Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter for the latest tips and offers Sign up to the Independent's betting newsletter
Benfica travel to White Hart Lane on Thursday to face Tottenham for the first time since 1967.
Tottenham will be looking to move on from their humiliating 4-0 defeat to London rivals Chelsea last Saturday and so their Round of 16 first-leg match against Benfica won’t come soon enough.
Benfica, who sit top of the Portuguese Primieira League and lost to Chelsea in last year’s Europa League Final, have enjoyed fantastic form recently, winning 18 of their last 20 fixtures and are deemed to be one of the favourites to lift the Europa League trophy.
Tottenham have been inconsistent over the last several weeks, winning four and losing three of their last seven matches. Fortunately for Tim Sherwood’s squad, the Europa League remains a realistic opportunity for silverware this season, something for which they should be confident in winning.
Tottenham have been a governing team in the Europa League this season, winning all of their group matches and overcoming FC Dnipro in last week’s Round of 32. Despite impressive European form, Tottenham will face a daunting challenge in Benfica who have been unfailingly dominant in both Europe and at home since January.
KICK-OFF: Thursday, 8.05pm
Show all 77 1 /77Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Aston Villa 0 Tim Sherwood has a joke as he helps his gilet onto the fan
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Aston Villa 0 Emmanuel Adebayor does his salute celebration after scoring Spurs' third
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Aston Villa 0 Emmanuel Adebayor scores from a penalty
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Aston Villa 0 Harry Kane and Paulinho celebrate after Tottenham's second, an own goal from Nathan Baker
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Aston Villa 0 Paulinho celebrates after opening the scoring for Spurs
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Ham 2 Tottenham 0 Emmanuel Adebayor looks on frustrated during his team's defeat
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Ham 2 Tottenham 0 Stewart Downing celebrates his goal with teammates Andy Carroll and Mark Noble
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Ham 2 Tottenham 0 Stwart Downing puts West Ham two up with a free kick
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Ham 2 Tottenham 0 Mohamed Diame clears the ball in acrobatic style
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Ham 2 Tottenham 0 Andy Carroll celebrates after West Ham take the lead, the goal would go down as a Harry Kane og
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Ham 2 Tottenham 0 Referee Phil Dowd shows Younes Kaboul a red card
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Stoke 0 Tottenham 1 Steven Nzonzi and Danny Rose square up after clashing in a tackle
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Stoke 0 Tottenham 1 Harry Kane races away from Ryan Shawcross
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Stoke 0 Tottenham 1 Marko Arnautovic is tackled by Nacer Chadli
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Stoke 0 Tottenham 1 Tottenham players celebrate with Danny Rose after he puts the away team in front
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Stoke 0 Tottenham 1 Danny Rose celebrates with Aaron Lennon after heading in Tottenham's opening goal
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Fulham 1 Younes Kaboul celebrates his goal after putting Spurs 3-1 up
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Fulham 1 Steve Sidwell and Danny Rose contest for the ball
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Fulham 1 Hugo Lloris produces a superb save after Hugo Rodallega's header
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Fulham 1 Harry Kane scores and gives Spurs there lead back
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Fulham 1 Steve Sidwell puts Fulham level with a chipped effort over Hugo Lloris
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Fulham 1 Christian Eriksen controls the ball despite pressure from Alex Kacaniklic
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Brom 3 Tottenham 3 Tottenham Hotspur's Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen (R) celebrates after scoring his team's third goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Brom 3 Tottenham 3 Harry Kane of Spurs is congratulated by teammates after scoring his team's second goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Brom 3 Tottenham 3 Stephane Sessegnon celebrates scoring the third goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Brom 3 Tottenham 3 Emmanuel Adebayor of Spurs misses a with a penalty attempt
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Brom 3 Tottenham 3 Chris Brunt of West Bromwich celebrates after scoring his team's second goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures West Brom 3 Tottenham 3 West Bromwich Albion's Czech forward Matej Vydra celebrates after scoring the opening goal
Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 5 Sunderland 1 Emmanuel Adebayor of Tottenham Hotspur celebrates scoring his second goal against Sunderland by saluting manager Tim Sherwood
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 5 Sunderland 1 Fabio Borini of Sunderland shoots as he is challenged by Aaron Lennon of Tottenham Hotspur during the Barclays Premier League match between Tottenham Hotspur and Sunderland
Mike Hewitt/Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 5 Sunderland 1 Tim Sherwood greets Sunderland manager Gus Poyet before Tottenham’s 5-1 win
PA
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Daniel Sturridge congratulates Jordan Henderson after the midfielder's goal
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Philippe Coutinho fires in Liverpool's third
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Brendan Rodgers looks on from the touchline
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Luis Suarez of Liverpool celebrates the second goal against Tottenham
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Liverpool 4 Tottenham 0 Younes Kaboul scores an own goal in the second minute
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Gylfi Sigurdsson scores a late winner for Spurs with a thunderous strike
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Christian Eriksen gets to Roberto Soldado's cross ahead of Calum Chambers to tap in Tottenham's equaliser
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Eriksen scores Tottenham's first goal after a slip from Nathaniel Clyne
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Eriksen battles for the ball with Clyne and James Ward-Prowse
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Adam Lallana slips the ball under Hugo Lloris to make it 2-0 to Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 3 Southampton 2 Jay Rodriguez steers the ball past Younes Kaboul for Southampton's first goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Benfica 2 Tottenham 2 Rodrigo Lima celebrates his goal
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Benfica 2 Tottenham 2 Tottenham players appeal for a penalty after Harry Kane goes down in the box
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Benfica 2 Tottenham 2 Gylfi Sigurdsson sees his header saved late on
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Benfica 2 Tottenham 2 Nacer Chadli scores to put Tottenham ahead and give them hope
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Benfica 2 Tottenham 2 Roberto Soldado has an effort at goal
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1 Lukas Podolski celebrates with the Arsenal fans after the win at White Hart Lane
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1 Tottenham Hotspur's goalkeeper Hugo Lloris takes out team-mate Danny Rose as he collects the ball
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1 Arsenal's Laurent Koscielny (right) and Tottenham Hotspur's Nacer Chadli battle for the ball
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1 Arsenal's French defender Laurent Koscielny (2nd left) challenges Tottenham Hotspur's Belgian defender Jan Vertonghen (4th left)
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1 Tomas Rosicky fires Arsenal ahead with rocket of a shot
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 0 Arsenal 1 Tomas Rosicky of Arsenal shrugs off the challenge from Danny Rose
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Benfica 3 Tim Sherwood and Jorge Jesus clash on the sidelines
Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Benfica 3 Rodrigo (centre) slots Benfica’s opening goal past a helpless Hugo Lloris of Spurs last night
AP
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Benfica 3 Tottenham Hotspur's Danish midfielder Christian Eriksen (R) celebrates after scoring his team's first goal from a free-kick during the UEFA Europa League round of 16 first leg against Benfica
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0 Kyle Walker holds off Eden Hazard
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0 Eden Hazard rounds goalkeeper Hugo Lloris but misses the open goal
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0 Samuel Eto'o and Hugo Lloris exchange words
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Chelsea 4 Tottenham 0 Samuel Eto'o goes down under a challenge from Hugo Lloris
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Cardiff 0 A relieved Roberto Soldado opens the scoring
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Cardiff 0 Fabio of Cardiff City clashes with Tottenham's Andros Townsend
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Cardiff 0 Craig Bellamy fends off Ezekiel Fryers
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures FC Dnipro 1 Tottenham 0 Dnipro's Victor Giuliano (left) vies with Tottenham Hotspur's Etienne Capoue
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures FC Dnipro 1 Tottenham 0 The starting line ups of Dnipro and Tottenham observe a minutes silence prior to their Europa League Last 32 match due to the recent events in the Ukraine
GETTY IMAGES
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Tottenham 4 Emmanuel Adebayor scores for Spurs
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Tottenham 4 Emmanuel Adebayor celebrates opening the scoring for Spurs
Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Tottenham 4 Emmanuel Adebayor makes it 3-0 with his second of the night
Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Tottenham 4 Newcastle keeper Tim Krul dives but fails to stop Nacer Chadli's fine effort
Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Newcastle 0 Tottenham 4 The Newcastle players look shell-shocked after they concede a fourth
Getty Images
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Tottenham 1 Everton 0 Emmanuel Adebayor celebrates scoring the only goal of the game against Everton
AP
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Hull City 1 Tottenham 1 Shane Long scores the opening goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Hull City 1 Tottenham 1 Shane Long celebrates the opening goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Hull City 1 Tottenham 1 Hull celebrate the opening goal
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Hull City 1 Tottenham 1 Danny Rose challenges for the ball
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Hull City 1 Tottenham 1 Paulinho celebrates his equaliser
Tottenham Hotspur: The latest match pictures Hull City 1 Tottenham 1 Hugo Lloris looks on
STATS...
Spurs are unbeaten in 11 European home games (inc. qualifiers, W9 D2), with their last home defeat at White Hart Lane coming against PAOK Salonika in November 2011.
Benfica have won their last four games in European competition, including victories in both legs of their last 32 tie against PAOK Salonika.
Spurs have failed to score in just one of their last 18 games in the Europa League (inc. qualifiers).
After entering the round of 32 from the Champions League group stage, Benfica are aiming to reach the final for the second successive season.
ODDS…
Tottenham to win: 2.25
Benfica to win: 3.1
Draw: 3.3
TV: Live on ITV 1 at 8.05pm, highlights on ITV 1 at 6.00pm on Friday.
Join our commenting forum
Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies