Benfica vs Chelsea - Team News, Match Preview & Likely Line-Ups

Match Preview

Europa League Chelsea come head to head with a Benfica team that has only lost one game since September in tonight's Europa League Final but the Blues have history on their side. The last time these two heavyweights met was last season when they were paired together in the quarterfinals of the Champions League. The Blues won over two legs 1-0 in Lisbon and 2-1 at Stamford Bridge and would go on to win the competition. Benfica meanwhile are the serial underachievers and have been defeated in six straight European cup finals. The defeat at the weekend to Porto will likely cost them their Primeira Liga title and so Jorge Jesus' men must win here to salvage something of their campaign. Oscar Cardozo is likely to be the main source of goals up front with the Paraguayan scoring in six of his team's last ten matches against English teams, and will clearly by the player to watch out for from Chelsea's point of view. But the Blues have a danger man themselves, and it comes in the unlikely shape of Fernando Torres. The Spaniard is without a Premier League goal in 2013 but he has been surprisingly fruitful in Europa League competition, bagging five goals throughout this season's campaign. The stage is then set for what will hopefully be an enjoyable encounter between two of Europe's top clubs.
Contributor
Contributor

Joseph is an accredited football journalist and has interviewed nearly all of the current 20 Barclay's Premier League managers. He is also a correspondent for Bleacher Report and has written for Caught Offside and Give Me Football.