PSV seek Benfica salvation

PSV Eindhoven go into their seventh game against SL Benfica in UEFA club competition needing to overturn a 4-1 first-leg deficit to reach the UEFA Europa League semi-finals.

• Pablo Aimar (37) opened the scoring in Lisbon, with Eduardo Salvio hitting two more either side of the interval before Zakaria Labyad struck back to make it 3-1. Javier Saviola restored the three-goal advantage four minutes into added time.

• Matchday 11 had the most goals per game in the UEFA Europa League this season, with the four matches producing an average of 4.75 goals each. The previous high was Matchday 5 in the group stage, with an average of 3.38 goals per game.

Previous meetings
• The Benfica v PSV tie is the only 2010/11 UEFA Europa League quarter-final pairing to involve teams that have met before. Prior to the first leg, honours were even after five ties, with both sides sporting W1 D3 L1 records.

• PSV have drawn both their previous games on home soil against the Eagles.

• The clubs first met in the 1974/75 UEFA Cup Winners' Cup quarter-finals; Benfica drew 0-0 in Eindhoven but lost 2-1 at home to Kees Rijvers' side in the second leg.

• The teams for their first meeting in Eindhoven on 5 March 1975 were:
PSV: Van Beveren, Deijkers, Nordqvist, Edström, Strik, Lubse, René van de Kerkhof, Willy van de Kerkhof (Dahlqvist 62), Van Kraay, Krijgh, Van der Kuijlen.
Benfica: José Henrique (Manuel Bento 52), Artur Correia, António Barros, Messias Timula, Humberto Coelho, Vítor Martins, Nené, António Oliveira, Moinhos, Eusébio, António Simões.

• Guus Hiddink's PSV then beat António Oliveira's Benfica 6-5 on penalties to win the 1987/88 European Champion Clubs' Cup final in Stuttgart, Hans van Breukelen saving the decisive spot kick from full-back António Veloso.

• The teams for that game on 25 May 1988 were:
PSV: Van Breukelen, Gerets, Nielsen, Koeman, Heintze, Van Aerle, Vanenburg, Linskens, Lerby, Kieft, Gillhaus (Janssen 107).
Benfica: Silvino Louro, António Veloso, Dito, Mozer, Álvaro, Chiquinho, Shéu, Elzo, António Pacheco, Magnusson (Hajry 112), Rui Águas (Wando 51).

• Their most recent meetings were in the 1998/99 UEFA Champions League group stage, Graeme Souness's Benfica winning 2-1 at home and drawing 2-2 away against Sir Bobby Robson's side.

• Current Benfica forward Nuno Gomes played in both legs, scoring once in Lisbon and twice in Eindhoven.

• The sides for their last meeting in Eindhoven on 9 December 1998 were:
PSV: Waterreus, Abel Xavier, Van Nistelrooy, Nilis, Kolkka (Gakhokidze 73), Van der Weerden, Iwan (Rommedahl 73), Khokhlov, Lucius, Skerla, Van der Doelen (Bruggink 82).
Benfica: Ovchinnikov, El Khalej, Thomas (José Calado 69), Poborský (Pringle 80), João Pinto, Ronaldo, Pembridge (Bruno Basto 88), Minto, Hugo Leal, Nuno Gomes, Andrade.

• Abel Xavier, who played in both legs of this tie for PSV, had represented Benfica from 1993 from 1995.

Match background
• Including those previous meetings with PSV, Benfica have played 18 games against Dutch sides, with the record W7 D6 L5 (W1 D4 L2 in the Netherlands). Aside from the 1988 European Cup final, Benfica played another game against Dutch opponents on neutral territory, losing 3-0 to AFC Ajax in a 1968/69 European Cup quarter-final replay in Paris.

• PSV's ten games against Portuguese opponents have ended W2 D4 L4 (W1 D2 L1 in Eindhoven).

• Benfica are unbeaten in five UEFA Europa League games – four wins and a draw.

• PSV have gone 12 European matches without defeat at home – nine wins and three draws – since going down 3-1 to Liverpool FC in the 2008/09 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Benfica were eliminated by Liverpool at this stage of last season's UEFA Europa League, winning 2-1 at home before going down 4-1 at Anfield. That loss in England is their only defeat in their last seven away fixtures in this competition.

Team facts
• Eduardo Salvio is Benfica's top UEFA Europa League scorer this season with three goals since the Eagles entered the competition in the round of 32. He featured in last season's UEFA Europa League final for Club Atlético de Madrid, and is the only player in the tournament who still has a chance of competing in back-to-back finals.

• Defenders Marcelo and Erik Pieters have appeared in all 11 of PSV's UEFA Europa League games this season, along with striker Balázs Dzsudzsák, who is also their top European scorer with four goals since the start of the group stage.

• Benfica's Saviola took on PSV with AS Monaco FC in the 2004/05 UEFA Champions League round of 16; his side lost 1-0 in Eindhoven and 2-0 at home.

• This tie is Benfica's 100th UEFA Cup and UEFA Europa League fixture. Their next defeat will be their 100th in UEFA club competition; this is their 333rd European fixture, making them the most experienced side left in the competition.

• Prior to the first leg, Benfica boss Jorge Jesus had coached in one previous UEFA club competition game against a Dutch side, with his SC Braga team winning 2-1 at sc Heerenveen in the 2008/09 UEFA Cup group stage.

• With Braga and FC Porto also in the running, this is the first time three Portuguese sides have made the quarter-finals of the same UEFA competition.

• All four UEFA Europa League quarter-finals pit sides that have been in this competition since the start of the group stage (FC Dynamo Kyiv, Porto, PSV and Villarreal CF) against teams that transferred from the UEFA Champions League group stage (FC Spartak Moskva, FC Twente, Braga and Benfica).

• The overall winners will take on the victors of the contest between Dynamo and Braga in the semi-finals on 28 April and 5 May, playing the second leg at home. The winners of that tie will be the nominal away side in the final at the Dublin Arena on 18 May.

• Should Braga meet Benfica, it would be the first time that two Portuguese sides would go head to head in a UEFA club competition tie.

Penalties
• PSV have had five UEFA club competition ties decided on spot kicks; they have won three of those games – including that 1988 European Cup final against Benfica in Stuttgart – and lost two. They have won their two most recent shoot-outs, against Olympique Lyonnais (4-2 at home, Wilfred Bouma among the scorers) and Tottenham Hotspur FC (6-5 at home, with Otman Bakkal among the scorers).

• Apart from the shoot-out loss to PSV, Benfica have been involved in one other tie decided on spot kicks, beating PAOK FC 4-1 on penalties in Lisbon to settle a 1999/2000 UEFA Cup second round tie.