Benfica manager Jorge Jesus has promised his side will look to take the game to Spartak Moscow when the two teams lock horns in their Group G Champions League game.
Benfica, surprisingly, have picked up only one point from three games and are bottom of their group, which also includes Barcelona and Celtic. With Barca expected to take top spot, the battle for the second qualifying place will be between Celtic, Spartak and Benfica, with the Scottish side currently second on four points, while the Russians have three.
"Spartak are a quality team but we'll try to play our game and use our pace in attack in order to score goals and win the match," Jesus said. "It's a decisive game for us -- we have to win. If we do, we may still have a chance of qualifying because second spot will be a possibility for us, Celtic and Spartak.
"The main difference from the league, where we are top, is that we have Barcelona in the UEFA Champions League. Barca are very strong and leave only one place to fight for.
"Happily we have three great attackers -- Lima, Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo, who combine very well with each other. The pairing is not always the same, as it depends on the opposition and the recovery time.
"We can see Spartak's strengths away from home by looking at the match at Camp Nou, where they played well and were 2-1 ahead. We have worked out where we think they are strong in order to avoid them causing us trouble on the counterattack."
Benfica will be without Pablo Aimar, Carlos Martins and Nemanja Matic, with Melgarejo declared fit.
Spartak, who beat Benfica 2-1 in their previous game, will look to carry forward their good domestic form, with the Moscow side defeating Krylya Sovetov Samara 5-0 at the weekend.
"In our last match we scored five goals in our best attacking performance," Spartak manager Unai Emery said. "We have important league and Champions League matches coming up and the players who are not in the team now have to work harder to get their places back. However, with so many games coming up, we will need all of them.
"It will be a different match from the one in Moscow. We respect Benfica a lot and they'll play very aggressively. It's a complex situation in this group and we, like Benfica, cannot afford to drop points. Celtic are now favourites for second place and it's up to us and Benfica to put up a fight.
"We know all about the power of Benfica and what to expect. We have to focus on them as a team. We have to be aware of the attacking threat of their full-backs, Melgarejo and Maxi Pereira, the role of Enzo Perez, the goalscoring ability of the attackers and the creative danger of (Eduardo) Salvio and (Nicolas) Gaitán on the wings."
To watch Benfica vs Spartak Moscow Live Stream, click here.
Expected lineups: Benfica: Artur; Pereira, Garay, Jardel, Luisinho; Melgarejo, Martins, John, Salvio; Lima, Cardozo.
Spartak Moscow: Rebrov; Insaurralde, Pareja, Makeev, D Kombarov; Carioca, Kallstrom, Bilyaletdinov, Jurado; Ari, Emenike.
Prediction: 1-1
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