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Zenit: Andre Villas-Boas expects angry Benfica

Andre Villas-Boas expects a reaction from Benfica when his Zenit side visit in the Champions League this week.

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Zenit coach Andre Villas-Boas says his players will meet an "angry" Benfica team in the Champions League on Tuesday following their defeat to rivals Porto.

Benfica saw their eight-match winning run in the Primeira Liga come to a halt against their fierce rivals as Villas-Boas' former club Porto ran out 2-1 winners at the Estadio da Luz on Friday.

Sporting CP beat Nacional a day later to go three points clear at the top of the Portuguese top flight.

As Villas-Boas' Zenit prepare for their last-16 first-leg clash on Tuesday, the former Porto boss said: "I expect Benfica to be angry after the Porto result and eager to get back to winning ways.

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"In recent months they have transformed themselves completely. They are playing well, winning, scoring lots of goals.

"This Benfica plays down the flanks, they cross a lot and create many goal chances from wing play. They play with a high defence, taking risks with the offside trap and they look very sharp.

"I underline Jonas' quality and also Renato Sanches, who has tremendous confidence for an 18-year-old. This mix of youth and experience make Benfica a quality side, good to watch."

Zenit's Russian Premier League defence does not begin until March and they have not played a competitive match since their final Champions League group stage match against Gent in December.

"Our weakness is that we have been stopped two months," the Portuguese acknowledged.

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"But we have worked very well over past two months and our aim is to grab a good result in order to qualify at home, where we have had some great performances in this competition."

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