Benfica welcome CSKA Moskva on opening night

• #EQUALGAME
This week,  football fans watching UEFA Champions League matches in stadiums, online and on TV will witness the premiere of the new UEFA RESPECT TV ads, called #EqualGame. The adverts feature Ada Hegerberg, Lionel Messi, Paul Pogba, Cristiano Ronaldo and amateur players and will run throughout the season to promote inclusion, diversity and accessibility in European Football with the motto "Everyone has the right to enjoy football, no matter who you are, where you're from, or how you play."
More information on the campaign and on the advertisements can be found in the accompanying media release and on the campaign website: www.equalgame.com.

SL Benfica kick off their latest UEFA Champions League campaign at home against PFC CSKA Moskva, who have become group stage regulars in recent years.

• The Portuguese side are aiming to reach the knockout stage for the third campaign in a row. CSKA have not survived the initial group stage since 2011/12, although this is their fifth successive season in the competition.

Previous meetings
• The teams were paired together in the 2004/05 UEFA Cup round of 32, CSKA winning 3-1 on aggregate and going on to lift the trophy with victory against Sporting Clube de Portugal in the Lisbon final.

• CSKA were 2-0 first-leg victors in a game played in Krasnodar, thanks to goals from Vasili Berezutski (12) and Vágner Love (60). Sergei Ignashevich put CSKA in complete command with a 49th-minute goal in Lisbon, although substitute Azar Karadas ensured Benfica avoided defeat on the night.

• The line-ups at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on 24 February 2005 were:
Benfica: Quim, Luisão, Petit, Geovanni (Miguel 64), Alcides, Fyssas, Nuno Assis (Karadas 54), Manuel Fernandes, João Pereira, Simão, Nuno Gomes (Mantorras 61).
CSKA: Akinfeev, Ignashveich, A Berezutski, V Berezutski, Zhirkov, Rahimić, Odiah (Shershun 72), Aldonin, D Carvalho (Gusev 90+1), Krasić, Vágner Love (Olić 84).

• That remains Benfica's only two-legged defeat against Russian opposition in UEFA competition – they have won all five of the other ties, most recently against FC Zenit two years ago.

Match background

Benfica
• Portuguese double winners in 2016/17, Benfica are in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 13th time – and the eighth season running.

• The Lisbon club got to the quarter-finals in 2015/16 and again progressed from the group stage last year, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

• Benfica's 1-0 win against Dortmund in the round of 16 first leg is their only victory in their last four European matches, home and away.

• On home soil in the 2016/17 group stage, Benfica drew 1-1 with Beşiktaş JK and beat FC Dynamo Kyiv 1-0. They also went down 2-1 to SSC Napoli but have lost just two of their last 11 European home games.

• The Portuguese side's last taste of Russian opposition came in the 2015/16 round of 16, when they overcame Zenit 1-0 home and 2-1 away.

• Benfica have lost only once at home to Russian teams (W5 D2), suffering a 2-0 reverse against Zenit on matchday one of the 2014/15 UEFA Champions League.

CSKA Moskva
• The Moscow club are in the group stage for the 11th time, and the fifth season in a row.

• CSKA have come bottom of their group in their last four UEFA Champions League campaigns. In 2016/17, having qualified automatically for the group phase, they finished behind AS Monaco FC, Bayer 04 Leverkusen and Tottenham Hotspur FC in their section.

• CSKA have, however, won all four of their European fixtures this term without conceding a goal, beating AEK Athens FC 3-0 on aggregate in the third qualifying round (2-0 away, 1-0 home) and BSC Young Boys by the same scoreline in the play-offs (1-0 away, 2-0 home).

• The 2-0 success at AEK ended CSKA's run of ten European matches without a win (D4 L6). They had also lost six of their previous seven European away games, drawing the other.

• The Moscow club's last away win in the UEFA Champions League group stage was a 2-1 triumph at Manchester City FC on 5 November 2014. Their away record since is D1 L6.

• CSKA have never won away to a Portuguese side, where their record is D3 L2. They were unbeaten in their first three trips, yet have lost the last two – both 2-1 – at FC Porto in the 2010/11 UEFA Europa League round of 16 and Sporting CP in the 2015/16 UEFA Champions League play-offs.

• CSKA did claim their sole European trophy in Portugal against a Portuguese side, however, beating Sporting 3-1 in the 2005 UEFA Cup final in Lisbon.

• The Russian club's overall record against teams from the Portuguese Liga is W3 D3 L5.

• CSKA qualified as Russian Premier League runners-up in 2016/17.

Coach and player links
• Viktor Goncharenko was in charge of FC BATE Borisov when they faced Benfica in the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League group stage, losing 2-0 away and 2-1 at home.

• Jonas scored in Valencia CF's 4-2 group stage win against Goncharenko's BATE on 7 November 2012.

• Eliseu was a second-half substitute and Pizzi an unused replacement as Portugal beat hosts Russia 1-0 at the FIFA Confederations Cup in Moscow on 21 June. Igor Akinfeev, Viktor Vasin and Aleksandr Golovin were in Russia's line-up.

• Jonas and Mário Fernandes were team-mates at Grêmio FBPA from 2009 to 2011.

• Alan Dzagoev scored past Júlio César when CSKA crashed 3-2 at home to FC Internazionale Milano in the 2011/12 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Diogo Gonçalves scored past Pavel Ovchinnikov when Benfica won 2-0 at CSKA in last season's UEFA Youth League quarter-finals.

Match facts

Benfica
• The Lisbon outfit are going for their fifth consecutive league title, a feat previously achieved by rivals FC Porto.

• Benfica are 18 matches unbeaten in all competitions since the 4-0 second-leg loss to Dortmund in the round of 16 on 8 March.

• A goal from summer signing Haris Seferović helped Benfica to a 3-1 victory over Vitória SC in the Portuguese Super Cup on 5 August. Seferović then found the net in the Eagles' first three Liga fixtures, all wins, before drawing a blank in the 1-1 draw at Rio Ave FC on 26 August.

• In total, Seferović has seven goals in eight appearances for club and country this season. Three of those goals came in the European Qualifiers for the FIFA World Cup – he struck twice in Switzerland's 3-0 home triumph over Andorra on 31 August and scored the opener as Latvia were beaten by the same scoreline three days later.

• Jonas has seven goals in six outings in 2017/18, three of them coming in a 5-0 win against CF Os Belenenses on 19 August.

• Alex Grimaldo (out since 5 August, right leg injury) and Ljubomir Fejsa (14 August, right leg contusion) have been sidelined.

• Jardel (muscle injury) was substituted against Rio Ave and missed Friday's comeback win against Portimonense SC.

• André Almeida, scorer of the winning goal in Friday's 2-1 victory over Portimonense, extended his contract by two years, until 2021, on 11 August.

CSKA
• Timur Zhamaletdinov, 20, marked his full debut with the only goal on Friday as CSKA beat FC Amkar Perm.

• All three of CSKA's defeats this season have been at home.

• The Army Men have not lost away from the Stadion CSKA Moskva since the 3-1 reverse against Tottenham on matchday six last season.

• Left-back Georgi Schennikov has scored three goals in his last five appearances.