Good evening and welcome to our live text commentary of the Europa League semi-final first-leg between Fenerbahce and Benfica at Sükrü Saraçoglu in Istanbul.

Elsewhere tonight, Chelsea travel to FC Basel in the other EL semi-final. Catch up on all the pre-match team news right here on Eurosport.

Meanwhile, Benfica boss Jorge Jesus reckons it is a tough tie to call, but expects his side to get on the scoresheet in Istanbul. He told his pre-match press conference: "Most problems will probably come from their agile front players. We know that this match will not decide anything but it can help us. Usually Benfica score away and, despite the atmosphere tomorrow, I believe that we will score again. There are no favourites - both teams have their strengths. It will be an even tie."

Fenerbahce coach Aykut Kocaman told reporters of his hopes for the first leg on the eve of the tie: "This game will be a new chapter in our history," he said. "After beating Plzen to reach the quarter-finals I said there was little to choose between the last eight - it is the same now. It will come down to the teams that force the issue, force differences between them and their opponents. Benfica are one step ahead of us when you look at their experience and recent success. We mustn't concede."

Want the lowdown on the four semi-finalists? Look no further than Arsenal manager and Eurosport expert, Arsene Wenger, who shares his thoughts on the Europa League in his latest column.

Want to know more about that tie in 1975? Check out UEFA.com's feature.

On Twitter former Celtic and Holland striker, @pierrevh17 (Pierre van Hooijdonk) has had this to say about tonight's match: "Proud to have played for #Benfica, but 2 years at #Fener made an even bigger impact on me. That's why I'm a bit more yellow/blue than red tonight."

DID YOU KNOW? These two sides have only met twice before in a European Cup first round tie back in 1975. The good news for Fenerbahce fans is that they won the home leg 1-0. The bad news? They went down to a 7-0 drubbing in the first leg in Portugal - a defeat that remains their heaviest in Europe.

Want to air your views on this Europa League tie? Tweet us your thoughts and we'll include the best in this live text commentary. Can Fenerbahce continue their Euro adventure or will Benfica bring them crashing back down to earth with a bang?

CONFIRMED TEAMS: FENERBAHCE: Volkan Demirel, Korkmaz, Yobo, Ziegler, Gokhan Gonul, Topal, Meireles, Cristian, Sow, Kuyt, Webo... Subs: Gunok, Irtegun, Sahin, Krasic, Topuz, Ucan, Senturk. /// BENFICA: Artur, Pereira, Garay, Jardel, Aimar, Matic, Gomes, Cardozo, John, Salvio, Melgarejo... Subs: Lopes, Roderick, Martins, Gaitan, Urreta, Lima, Rodrigo.

In contrast, Benfica warmed up for their trip to Turkey with a 2-0 home win over rivals Sporting to maintain their four-point lead at the top of the Liga table.

Fenerbahce come into the clash in buoyant mood after the last eight win over much-fancied Lazio put them in the semi-finals of a European competition for the first time in their history. However, their preparations did suffer a blow at the weekend when they lost 2-0 at Genclerbirligi. The result means they have it all to do if they are to beat Galatasaray to the title.