PARIS: For seven-time European champions AC Milan, Arsenal and Chelsea, the Europa League provides a chance to return to the Champions League. For Sarpsborg, Dudelange or Vidi, it’s more about gaining experience in an international competition.

The Europa League has something to offer everyone, from the heavyweights to the underdogs to all the clubs in between. The second-tier European competition kicks off Thursday with 48 teams in 12 groups. The final will be on May 29 at Baku Olympic Stadium.

After UEFA’s decision to award a Champions League qualifying place to the winning team, which started in the 2015-16 season, the competition is no longer treated with contempt by the big teams. But the Thursday match days require coaches to rest or rotate some of their best players to be ready for weekend league games back home.

Milan and Arsenal were hardly looking to return to the Europa League for the second straight year, but that’s what they had to settle for after failing to secure a spot in the Champions League following unsuccessful league campaigns.

Last season, Arsenal eliminated Milan in the round of 16 before they were knocked out in the semi-finals by Atletico Madrid, the Spanish team that went on to win the trophy for the third time in nine years.

In their quest to lift the only European trophy they have never won, Milan opens this week against Dudelange, the first team from Luxembourg to reach the group stage.

Dudelange negotiated a path here after losing in the first round of Champions League qualifying, and the achievement is remarkable for a squad containing several part-timers.

“Everyone thinks we will lose by four or five, but I don’t think we will embarrass ourselves by any means,” said their midfielder Clement Couturier.

Dudelange represent a town of just 21,000 souls, but the visit of Milan means a sell-out crowd of 8,000 for a match to be played at Luxem­bourg’s national stadium.

Arsenal manager Unai Emery will be in familiar territory in the Europa League in his first season with the London club. The Spaniard guided Sevilla to three straight Europa League titles in 2014-16.

Arsenal start against Ukrainian club Vorskla Poltava, with matches to come against Sporting Lisbon and Qarabag.

Chelsea and Sevilla have no intention of emulating Milan and Arsenal by staying in the Europa League any longer than necessary.

Both have won the trophy in the past, with Sevilla holding a record five titles and Chelsea winning it in 2013 the last time they competed in the tournament.

With a perfect record of five wins from five matches, Chelsea lead the Premier League and look to be heading for a return to the Champions League anyway.

Chelsea travel to PAOK Thessaloniki for their opener and it will be interesting to see how strong a team Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri puts out in Greece.

Chelsea can certainly expect a warm welcome in their Group L opener. It is only six months ago that PAOK president Ivan Savvidis stormed onto the pitch with a holstered gun in his belt during a fiery encounter between his side and AEK Athens.

The domestic league was suspended as a result, while the president himself was banned, but PAOK eventually finished second before losing to Benfica in the Champions League play-offs. While the incident involving Savvidis was extreme, the 29,000-capacity Toumba Stadium always has one of the hottest atmospheres in Europe.

Sevilla host Standard Liege on Thursday in a group that also includes Russian club Krasnodar and Turkish team Akhisar Belediyespor.

Olympique Marseille enjoyed an uplifting run to last season’s Europa League final, where they were beaten by Atletico Madrid. But the behaviour by sections of their support that night in Lyon means Rudi Garcia’s side start this campaign at home to Eintracht Frankfurt behind closed doors.

OM are very strong at home but without any fans behind them at the Stade Velodrome they could find life tougher against last season’s German Cup winners.

Published in Dawn, September 20th, 2018