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Poll time: Who do you want to see Chelsea draw for the Europa League semifinal?

It's Benfica, Fenerbahce, or Basel...who do you want Chelsea to draw?

Dmitry Korotayev

We've got about 9 hours to go until we find out who we'll be facing in the Europa League semifinal, so it's time to find out who the WAGNH community would like us to face. Several of the writers have chimed in below, so read who we're thinking about, vote in the poll, and discuss why you made the choice you did in the comment section below.

Stephen Schmidt - Basel

Chelsea are clearly the strongest team left in this tournament, and that leaves me with a few different thoughts about who I'd like to see us draw tomorrow. I'd usually prefer the strongest opponent possible, as you'd be far more likely to beat them over the course of 180 minutes than you would over a single 90 minute tie.

On the other hand, Chelsea have a pretty ridiculous fixture list left to play and there are no meaningless domestic games at this point. Basel are probably the weakest team in the competition, and a big first leg win could at least give us some sort of day off down the line. At this point, the potential of that day off feels far more valuable than an extra 90 minutes against the stronger side, so Basel it is.

Graham MacAree - Benfica

My favoured draw for the semifinal? I'm thinking Benfica, mostly because I think they're probably the best non-Chelsea side left in the tournament. That means I want them over two legs where Chelsea's quality should win out, rather than in the final, which is slightly more random. On top of that, they're fun to beat because the whining is just so darn cute. As for the least favourable, a trip to Istanbul sounds fun but does not strike me as very helpful at this point in the season.

Kevin Kostka - Basel

Benfica kind of scare me, although we should still beat them, or any of these three. They're more the team I'd want in the final. DL and Ramires seemed motivated last season by facing their old club, and that's better for a final, IMO.

Fenerbahce are my least-favourite option. That would involve a big mid-week trip to Turkey, which would be bad times for us. There's also the matter of Meireles. I'd rather avoid former players as much as possible.

Aidan Sweeney - Basel

I really want Basel. In footballing terms, they are probably the weakest team out of the three other semi finalists. They scraped through against a Spurs team who were without Bale and Defoe and didn't really impress me much over the two legs. If Benitez did put out his strongest XI in both legs (which is highly unlikely) then I could only see Chelsea progressing.

A trip to Basel would probably be in the fan's best interests as well. Chelsea haven't been there recently and Turkey isn't seen as the place where you go to have a good time for football fans. We were at Benfica last year so I think there would be smiles all around if Basel's name was pulled out the hat tomorrow.

David Pasztor - Bring back Kalou, or no Benfica

Anybody but Benfica. Because without Kalou, we stand no chance.

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