The Portuguese Champions have the advantage heading into the second-leg, but Juventus will lay it all on the table tonight. Watch live as Benfica tries to return to the Europa League final for a second successive year.

Preview: Juventus tries to overturn a negative result in front of their fans

Benfica’s 2-1 victory at the Estádio da Luz just a week ago has the Portuguese Champions confident, ahead of their trip to Italy. Fans can expect more of the same on Thursday evening, as Juventus need to score at least one goal in order to have a chance of progressing to the final.

Things took a negative turn earlier this week, with Juventus putting in a request to have Benfica’s Enzo Perez suspended for the second-leg. The Argentine midfielder was shoved from behind by Chiellini on a set-piece, with the Benfica midfielder catching the Italian with his arm in the face.

 

That news did not sit well with the Lisbon side, who then began to question UEFA, and whether or not they were looking for a clean football match, or if they were more interested in making sure Juventus made it through to the final.

Putting all of that aside, the Serie A league leaders will play at home in front of their fans, but they know very well Benfica will make things very difficult for them.

“All the teams in this stage of the competition have quality,” Bonucci told reporters on Wednesday. “On top of that, Benfica was in the final last year, they took chances, and they were beaten by a very good Chelsea squad.”

“In football, apart from skill and talent, you need a little bit of luck. These games are often decided by the smallest of individual details, and we hope that this time around that goes in our favor," he added.

Juventus will welcome back Arturo Vidal for Thursday’s important match. The Chilean international has been out with an injury, but he returned on Monday in Juve’s 1-3 victory of Sassuolo, and he will likely be in the starting XI on Thursday night. With Vidal, Pogba and Pirlo in the midfield, Juve becomes a more solid squad, but on the other side of the pitch will be a Benfica side that is equally as talented, and just as motivated.

The Portuguese giants have already wrapped up the Portuguese League, they defeated Porto to progress through to the final of the Taça de Portugal, and on Sunday, they defeated Porto again in a penalty shootout to book their place in the Taça da Liga final. That is one major title and two domestic finals in a matter of weeks, and with a chance to return to the Europa League final on Thursday, Jorge Jesus’ side will be up for it.

“Obviously we believe that in order to get through to the next round, we need to score goals,” said Jorge Jesus. “We have players within the squad that allow us to think like that, although we respect the quality of Juventus. Their style of play is not something we are used to seeing in Portugal (3x5x2), which could end up forcing us to make some changes in order to adapt to that.”

When questioned about playing in front of Juve’s fans, the Portuguese manager was not all that worried.

“In Portugal we watch a lot of the Italian League. We have already watched a number of Juve’s matches at home, and it is nothing special. We are used to playing at the Estádio da Luz, which normally has 65,000 fans. Juventus’ stadium holds approximately 40,000, so that is nothing that will worry us.”

Knowing they need at least one goal, Juventus could really go for it if they do not get on the scoresheet early. With Benfica’s experience in the competition and their level of confidence at the moment, the Italians will be extremely vulnerable on the counter-attack.

Two sides who can play some very attractive football will have 90 minutes to book their place in the final, that is if overtime is not needed. Juventus looks for the opportunity to return home for the Europa League Final, while Benfica wants another shot at claiming a title that slipped right out of their hands last season in Amsterdam.

Where to watch this match - live stream, start time, TV channels, live scores

Watch Juventus vs Benfica live on Thursday, May 1, 2014:

In Canada at 15:05 ET on: Mediaset Italia, Sportsnet World Online, Sportsnet East, Sportsnet Ontario, Sportsnet Pacific, Sportsnet West

In the UK at 20:05 BST on: ITV 4, ITV Live Player

In the USA at 15:05 ET on: Fox Sports GO, SiriusXM FC, Fox Soccer 2Go »live stream, Fox Sports 1 USA, ESPN3

These two sides are worthy of a Europa League Final, but only one of them can go through. You will not want to miss this match, so if you are outside these viewing areas, be sure to visit the Juventus vs Benfica match page for full TV listings.