A look at Chelsea's Europa League opponents Malmo

Chelsea play Malmo in the first leg of the round of 32 in the Europa League in Sweden on Thursday.

Here, Press Association Sport takes a closer look at Malmo.

Nordic noir

If you like Scandinavian thrillers, you may be familiar with Malmo from 'The Bridge', featuring Swedish detective Saga Noren. The coastal city in southern Sweden is situated across the 500-metre long Oresund Bridge from Copenhagen, the capital of Denmark. On the pitch, Malmo are the most successful side in Sweden, having won 20 Allsvenskan titles, although AIK of Stockholm are the holders. Zlatan Ibrahimovic is one of Malmo's most notable alumni.

Renowned Roy

Malmo managers past and present are familiar with west London. Former Fulham boss Roy Hodgson, now at Crystal Palace, is Malmo's most successful boss, having won five straight league titles between 1985 and 1989. He also twice won the Svenska Cupen during his spell early in his nomadic managerial career.

Boss

Malmo's current head coach is Uwe Rosler, the former Manchester City striker who has coached Brentford, Wigan, Leeds and Fleetwood. Rosler's Brentford took Chelsea to a FA Cup fourth-round replay in January 2013 with a 2-2 draw at Griffin Park followed by a 4-0 loss at Stamford Bridge when Rafael Benitez was interim boss. German Rosler is something of a cult hero at City, for whom he scored 64 goals in 176 appearances in the mid-Nineties. He also played for Southampton and West Brom.

Form

The harsh Scandinavian winter means domestic football takes place from spring through the summer and Malmo have not played since beating Turkish side Besiktas in mid-December, instead embarking on a training camp. The Besiktas victory helped to secure runners-up spot in Group I behind Belgium's Genk. Malmo's most famous game was the 1979 European Cup final loss to Nottingham Forest. They are bidding to become the first Swedish side to reach the Europa League last 16.

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