Newcastle are hoping packed St James Park and the huge motivation will compensate for the difference in class between the two sides and set the team on course for the Europa League trophy. Carrying a two-goal advantage from the first leg, Benfica arrive in England looking to finish the job and prove why they are considered by many to be the number one favourites for the coveted title.

Papiss Cisse finds his scoring touch

While everyone expected Newcastle to build on the fifth-place finish in the Premier League last term, the Magpies found it increasingly difficult to cope with the pressure of expectations. Hectic schedule and injuries to star players made things even worse, and after the team slipped into the danger zone in the league, club chiefs had no choice but to invest considerable funds into new players in the January transfer window. That worked like a charm as the Magpies quickly started climbing the league standings, while producing some excellent showings in Europe as well. Alan Pardew’s side saw their form dip over the last few weeks, but after virtually securing Premiership survival with a last-gasp victory over Fulham, the players should be in confident mood ahead of the Benfica clash. As a result, the hosts can be expected to go all out attack, but there is a good chance such an approach will come back to haunt them as their opponents can be lethal when afforded enough space.

Mathieu Debuchy and Yoan Gouffran are cup-tied, whilst Cheick Tiote, Hatem Ben Arfa, Davide Santon, Fabricio Coloccini and Haris Vuckic all miss out through injury.

Can anyone stop Benfica?

Benfica fans didn’t have much to cheer about at the start of the 21st century as their arch rivals Porto were dominating the domestic stage and impressing in Europe, but everything changed with the arrival of former Braga coach Jorge Jesus. The club chiefs gave the boss a good backing and allowed him to build an excellent squad, with the good work all around soon starting to produce results. After reaching the Champions League quarter-finals last term, the Eagles were somewhat disappointing in Europe’s elite competition this term, but they have been absolutely relentless in Europa League. Having won all five games in the competition in spite of Jorge Jesus fielding weakened sides, the Eagles indeed look the most likely candidates for the title. With their league campaign also going according to plan and the team winning last eight matches in all competitions, their opponents have every reason to fear the return leg at St James Park.

After Eduardo Salvio and Enzo Perez both recovered from their respective ailments, Jorge Jesus has fully fit squad to choose from, although he is expected to make a couple of changes to the side that beat Olhanense at the weekend.

Verdict

The first match showed a real difference in class between the two sides and there is every chance that red-hot Benfica are going to win the return leg as well. With Newcastle set to attack from the off, we could easily see goals galore at St James Park, but I seriously doubt the Magpies can beat their more illustrious opponents given that they have a number of important missings.

Top pick: Over 2.5 goals   2.05 (21/20) @ BetVictor

Alternative pick 1: Benfica Draw no bet   1.80 (4/5) at 888sport

Alternative pick 2: Benfica to score two or more   2.75 (7/4) @ Stan James

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