Fenerbahçe seek better luck against Benfica

Fenerbahçe SK are within sight of a first European final and SL Benfica are eager to return to the scene of one of their finest hours as the sides meet in the last four of the UEFA Europa League.

Previous meetings
• The sides met in the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round, with Mário Wilson's Benfica winning 7-1 on aggregate; Fenerbahçe's 7-0 first-leg loss in Lisbon remains their heaviest defeat in UEFA competition.

• The first leg was Benfica's first European game since Eusébio's departure. Shéu marked his debut in UEFA club competition by breaking the deadlock and there were hat-tricks for Nené and Rui Jordão. The teams on 17 September 1975 were:
Benfica: Manuel Bento, Malta da Silva, Barros, Eurico, Bastos Lopes, Vítor Martins, Nené, Toni (Nelinho 79), Rui Jordão, Shéu (Vítor Baptista 70), Moinhos.
Fenerbahçe: Yavuz, Sabahattin, Emin, Nevruz, Alpaslan, Zafer, Aydın (Raşit 72), Engin, Cemil, Ömer, Selhatti (Osman 50).

• The teams for the return, when Engin Verel scored the only goal in Izmir on 1 October 1975, were:
Fenerbahçe: Adil, Yenal, Alpaslan, Emin, Yılmaz Şen, Zafer (Selhattin 60), Engin, Raşit (Aydın 75), Cemil, Nevruz, Ender.
Benfica: Manuel Bento, Artur Correia (Nelinho 46), Barros, Eurico, Bastos Lopes (Diamantino Costa 53), Vítor Martins, Nené, Toni, Rui Jordão, Shéu, Moinhos.

Match background
• Fenerbahçe's record in six games against Portuguese sides is W3 D0 L3 (W2 D0 L1 at home – W1 D0 L2 in Portugal).

• Benfica's record in seven games against Turkish clubs is W3 D2 L2 (W3 D0 L1 at home – W0 D2 L1 in Turkey). This will be their first competitive game in Istanbul.

• Fenerbahçe are six European outings unbeaten in 2013 (W3 D3) but have averaged just a goal a game in that run.

• The Yellow Canaries' UEFA Europa League away form has been impressive all season – they have not lost in six games on the road (W4 D2).

• Benfica have won five of their six games since entering the competition in the round of 32; they are the only side left in the competition not to have lost a UEFA Europa League game this season.

• Benfica and Chelsea FC transferred from the UEFA Champions League group stage and will be hoping to emulate the feat of inaugural victors Club Atlético de Madrid, who won the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League after entering in the knockout phase.

• None of the four remaining teams have previously won either the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League, and FC Basel 1893 and Fenerbahçe are both in European semi-finals for the first time.

Team facts
• Fenerbahçe boast Portuguese talent in the form of midfielder Raul Meireles. Capped 64 times, he won four Liga titles with home-town club FC Porto before moving to Liverpool FC and then Chelsea. He featured in both legs last season as Chelsea eliminated Benfica from the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, scoring a late goal in the second leg of a 3-1 aggregate success.

• Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matić and Fenerbahçe winger Miloš Krašić play together with the Serbia national side.

• Fenerbahçe striker Dirk Kuyt took on Jorge Jesus' Benfica with Liverpool in 2009/10, scoring the first goal in the second leg as the Reds recovered from a 2-1 defeat, winning 4-1 at Anfield. Benfica's Óscar Cardozo scored all three of the Eagles' goals in that tie.

• Chelsea's Fernando Torres, Basel's Marco Streller and Benfica's Cardozo are the highest-scoring players left in this season's competition with four goals. S.S. Lazio's Libor Kozák tops the rankings with eight.

• Midfielders Cristian and Caner Erkin are the only players who have featured in all 12 of Fenerbahçe's games since the start of the group stage. However, with 11 starts and 990 minutes of football each, goalkeeper Volkan Demirel and defender Gökhan Gönül have been the team's most consistent presences.

• Goalkeeper Artur, André Almeida, Nicolás Gaitán and Melgarejo are the only players to have featured in all 540 minutes of Benfica's UEFA Europa League campaign.

• Benfica's Luisão and Basel's David Degen have made 45 UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League appearances – more than any player left in the competition.

• Benfica have been at their most dangerous after the break in this competition; eight of their 11 goals have come after the interval, including two in added time.

• Benfica midfielder Rúben Pinto turns 21 on the eve of the game.

• Benfica matched Atlético's feat of reaching the UEFA Europa League semi-finals for the second time, after making their debut in 2010/11. They will overtake the holders as the team to have played most matches in the competition's knockout phase; Atlético have played 20, this game will be Benfica's 21st.

• Eduardo Salvio has equalled a competition record of 31 UEFA Europa League appearances, matching his one-time Atlético team-mate Falcao's mark in the quarter-final second leg.

• Aykut Kocaman made his name with Fenerbahçe as a striker, winning two titles in an eight-year stint (1988–96). He moved into coaching at Istanbulspor AŞ and – following spells at Malatyaspor, Konyaspor and Ankaraspor AŞ – became Fenerbahçe's director of football. He took over as coach in 2010, winning the title in his first season and the Turkish Cup in the next campaign.

• Jorge Jesus started his career as a midfielder at Sporting Clube de Portugal and played for a number of smaller sides, hanging up his boots in 1989. He worked his way up the leagues as a coach, with successful spells at CF Os Belenenses and Braga – who he led to the 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16 – heralding a move to Benfica. In 2009/10, he won the Portuguese title in his first season with the Eagles.

Amsterdam calling
• Benfica won their second major European trophy in Amsterdam, beating Real Madrid CF 5-3 in the 1961/62 European Champion Clubs' Cup final. They returned to the Olympisch on two further occasions, both against AFC Ajax in the European Cup. They recorded a 3-1 defeat in the 1968/69 quarter-finals and a 1-0 win in the semis three years later. They have yet to play at the Amsterdam ArenA.

• Fenerbahçe have yet to play at the Amsterdam ArenA, but they visited the old stadium twice, losing European Cup games by two goals on both occasions: 3-1 to AFC Door Wilskracht Sterk in 1964 and 2-0 to Ajax in 1969.

Fenerbahçe v Basel
• The sides have never met in UEFA competition. Fenerbahçe boast a notable Swiss talent in defender Reto Ziegler, who started his professional career with Grasshopper-Club and has played 32 games for Switzerland.

Fenerbahçe v Chelsea
• Chelsea battled their way past Fenerbahçe in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals; Avraam Grant's side lost 2-1 in Istanbul but turned things around with a 2-0 win at Stamford Bridge. Fenerbahçe's Miroslav Stoch and Meireles are former Chelsea players.

Benfica v Basel
• Benfica had the edge on Basel when the sides met in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage; the Eagles won 2-0 in Basel, Cardozo scoring the second goal, then drew the return fixture 1-1 in Lisbon.

Benfica v Chelsea
• The sides' only previous meetings came in last season's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, with the Blues winning both legs – 1-0 in Lisbon and 2-1 in London. Benfica midfielder Matić joined the Eagles following a spell at Stamford Bridge.