Zenit St Petersburg vs Benfica preview: Can Artem Dzyuba and Hulk overturn first leg Champions League deficit?

A look ahead to the Champions League last 16 fixture at the Stadion Petrovskiy

Zenit striker Artem Dzyuba (Getty Images)

It’s a big game for…

Ederson Moraes: Benfica’s 22-year-old goalkeeper will come into replace the injured Julio Cesar and make his Champions league debut in just his second start for the club.

Benfica's 1-0 win in the first-leg was the first time in this season’s competition that Zenit have been prevented from scoring. With fellow Brazilian Hulk leading the line for the Russian champions, Ederson could be in for a busy night as his side look to protect a slender lead at the Stadion Petrovskiy.

Best stat…

8: Benfica have conceded just eight goals in their last 15 games, a run which includes eight clean-sheets, another one here would see the Portuguese side safely through to the quarter-finals.

Remember when…

In sub-zero conditions, these two sides played out an end-to-end thriller in the last 16 of the Champions League four years ago, with Roman Shirokov’s brace in the first leg had giving Zenit a 3-2 aggregate lead.

Unfortunately for the Russian side, Benfica stormed back in Lisbon to overturn the deficit with a dramatic 2-0 win.

Player to watch…

Artem Dzyuba: The Russian hitman has scored an impressive six goals in seven appearances so far in this season’s Champions League.

Despite Zenit sitting in a disappointing 5^th place in the Russian Premier League, the reigning champions are the league’s top-scorers, largely thanks to the formidable partnership struck up between the 27-year-old Dzyuba and former Porto man Hulk.

Zenit will be hoping their front men have their shooting boots on for this one as they look to overturn their first-leg deficit and advance to the quarter-final stage for the first time in the club’s history.

Past three-meetings…

Benfica 1 (Jonas) Zenit 0
Champions League, February 2016

Zenit 1 (Danny) Benfica 0
Champions League, November 2014

Benfica 0 Zenit 2 (Hulk, Witsel)
Champions League, September 2014

Form guide…

Zenit: WWWLWD

Benfica: WLWWWW

Vital information…

Kick-off time: 17:00

TV: Live on BT Sport Europe 16:45, Highlights on ITV 22:40