Benfica and Fenerbahçe's final reckoning

Fenerbahçe SK will be mindful of history repeating itself after a 1-0 UEFA Europa League semi-final home win against SL Benfica, with their last visit to the Eagles' nest having ended badly.

• After Fenerbahçe hit the woodwork three times on Thursday, including from a missed penalty, Egemen Korkmaz finally made the breakthrough – inevitably via a post – in Istanbul. It was the same result as the last time Fenerbahçe hosted Benfica, but the Yellow Canaries will hope the similarities end there.

Previous meetings
• The sides met in the 1975/76 European Champion Clubs' Cup first round, with Mário Wilson's Benfica winning 7-1 on aggregate; Fenerbahçe's 7-0 first-leg loss in Lisbon remains their heaviest defeat in UEFA competition.

• The first leg was Benfica's first European game since Eusébio's departure. Shéu marked his debut in UEFA club competition by breaking the deadlock and there were hat-tricks for Nené and Rui Jordão. The teams on 17 September 1975 were:
Benfica: Manuel Bento, Malta da Silva, Barros, Eurico, Bastos Lopes, Vítor Martins, Nené, Toni (Nelinho 79), Rui Jordão, Shéu (Vítor Baptista 70), Moinhos.
Fenerbahçe: Yavuz, Sabahattin, Emin, Nevruz, Alpaslan, Zafer, Aydın (Raşit 72), Engin, Cemil, Ömer, Selhatti (Osman 50).

• The sides for the return, when Engin Verel scored the only goal in Izmir on 1 October 1975, were:
Fenerbahçe: Adil, Yenal, Alpaslan, Emin, Yılmaz Şen, Zafer (Selhattin 60), Engin, Raşit (Aydın 75), Cemil, Nevruz, Ender.
Benfica: Manuel Bento, Artur Correia (Nelinho 46), Barros, Eurico, Bastos Lopes (Diamantino Costa 53), Vítor Martins, Nené, Toni, Rui Jordão, Shéu, Moinhos.

Match background
• Something will have to give in Lisbon as Fenerbahçe are yet to lose in six away matches in this season's competition (W4 D2) while Benfica are unbeaten in 13 home games over three UEFA Europa League campaigns, winning 12 of them.

• Should Fenerbahçe avoid defeat in Lisbon, they will not only reach their first European final but in so doing will set a UEFA Europa League record sequence of unbeaten away games – seven. They are currently tied on six with Club Atlético de Madrid, FC Porto and PAOK FC.

• Fenerbahçe's record in seven matches against Portuguese opposition is W4 D0 L3 (W3 D0 L1 at home – W1 D0 L2 in Portugal).

• Benfica's record in eight games against Turkish clubs is W3 D2 L3 (W3 D0 L1 at home – W0 D2 L2 in Turkey).

• Benfica's reverse in Istanbul ended a 38-game unbeaten streak in competitive matches, stretching back to a 2-1 loss to FC Spartak Moskva in the UEFA Champions League on 23 October 2012.

• Benfica remain unbowed in 19 competitive fixtures at home (W17 D2) since FC Barcelona won 2-0 in Lisbon in the UEFA Champions League on 2 October last year.

• Fenerbahçe are seven European outings unbeaten in 2013 (W4 D3) but have averaged just a goal a game in that run.

• Benfica and Chelsea FC transferred from the UEFA Champions League group stage and will be hoping to emulate the feat of inaugural victors Atlético, who won the 2009/10 UEFA Europa League after entering in the knockout phase.

• None of the four remaining teams have previously lifted the UEFA Cup or UEFA Europa League. FC Basel 1893 and Fenerbahçe are both in European semi-finals for the first time.

Team facts
• Fenerbahçe boast Portuguese talent in midfielder Raul Meireles. Capped 64 times, he won four Liga titles with home-town club FC Porto before moving to Liverpool FC and then Chelsea. He figured in both legs last season as Chelsea eliminated Benfica in the UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, registering a late goal in the second part of a 3-1 aggregate success.

• Benfica midfielder Nemanja Matić and Fenerbahçe winger Miloš Krašić play together with Serbia's national side.

• Fenerbahçe forward Dirk Kuyt took on Jorge Jesus's Benfica with Liverpool in 2009/10, scoring the first goal in the second leg as the Reds recovered from a 2-1 defeat, winning 4-1 at Anfield. Benfica's Óscar Cardozo scored all three of the Eagles' goals in that tie.

• Midfielder Cristian is the sole player to have featured in all 13 of Fenerbahçe's games since the start of the group stage. However, with 12 starts and 1,080 minutes of football each, goalkeeper Volkan Demirel and defender Gökhan Gönül have been the team's most consistent presences.

• Goalkeeper Artur and Melgarejo are the only players to have appeared in all 630 minutes of Benfica's UEFA Europa League campaign.

• Benfica's Luisão has made 45 UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League outings – more than any player still in the competition except Basel's David Degen (46).

• Benfica have been at their most dangerous after the break in this tournament; eight of their 11 goals have come after the interval, including two in added time.

• Benfica matched Atlético's feat of contesting the UEFA Europa League semi-finals for a second time, after making their last-four debut in 2010/11. They have overtaken holders Atlético as the team to have played most games in the competition's knockout phase – 21, to Atlético's 20.

• Argentina forward Eduardo Salvio's appearance for Benfica in Istanbul was his 32nd in the UEFA Europa League – a tournament record. He has played 20 times for Atlético and 12 for Benfica.

• Benfica need three more goals to make it to 600 in UEFA competition; this is their 362nd UEFA fixture.

• Jorge Jesus began his career as a midfielder with Sporting Clube de Portugal and played for a number of smaller sides, hanging up his boots in 1989. He worked his way up the leagues as a coach, with successful stints at CF Os Belenenses and Braga – whom he led to the 2008/09 UEFA Cup round of 16 – heralding a switch to Benfica. In 2009/10, he landed the Portuguese title in his first campaign with the Eagles.

• Aykut Kocaman made his name with Fenerbahçe as a striker, winning two championships during an eight-year spell (1988–96). He moved into coaching at Istanbulspor AŞ and – following posts at Malatyaspor, Konyaspor and Ankaraspor AŞ – became Fenerbahçe's director of football. He took over as coach in 2010, claiming the title in his first term and the Turkish Cup in the next season.

Amsterdam calling
• Benfica collected their second European trophy in Amsterdam, beating Real Madrid CF 5-3 in the 1961/62 European Cup final. They returned to the Olympisch on two further occasions, both against AFC Ajax in the European Cup. They recorded a 3-1 defeat in the 1968/69 quarter-finals and a 1-0 win in the semis three years later. They have yet to play at the Amsterdam ArenA.

• Fenerbahçe have never sampled the Amsterdam ArenA, but they visited the old stadium twice, losing European Cup games by two goals on either occasion: 3-1 to AFC Door Wilskracht Sterk in 1964 and 2-0 to Ajax in 1969.

Fenerbahçe v Basel
• The teams have never met in UEFA competition. Fenerbahçe boast a notable Swiss talent in defender Reto Ziegler, who started his professional career with Grasshopper-Club and has played 32 times for Switzerland.

Fenerbahçe v Chelsea
• Chelsea battled their way past Fenerbahçe in the 2007/08 UEFA Champions League quarter-finals; Avraam Grant's men went down 2-1 in Istanbul but turned things around with a 2-0 triumph at Stamford Bridge. Fenerbahçe's Miroslav Stoch and Meireles are former Chelsea players.

Benfica v Basel
• Benfica had the edge on Basel when the sides faced off in last season's UEFA Champions League group stage; the Eagles prevailed 2-0 in Basle, Cardozo scoring the second goal, then drew the return fixture 1-1 in Lisbon.

Benfica v Chelsea
• The clubs' sole previous encounters came in last year's UEFA Champions League quarter-finals, with the Londoners winning both legs – 1-0 in Lisbon and 2-1 in the English capital. Benfica midfielder Matić joined the Eagles following a spell at Stamford Bridge.

Penalty shoot-outs
• Benfica's shoot-out record in UEFA competition is:
W 4-1 (home) v PAOK FC, 1999/2000 UEFA Cup second round.
L 5-6 (neutral) v PSV Eindhoven, 1987/88 European Cup final.

• Fenerbahçe's only preceding UEFA competition shoot-out was:
W 3-2 (away) v Sevilla FC, 2007/08 UEFA Champions League round of 16