With the Blues travelling to Sweden today, club statistician Paul Dutton begins our preview with key facts and figures ahead of the game...
Chelsea in Numbers
Chelsea won the trophy on our only previous participation in the Europa League in 2013 when we transferred from the Champions League group stage after finishing third.
The Blues are nine games unbeaten in the Europa League. Our 2-2 draw at Vidi on matchday six ended a run of eight successive wins. Our last defeat in the competition was 2-3 at Rubin Kazan in the 2013 quarter-final second leg, after we won 3-1 at the Bridge.
Chelsea’s only victory in Sweden was in the 1998 Cup Winners’ Cup final against Stuttgart in Stockholm. This winning goal from that game can be enjoyed again below.
Our two away competitive games against Swedish opposition ended in goalless draws – against Atvidaberg in the 1971/72 Cup Winners’ Cup second round when we lost on away goals, and against Helsingborg in the first round of the same competition 17 years later when we progressed after a 1-0 first leg win at Stamford Bridge.
Chelsea are one of seven clubs to have come through the groups stage undefeated alongside Salzburg, Dinamo Zagreb, Arsenal, Real Betis, Villarreal and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Chelsea’s past 10 years in Europe
2008/09 - Champions League semi-finals
2009/10 - Champions League round of 16
2010/11 - Champions League quarter-finals
2011/12 - Champions League winners
2012/13 - Europa League winners (having transferred from the Champions League group stage)
2013/14 - Champions League semi-finals
2014/15 - Champions League round of 16
2015/16 - Champions League round of 16
2016/17 - Did not qualify
2017/18 - Champions League round of 16
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Chelsea | 6 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 16 |
| BATE Borisov | 6 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 9 |
| Vidi | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 7 |
| PAOK | 6 | 1 | 0 | 5 | -7 | 3 |
| 20 Sep | PAOK (a) | W 1-0 |
| 4 Oct | Vidi (h) | W 1-0 |
| 25 Oct | BATE Borisov (h) | W 3-1 |
| 8 Nov | BATE Borisov (a) | W 1-0 |
| 29 Nov | PAOK (h) | W 4-0 |
| 13 Dec | Vidi (a) | D 2-2 |
Europa League scorers
Giroud 4, Loftus-Cheek 3, Willian 2, Morata 2, Hudson-Odoi 1
Chelsea's last six games
European games since
An away win: 1
An away draw: 0
An away defeat: 3
Chelsea’s next three games
Monday 18 February - Chelsea v Manchester United - FA Cup
Thursday 21 February - Chelsea v Malmo - Europa League
Sunday 24 February - Chelsea v Manchester City - Carabao Cup final
MILESTONES
If selected, Eden Hazard will play his 50th European game for the Blues.
Antonio Rudiger made his 50th Premier League start at Manchester City.
MALMO IN NUMBERS
Founded 1910
Major honours
Swedish Champions 20 times, last in 2017
23 Swedish leagues, last in 2017
14 Swedish Cups, last in 1989
2 Swedish Super Cups, last in 2014
Malmo are still in pre-season as the Swedish league runs between April and November.
Thursday’s match is their first competitive match since winning at Besiktas on matchday 6 in December in the Europa Cup. Their first domestic match is on Sunday in the Swedish Cup.
| 18 Jan | IFK Malmo (h) | D 2-2 |
| 25 Jan | Lyngby (a) | W 5-1 |
| 3 Feb | Krasnodar (Marbella) | L 0-2 |
| 4 Feb | Krasnodar (Marbella) | D 1-1 |
| 8 Feb | Dynamo Kiev (Marbella) | D 0-0 |
Malmo are playing their 15th European match of the season. They played in the first three qualifying rounds of the Champions League and were defeated by Vidi.
They are unbeaten in their past eight home games in European competition and are seeking to become the first Swedish side to reach the Europa League round of 16.
This will be Malmo’s fourth European encounter against English opposition.
Their first and most famous was in the 1979 European Cup final against Nottingham Forest, which they lost 0-1 in Munich due to a goal from Trevor Francis on the stroke of half-time.
They also lost in the 1995/96 UEFA Cup first round to the same opposition. They won 2-1 at home but lost 0-1 on the return and exited on away goals.
The most recent was in the Europa League third qualifying round against Swansea in 2013 when they lost 0-4 on aggregate.
Malmo have already qualified for the qualifying phase of the 2019/20 Europa League having finished third in the 2018 Allsvenskan.
| 2008/09 | Did not qualify |
| 2009/10 | Did not qualify |
| 2010/11 | Did not qualify |
| 2011/12 | Europa League group stage (having transferred from the Champions League play-offs) |
| 2012/13 | Did not qualify |
| 2013/14 | Europa League third qualifying round |
| 2014/15 | Champions League group stage |
| 2015/16 | Champions League group stage |
| 2016/17 | Did not qualify |
| 2017/18 | Champions League second qualifying round |
| 20 Sep | KRC Genk (a) | L 0-2 |
| 4 Oct | Besiktas (h) | W 2-0 |
| 25-Oct | Sarpsborg (a) | D 1-1 |
| 8 Nov | Sarpsborg (h) | D 1-1 |
| 29 Nov | KRC Genk (h) | D 2-2 |
| 13 Dec | Besiktas (a) | W 1-0 |
Europa League scorers
Antonsson 3, Lewicki 1, Rosenberg 1 (pen), Vindheim 1, own-goal 1.
| P | W | D | L | GD | Pts | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| KRC Genk | 6 | 3 | 2 | 1 | 6 | 11 |
| Malmo | 6 | 2 | 3 | 1 | 1 | 9 |
| Besiktas | 6 | 2 | 1 | 3 | -2 | 7 |
| Sarpsborg | 6 | 1 | 2 | 3 | -5 | 5 |
Manager Uwe Rosler
Days in charge: 247
Played: 32
Won: 19
Drawn: 11
Lost: 2
Uwe Rosler’s record v Chelsea
Won: 0
Drawn: 1
Lost: 1
European games since
A home win: 2
A home draw: 0
A home defeat: 8
MATCHDAY SIX LINE UP
Thursday 13 December 2018
Besiktas 0 – 1 Malmo
Team 5-3-2: Dahlin; Vindheim, Nielsen, Bengtsson, Safari (Brorsson 55), Rieks (Larsson 80); Lewicki, Bachirou, Traustason (Christiansen 75); Rosenberg (c), Antonsson
Scorer: Antonsson 51
| Pld | GD | Pts | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | AIK | 30 | 34 | 67 |
| 2 | IFK Norrkoping | 30 | 24 | 65 |
| 3 | Malmo FF | 30 | 28 | 58 |
| 4 | Hammarby IF | 30 | 21 | 58 |
| 5 | BK Hacken | 30 | 31 | 53 |
OTHERWISE ENGAGED
There are no suspensions
Booking list
Three yellow cards will result in a one-match Europa League suspension.
Chelsea Barkley 1, Cahill 1, Higuain 1, Loftus-Cheek 1, Rüdiger 1
Malmo Bachirou 2, Bengtsson 2, Rieks 2, Vindheim 2, Larsson 1, Nielsen 1, Rosenberg 1, Safari 1, Traustason 1.