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Who would have thought SC Braga would end up here? Following up 2009/10, the best season since the club's foundation in 1921, seemed a near-impossible task, but under the continued stewardship of coach Domingos Paciência the far-fetched quickly becomes reality. The former FC Porto forward has used his own extensive UEFA Champions League experience to prepare a largely novice squad to face the best.

After running 2006 finalists Arsenal FC close in the UEFA Champions League group stage, the men from Portugal's Minho region have seen off Liverpool FC and FC Dynamo Kyiv – winners of 44 domestic championships between them – in the UEFA Europa League en route to a first-ever semi-final in UEFA competition. Domestic giants SL Benfica denied Paciência and company a maiden Liga title last term and now stand between them and the Dublin final on 18 May – yet Jorge Jesus's men have lost on their last two visits to the Estádio Municipal de Braga.

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2008

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
Portuguese Cup: 1 (1966)

Previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League semi-finals
None

UEFA club ranking
31 (opponents SL Benfica are 17th)

Leading scorer
Liga: Lima 6
Europe: Lima 4 (Alan has 2 in UEFA Europa League)

Strengths and weaknesses
The rash of goals in Braga's 4-3 UEFA Champions League play-off second-leg win at Sevilla FC announced Paciência's side to Europe, but masked their true nature as a counterattacking team. The pace of Lima, Paulo César and Alan from the flanks is the key to their swift breaks. This compensates in part for their lack of a reliable centre-forward, which is arguably Braga's Achilles heel. Matheus's January departure for FC Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk accentuated the problem – the Brazilian having scored three times in the UEFA Champions League group stage, including the two goals that beat Arsenal at the Estádio Municipal.

Key moment
The final whistle at Anfield on 17 March was crucial for Braga. Given the 6-0 thrashing endured on their previous trip to England – for their UEFA Champions League group stage debut at Arsenal – their display in keeping Liverpool at bay proved to the Arsenalistas that they could compete with Europe's big boys away from the security of home. "We knew the second leg was going to be very different," midfielder Hugo Viana told UEFA.com afterwards. "That's why it feels so good to be coming away with a deserved result."

Unsung hero
Perhaps coach Paciência's greatest achievement in taking Braga into the last four has been to continue the team's upward trajectory despite the loss of key men in the winter transfer window. Besides Matheus, influential defender Moisés, scorer of Matchday 4's winner against FK Partizan, also left in January. His replacement has been another of Braga's large Brazilian contingent, the towering Paulão. The 28-year-old was himself linked with a move to China, yet has stayed in northern Portugal to become an important member of the XI. With Paulão marshalling the back line, Braga have conceded once in their last four UEFA Europa League games.

Form
League position: 3 (Last five games: WWWWD)
The Arsenalistas have struggled to replicate their unparalleled 2009/10 season, when they finished just five points shy of becoming only the sixth side to lift the Portuguese title. Braga are currently 34 points behind newly crowned champions Porto after a taxing European adventure, but are holding onto third place. Their real forte is their home form. Of eight UEFA matches at the Estádio Municipal this term, they have won six and drawn one, with only Ukrainian visitors FC Shakhtar Donetsk and FC Dynamo Kyiv avoiding defeat.

Killer stat
Braga have kept clean sheets in seven of those eight European home fixtures – Shakhtar broke the sequence with a 3-0 away win in September.

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Although they endured a disappointing campaign in the UEFA Champions League this season, SL Benfica appear to have learned lessons from the experience as they have stayed unbeaten in the UEFA Europa League since then. Particularly strong at home, the Eagles have also managed to score at least once on their travels since the round of 32 and have proved formidable opponents.

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs' Cup: 1961, 1962; (1963), (1965), (1968), (1988), (1990)
• UEFA Cup: (1983)

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 32 (2010)
• Portuguese Cup: 24 (2004)

Previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League semi-finals
1 (won 1, lost 0)

UEFA club ranking
17 (opponents Braga are 31st)

Leading scorer
Liga: Óscar Cardozo, Javier Saviola 9
Europe: Óscar Cardozo 4 (3 in UEFA Europa League)

Strengths and weaknesses
Benfica's strength lies in attack with the likes of Pablo Aimar, Eduardo Salvio, Nicolás Gaitán and Saviola a constant threat to opponents' defensive lines. Much of their threat stems from their overlapping full-backs: Fábio Coentrão on the left and Maxi Pereira on the right. However, the defence has shipped six goals during this UEFA Europa League run.

Key moment
PSV Eindhoven's hope turned to belief in the quarter-final second leg as Jeremain Lens ran on to an Otman Bakkal through ball and beat Roberto at the second attempt after the ball cannoned back to him off Javi García. The Eredivisie side were just one goal from turning the tie around yet Benfica captain Luisão eased the pressure when he expertly hooked Andreas Isaksson's tipped clearance in off the bar to make it 2-1 just before half-time. That goal settled Benfica, who went on to level the score on the night, and effectively seal the tie, in the second half.

Unsung hero
Argentinian international Salvio was a low-key acquisition last summer – on loan from Club Atlético de Madrid – but the winger has made decisive contributions throughout the UEFA Europa League campaign. He starred in the 2-0 win at VfB Stuttgart, scoring the first goal, and then hit two more in the 4-1 first-leg defeat of PSV. However, Salvio – the only player who can win this competition for a second year running – broke his right foot in the return at PSV and will not face SC Braga.

Form
League position: 2 (Last five games: DWLLW)
Benfica made a miserable start to the season, losing the Portuguese Super Cup to FC Porto and three of their first four Liga matches. When they succumbed 5-0 at Porto on 7 November they seemed to have conceded the title, and a month later their UEFA Champions League challenge ended with a home defeat by FC Schalke 04. Yet the Eagles salvaged a UEFA Europa League berth and then embarked on a Portuguese record run of 18 competitive victories. If that was not enough to deny Porto the championship, Jorge Jesus's men have nonetheless reached the League Cup final, have beaten Porto 2-0 in the first leg of their Portuguese Cup semi-final and are through to the last four of the UEFA Europa League.

Killer stat
Benfica have dominated their 110 Liga meetings with Braga, winning 72 and losing only 11. At home their record is even better, losing just once in the 1954/55 season, winning 43 and drawing 11 of 55 Liga games, and triumphing in all four cup matches against Braga on home soil.

What their opponents say
Leandro Salino, Braga player:
We have two matches ahead of us and a great team to beat. We respect Benfica and I think they respect us as well. We already played them this season and we showed our quality.

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Hailed as the new José Mourinho, whom he assisted at FC Porto, Chelsea FC and FC Internazionale Milano, André Villas-Boas took charge in June aged 32, becoming the youngest coach in the Dragons' history. Not for the first time, Porto chairman Jorge Nuno Pinto da Costa seems to have hit the jackpot. The club have been virtually unstoppable under Villas-Boas, storming to the Portuguese title and the last four of the UEFA Europa League.

Porto's dominance in the Liga is perhaps best portrayed by their 19-point lead over last season's champions SL Benfica and the fact they are still unbeaten with three rounds to play. Having failed to qualify for the UEFA Champions League after finishing third last term, the Dragons have unleashed all their fire power in the UEFA Europa League, even setting a record for the highest winning margin in the quarter-finals.

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• European Champion Clubs' Cup: 1987, 2004
• UEFA Cup Winners' Cup: (1984)
• UEFA Cup: 2003
• UEFA Super Cup: 1987, (2003), (2004)

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• League title: 25 (2011)
• Portuguese Cup: 15 (2010)

Previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League semi-finals
1 (won 1, lost 0)

UEFA club ranking
9 (opponents Villarreal CF are 22nd)

Leading scorer
Liga: Hulk 22
UEFA Europa League: Falcao 11

Strengths and weaknesses
Falcao and Hulk's partnership has produced 57 of the 119 goals scored by Porto in all competitions this term, with Silvestre Varela and Fredy Guarín also contributing to a goal spree that has brought the Dragons 16 in their last four matches. Summer signing João Moutinho has proved a bargain at €11m, while Uruguay full-back Alvaro Pereira is a constant threat upfield with dazzling runs down the left and pinpoint crosses. With 43 wins from 50 competitive games this season, it hard to find any weakness in a Porto team yet to lose away from home, although the defence has recently shown signs of inconsistency, leaking ten goals in seven matches.

Key moment
Guarín's 86th-minute strike that earned Porto a 2-1 win at Sevilla FC in their round of 32 first leg. The goal proved vital in the Dragons' run to the semi-finals, as they lost 1-0 at home a week later in what has been their only defeat in the competition. Sevilla were pushing hard for a winner in front of their fans after Frédéric Kanouté had cancelled out Rolando's opener, yet it was to be Porto's night: Cristian Rodríguez broke free before colliding with goalkeeper Andrés Palop, giving Guarín the simple task of stroking in the loose ball.

Unsung hero
Porto supporters raised their eyebrows when little-known Colombia midfielder Guarín landed at the Dragão from AS Saint-Étienne ahead of the 2008/09 campaign for an undisclosed fee. The 24-year-old, who plays either centrally or on the right, struggled to make an impact, featuring mainly as a substitute over the next two seasons – the highlight being his 2009/10 Portuguese Cup final goal which helped Porto beat GD Chaves 2-1. However, Villas-Boas's appointment changed everything: Guarín has scored five Liga goals and four in the UEFA Europa League this campaign, his devastating shots troubling keepers everywhere. Indeed, his strike in the 1-0 round of 16 win at PFC CSKA Moskva was as impressive as it was decisive, setting Porto on their way to the last eight.

Form
League position: 1 – champions (Last five games: WWWWW)
Denied a fifth straight Portuguese title by Benfica last term, Porto have taken the 2010/11 Liga by storm, with the 2-1 win at their Lisbon rivals on 3 April clinching a 25th domestic crown with five games left. Having established a points record (77 and rising) for a 16-team league, Villas-Boas's men are on course to equal Benfica's achievement of 1972/73, of lasting the league programme undefeated. They have drawn just twice and are on a streak of 15 successive wins. The portent was when they beat Benfica 2-0 in August to claim a 17th Portuguese Super Cup, and their only real setback has come in the League Cup: a home loss to CD Nacional stopping them advancing beyond the group stage. With this excellent form replicated in Europe, Porto aim to repeat the glory achieved in 2003 when they lifted the UEFA Cup under Mourinho.

Killer stat
Porto have won all seven of their UEFA Europa League away matches, including the 3-0 first-leg triumph at KRC Genk in the play-offs. Victories at PFC CSKA Sofia, Beşiktaş JK, SK Rapid Wien, Sevilla, CSKA Moskva and FC Spartak Moskva (5-2 after a 5-1 home success) have set a record number of away wins in a single edition of the UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League since its inception in 1971/72. The Dragons have also surpassed Benfica and Sporting Clube de Portugal's mark for most wins in a European season by a Portuguese club, nine, having managed 12 already.

What their opponents say
Juan Carlos Garrido, Villarreal coach:
These ties are 50-50. They are decided on small details. The first match against Porto will be tough but our team are growing fast and we will fight hard to get to the final.

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Spain have enjoyed the lion's share of Iberian bragging rights recently thanks to the national team's UEFA European Championship and FIFA World Cup victories plus Liga teams lifting 13 continental trophies over the last eleven years.

However, Villarreal CF know that opponents FC Porto boast the greater European prize-winning pedigree and that the last two major semi-finals for the Yellow Submarine have brought heart-breaking disappointment. Villarreal lost 1-0 against local rivals Valencia CF in their 2004 UEFA Cup semi-final and were defeated by the same scoreline in the UEFA Champions League's last four against Arsenal FC two years later.

Nonetheless, Juan Carlos Garrido's side have been playing stunning, attacking football in the UEFA Europa League, eliminating Eredivisie frontrunners Twente and both Serie A and the Bundesliga's second-placed teams.

UEFA club competition honours (runners-up in brackets)
• UEFA Intertoto Cup: 2003, 2004

Domestic honours (most recent triumph in brackets)
• None

Previous UEFA Cup/UEFA Europa League semi-finals
1 (lost 1)

UEFA club ranking
22 (opponents FC Porto are 9th)

Leading scorer
Liga: Giuseppe Rossi 16
UEFA Europa League: Giuseppe Rossi 10

Strengths and weaknesses
Giuseppe Rossi is in the form of his life. Not only has he racked up 31 goals in all competitions this season, the Italian international, 24, has added eight assists and a level of high-tempo industry to his game. He also points out: "Villarreal get praised for nice football and lots of goals but we do the dirty work which makes us hard to beat." In terms of weaknesses, the long-term injury that robbed coach Garrido of the excellent Ángel López at right-back in January, was recently matched by captain Gonzalo's broken leg in the 5-1 defeat of FC Twente. That is a lot of defensive talent on the sidelines.

Key moment
Following a barren first leg in Italy, the Yellow Submarine trailed to SSC Napoli's seemingly crucial away goal at El Madrigal in February's round of 32, and after something of a domestic scoring drought appeared to be struggling. However, two cleverly created efforts in five minutes immediately before half-time, by Nilmar and Rossi, turned the match. From there the Yellow Submarine were plotting their course for the semi-finals.

Unsung hero
Rossi gets the goals, Joan Capdevila won the World Cup and celebrated with an ice bucket on his head, while Santi Cazorla was a UEFA EURO 2008 champion. But Borja Valero is the tackle-winning, assist-making, smoothly oiled machine in midfield. Blessed with natural footballing gifts and trained in the Real Madrid CF academy, Valero learned a more robust style during his time at England's West Bromwich Albion FC, when he beefed up in the club gym. A dynamo.

Form
League position: 4 (Last five games: DWLLW)
After beating Twente, striker Nilmar said Villarreal's achievement in staying top of what he called Spain's "second league" – namely, all bar Real Madrid CF and FC Barcelona – was significant. And until the recent 5-0 loss to Valencia, it seemed that coping with two games a week, including the challenge of tough European trips, was having no ill effects. Now, though, Villarreal's other goal for the campaign is to ensure they are not pipped to fourth place by a resurgent Athletic Club and denied a UEFA Champions League play-off berth.

Killer stat
It was a mere five years ago but of the Villarreal team that lost the 2006 UEFA Champions League semi-final to Arsenal – when Juan Román Riquelme missed a late penalty – only Marcos Senna remains at the club. His presence looks in doubt too after an injury-ravaged season.

What their opponents say
Cristian Rodríguez, Porto player:
It's going to be a very hard match, but I think it will be a very good tie for the fans as both sides like to play good football.