Arsenal, who are fifth in the Premier League and battling Manchester United and Chelsea for a top-four spot.

The Gunners overcame a 1-0 first-leg defeat to beat BATE Borisov 3-0 (3-1 on aggregate) on Thursday to book their place in the last 16 of the tournament.

Arsenal are also unbeaten in the Europa League and topped a group containing Sporting CP, Vorskla Poltava and Qarabag.

They now face a Rennes team who knocked out Real Betis in the last round.

French football writer Matt Spiro explained what to expect:

Arsenal manager Unai Emery knows exactly what it takes to win the Europa League. He lifted the trophy three times as manager of Sevilla and will hope to cap his first season in England with a trophy.

Napoli will also provide a real threat after dropping into the competition from the Champions League. Carlo Ancelotti's side finished third in a tough group containing Liverpool, Paris Saint-Germain and Red Star Belgrade.

The Serie A side beat FC Zurich to set up a last 16 meeting with RB Salzburg, who reached the semi-finals of the competition last season and won all six of their group games.