Sevilla face Spanish rivals Valencia in the semi-final of
the UEFA Europa League, with taking Benfica taking on Juventus in the other
tie.
Valencia trailed 3-0 after the first leg of their
quarter-final first leg clash at Basel, but produced a stunning fightback on
Thursday to win 5-3 on aggregate after extra-time and Sevilla also needed to
overturn a first-leg deficit to knock Porto out with a 4-2 aggregate victory.
The other last-four encounter sees Benfica meet Juventus
in a clash between the two hosts of this year’s European finals.
Benfica's Estadio da Luz will host the UEFA Champions
League final and the Lisbon club will be hopeful of making two trips to
Juventus Stadium in the coming months, with the Turin venue welcoming the
Europa League final in May.
The semi-final ties will be played on April 24 and May 1,
with Sevilla and Benfica hosting the first legs.
Sevilla are striving for their third triumph in this
competion in nine seasons, having lifted the trophy in 2006 and 2007 and they
will face Valencia for the first time in European competition.
They have already eliminated Spanish opposition en route
to the semi-finals, disposing of Real Betis in the round of 16, while Valencia
have lost just twice in the competition this season.
Juve are aiming to become the outright most successful
club in the history of Europe's secondary club competition, but will have to
overcome last year's runners-up Benfica to realise their dream of claiming a
fourth title.
The Serie A leaders break up the traditional Iberian
dominance of this tournament, with 12 of the last 16 semi-finalists having
hailed from either Spain or Portugal, and have their eyes on their first piece
of European silverware since lifting the Champions League in 1996.
Benfica, meanwhile, have never won the UEFA Cup or Europa
League.
A quirk of the draw means that Juve will be considered
the away team at their own stadium if they reach the final..
Culled from Soccerway
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