07.04. (Thu) 21:05 Porto - Spartak Moskva

DID YOU KNOW?

* This will be the first game between Porto and Spartak Moscow in European competition.

* Porto have won all 13 of their home games this season.

* Porto have already been crowned champions of their domestic league, and have conceded only 3 goals on their travels domestically this season.

* Porto have scored 3 goals on five occasions in this season’s Europa League, the last time against Spartak’s rivals CSKA Moscow.

* Valery Karpin’s men have lost two of their three opening fixtures in the Russian League, conceding 7 goals in the process.

* The last time Spartak Moscow travelled to Portugal was in December 2006, when they defeated Sporting 3-1.

* Since Russia broke off into their own League after the fall off the Soviet championship, Portuguese and Russian sides have met 20 times, with Portugal winning 9-7 in total.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Porto: Helton; Fucile, Rolando, Otamendi, Pereira; Guarin, Fernando, Moutinho; Valera, Hulk, Falcao

Spartak Moscow: Dikan; Makeev, Suchy, Sheshukov, C Kombarov; McGeady, Ibson, Carioca, D Kombarov; Alex; Welliton 

Prediction

Porto 1-0 Spartak  

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07.04. (Thu) 21:05 Benfica - PSV Eindhoven

DID YOU KNOW?

* Benfica defeated French outfit Paris Saint-Germain 3-2 on aggregate in the third round of the Europa League to reach the quarter-finals.

* The Aguias have won four out of their five European home matches this season. Only Schalke managed to get a result at Estadio da Luz.

* Jorge Jesus' men are still unbeaten in the Europa League after entering the competition in the round of 32.

* Oscar Cardozo and Franco Jara are Benfica's top scorers in the Europa League with two goals each.

* Benfica's next European loss will be their 100th defeat in European club competitions.

* PSV defeated Scottish side Rangers 1-0 on aggregate in the third round of the Europa League to reach the quarter-finals. They won the second leg 1-0 away after drawing the first match at home 0-0.

* Marcelo and Erik Pieters have both featured in all of PSV's European games this term, but are only one booking away from a suspension.

* The Eindhoven side haven't won a European tournament since beating Benfica in the final of the European Cup in 1988.

* Hungarian winger Balazs Dzsudzsak is PSV's top scorer in the competition with four goals.

* PSV are unbeaten in their last five European away games, recording four wins and one draw on the way.


LAST MEETING

December 9, 1998: PSV 2-2 Benfica
The Dutch side picked up the lead minutes before the break, before Nuno Gomes - who is still part of the Benfica squad, but will miss Thursday's game due to injury - netted a brace to gift Benfica the lead. A late Ruud van Nistelrooy strike drew things level again.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Benfica: Roberto; Maxi Pereira, Luisao, Sidnei, Coentrao; Salvio, Javi Garcia, Aimar, Gaitan; Saviola, Cardozo

PSV: Isaksson; Manolev, Marcelo, Bouma, Pieters; Hutchinson, Bakkal, Engelaar; Lens, Berg, Dzsudzsak

Prediction

Benfica are one of the favourites to win the Europa League, but PSV certainly won't be pushovers on Thursday. The Eindhoven side have been pretty solid at the back this season and have some class players up front. Nevertheless, the individual class of players such as Nicolas Gaitan, Pablo Aimar and Eduardo Salvio will eventually prove to be just too much for the Dutch side. The Aguias are likely to record a small victory in this first leg.

Benfica 2-1 PSV Eindhoven

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07.04. (Thu) 21:05 Villarreal - Twente

DID YOU KNOW?

* Villarreal defeated German side Bayer Leverkusen 5-3 on aggregate in the third round of the Europa League to reach the quarter-finals.

* The Yellow Submarines have not lost in their last six matches in the competition. Their last defeat came in the group stage when they went down 1-0 to PAOK.

* Juan Carlos Garrido’s side have won all of their six European matches at El Madrigal this season.

* Striker Giuseppe Rossi is the competition highest’s goalscorer with eight goals, one more than Porto forward Falcao.

* The next goal for Villarreal in Europe will be the 150th in their history in UEFA club competitions.

* Twente defeated Russian champions Zenit St. Petersburg 3-2 on aggregate in the third round of the Europa League to reach the quarter-finals. They won the first leg 3-0 at home and lost the away leg 2-0 in Russia.

* The Dutch champions’ previous five matches against teams from Spain have ended in three wins and two losses for them.

* The Tukkers have alternated between a win and a defeat in their last five away matches in Europe. If that pattern is to continue, then they should win in Spain on Thursday evening.

* Midfielder Luuk de Jong is Twente’s top scorer in the Europa League with three goals.

* Midfielder Denny Landzaat was a member of the AZ team that eliminated Villarreal in the 2004-05 quarter-finals of the UEFA Cup.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Villarreal: Lopez; Mario, Gonzalo, Musacchio, Catala; Valero, Marchena, Bruno, Cazorla; Nilmar, Rossi

Twente: Mihaylov; Rosales, Wisgerhof, Douglas, Buysse; Brama, Landzaat, Janssen; Ruiz, De Jong, Chadli

Prediction

Villarreal have struggled in recent weeks in the Spanish Primera Division because of their Europa League adventure but the Yellow Submarine will be confident of registering a victory over the Dutch champions in Spain. However, Twente themselves are capable of an upset and could just score a valuable away goal.

Villarreal 2-1 Twente

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07.04. (Thu) 21:05 Dynamo Kiev - Sporting Braga

DID YOU KNOW?

* Dynamo Kiev have a poor recent record against Portuguese opposition, losing seven times in ten outings.

* Yuri Semin's men are unbeaten at home in Europe this season.

* Dynamo Kiev has lost just once at home in 18 games this season in all competitions.

* Andriy Shevchenko is third in the all-time ranking of goalscorers in European club competitions with 67, with only Filippo Inzaghi and Raul ahead of him.

* Braga twice lost to Ukrainian side Shakhtar Donetsk in the group stage of the Champions League this season.

* Os Arsenalistas are on a eight-game unbeaten run, that includes six wins and draws against Liverpool and Naval.

* The visitors have never reached the quarter-finals of the Europa League before.

* Braga have won only twice on the road in European competitions this season, against Sevilla and Partizan.

PROBABLE LINE-UPS

Dynamo Kiev: Shovkovskiy; Silva, Yussuf, Almeida, Popov; Vukojevic; Eremenko, Husyev, Yarmolenko; Shevchenko; Milevskiy.

Braga: Artur; Paulao, Garcia, Kaka, Silvio; Hugo Viana, Vandinho, Salino; Paulo Cesar, Alan, Lima.

Prediction

Given their impressive home record this season, Dynamo Kiev should be considered favourites for this one. Braga, however, will have a point to prove, and given their form, they will put a fight.

Dynamo 2-1 Braga

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