Europa League

– The Europa League group stage begins today, with the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, AC Milan and Sevilla among the leading sides hoping to negotiate a marathon competition all the way to the final in Baku in May.

looks at some of the main talking points ahead of the opening round of games:

Paris

Emery’s favourite tournament

The prize money on offer in the Europa League pales in comparison to the Champions League, or indeed in the continent’s top domestic leagues. If Arsenal reach the final in Baku and win, it would be worth around €25 million (R427.6 million). In contrast, winning the Champions League could be worth about five times that, while the team finishing bottom of the Premier League last season pocketed almost £95 million. But for a club like Arsenal, who start off at home to Ukraine’s Vorskla Poltava, winning the Europa League is still a path into next season’s Champions League, while remaining a precious piece of silverware in its own right. And in Unai Emery (above) the Gunners – beaten semifinalists last season – have a coach who won this trophy three years running with Sevilla. Warm welcome awaits Chelsea

It will be interesting to see how strong a team Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri (above) puts out against PAOK in Greece as they begin their European campaign, having won all five Premier League games so far. Europa League winners in 2013, Chelsea can certainly expect a warm welcome in their Group L opener. It is only six months ago that PAOK president Ivan Savvidis stormed on to 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. Tough start for Rangers

For Rangers, just making the group phase in Steven Gerrard’s (right) debut season in charge is a remarkable achievement. The Glasgow club have come through four qualifying rounds to make their first appearance in the group stage of a European competition since the 2010/11 Champions League. However, they are in a tough group, with a trip to Spain first to face Villarreal. David versus Goliath

It is the kind of match-up that would be impossible in the modern Champions League – the mighty AC Milan play their first group game away to Dudelange, the first team from Luxembourg to compete in the Europa League group stage. They negotiated a path here after losing in the first round of Champions League qualifying and the achievement is remarkable for a squad containing part-timers. Dudelange represent a town of 21 000, but Milan’s visit means a sell-out crowd of 8 000 at Luxembourg’s national stadium.