Two former European giants go head-to-head this Thursday night.

Two former European giants go head-to-head this Thursday night as two-time European Cup winners Benfica host 2006 Champions League finalists Arsenal. 

The days of being a European superpower are well and truly gone for both clubs – you could argue they never really started for Arsenal. 

Nevertheless, both of these teams will be looking to make a serious bid for this year’s Europa League title. Arsenal’s hopes of Champions League qualification almost solely rest in this competition while Benfica may also need to take this route in order to play top level European football next year. 

Arsenal come into this game on the back of an impressive 4-2 victory over Leeds United – a win which ended their three-match winless run. 

Benfica are also in mixed form however, their run of two wins from their last three games suggests they may be beginning to find a bit of rhythm. 

This is an incredibly tough game to call and it wouldn’t be a surprise to see the first leg end in a draw. 

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