Benfica v Juventus Live Stream plus Sevilla v Valencia to watch from Europa League
Benfica are slight 13/8 favourites to beat Juventus in the first leg of the Europa League semi-final in Lisbon whilst La Liga duo Sevilla and Valencia fight to see who will be the Spanish representative in Turin.
Although some people write off the importance of the Europa League, Thursday night will see four of Europe’s biggest teams compete for a spot in the finals.
The highlight of the round is to be found in Portugal where two national champions collide as Benfica host Juventus at the Estadio do Luz.
The Primeira Liga champions have knocked out several of Europe’s biggest sides on their way to the final four including the likes of Tottenham, AZ and PAOK.
Jorge Jesus’ side will be without two players for the first leg as attacking midfielder Eduardo Salvio broke a bone in the 2-0 victory over Olhanense at the weekend whilst defensive midfield Ljubomir Fejsa is out with an abdominal problem.
Despite this, the home side will still have the likes of Rodrigo and Nicolas Gaitan available to trouble the Juve defence whenever they get a chance.
It won´t be easy though as Juventus will be looking to give everything as they search for their first European trophy in over a decade.
Juventus have had an exceptionally tough run to get to the semi finals having to overcome compatriots Fiorentina as well as French side Lyon to meet the Portuguese champions.
The Bianconieri have received a massive boost ahead of the tie as key striker Carlos Tevez has passed a fitness test which will almost certainly means the Argentine talisman will start in Lisbon.
However, Antonio Conte will have to get the job done with Chilean midfielder Arturo Vidal who has been ruled of the game thanks to a knee injury>
Elsewhere, a Spanish side is guaranteed a spot in the final as Sevilla entertain Valencia in the first leg of the other semi final.
Home side Sevilla will be without several of their first team players for the tie as defender Coke is suspended whilst Alberto Moreno, Denis Cheryshev and Sebastian Cristoforo are all out injured for the first leg
Valencia have also been hit by injuries as Phillipe Senderos, Diego Alves and Victor Ruiz are all out on the sidelines although Antonio Barragan and Javi Fuego return after serving suspensions last weekend.
There is some potential for some classic ties on Thursday night as four of Europe´s most successful sides look to show why everyone needs to pay attention to the Europa League all season long.
