Juventus, Sevilla to face Benfica, Valencia in Europa League semi-finals

London: Italian leaders Juventus will face Portuguese side Benfica in the semi-finals of the Europa League this year, while Sevilla and Valencia will contest an all-Spanish semi-final in the other tie following Friday's draw in Switzerland.

Benfica, which was beaten by Chelsea in the final last May, have been drawn at home in the first leg, and they are the only one of the four semi-finalists never to have won either the Europa League or its predecessor, the UEFA Cup.

According to the BBC, the first legs for the tournament will be on April 24, and the return legs on May 1, with the final to be played at the Juventus Stadium in Turin next month.

Juventus is eight points clear at the top of Serie A and unbeaten in 12 Europa League matches and they secured a 3-1 aggregate quarter-final victory over Lyon by winning their second leg 2-1 in France on Thursday.

Benfica beat Dutch side AZ to reach the last four, while Valencia is facing La Liga rivals Sevilla in European competition for the first time, having come back from a 3-0 first-leg deficit to beat Swiss champions Basel 5-3 on aggregate in their quarter-final.

Sevilla reached the last four with a 4-2 aggregate win over Porto, the report added.