The UEFA Champions League Round of 16 continues on Wednesday, as Russian side Zenit hosts Benfica at Petrovskiy Stadium. The Portuguese side gets to this match with a one-goal lead courtesy of Jonas' late goal two weeks ago, and Rui Vitoria's team will try to build on it to secure their place among Europe's top eight teams.
Benfica gets to this match in high spirits after winning against Sporting Lisbon in their domestic tournament, taking by storm the top of the Primeira Liga. On the other hand, Zenit just played their first match of the 2016 Russian Premier League, which ended with a goal-less draw against Krasnodar.
This seems like the perfect chance for Zenit to avenge their 2011-2012 UCL elimination by Benfica, as the Portuguese Eagles defeated the Sky Blues with a 4-3 aggregate.
Zenit
The hosts are willing to erase their bad performance from last weekend in front of their home crowd by making it to the UCL's Quarter Finals for the first time in history. In order to do that, coach André Vilas Boas will not have Domenico Criscito and Javi García available due to pending bans, while Fayzulin will also sit this one out due to a knee injury.
Villas-Boas, Zenit coach: "Garay is fit, Criscito & Javi García are suspended but everyone else is available." #UCL pic.twitter.com/Z7OJuWAtzC
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 8, 2016
Benfica
The Portuguese Eagles need to score at least one goal to get a bit closer to the tournament's Quarter Finals. With that in mind, coach Rui Vitoria spoke about his supposed rivalry with compatriot André Vilas-Boas, even with a hint of humour in his answer.
"We are not rivals with André. He's a great coach, one of the best in the world, who has done an excellent job at all his clubs, including Zenit. I always wish him the best of luck – except the match tomorrow perhaps!" Benfica's coach stated.
Benfica will have to battle Zenit with a huge amount of absentees.
Lisandro López, Luisão, Júlio César, Jardel & André Almeida will miss Benfica's decider at Zenit on Wednesday. #UCL pic.twitter.com/J1FdoYr17S
— Champions League (@ChampionsLeague) March 8, 2016
Head to head
This will be the sixth game between these two sides in Europe's top club competition, with Zenit winning three of those games. The Russian crew has never lost a home game against Benfica, winning both of their previous meetings by a one-goal margin (3-2 in 2012 and 1-0 in 2014)
Where to watch Zenit vs Benfica on TV or online?
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Fans living in Russia can follow this game on Sportbox.ru, NTV+ Sport Online, Belarus 2 and NTV+ Football 2 at 20:00 hrs MSK.
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RTP 1 and Sport TV1 will be the options to watch this game in Portugal, starting at 17:00 hrs WET.
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Fans in the U.K. can follow this game on BT Sport Europe and BT Sport Live Streaming at 17:00 hrs GMT.
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For those who live in the U.S., Fox Soccer 2GO USA, ESPN Deportes TV, Fox Sports GO, WATCH ESPN and Fox Sports 1 USA will be the options to follow this game, starting at 12:00 hrs EST
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In Canada, RDS, TSN2, beIN Sports Canada and beIN SPORTS CONNECT Canada will broadcast this game starting at 09:00 hrs PST.
Live elsewhere? Check out the Zenit vs Benfica match page for detailed info to watch this game in your country.
*Please note that all live games, TV Schedules and online streaming info are subject to change.
Match details, result and original broadcast info
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