Maresca respects Benfica as a big club in Europe, citing their recent win over Bayern Munich as evidence of their strength. He expects a closely contested match, where the margin between the two teams will be minimal.

"It's going to be a balanced game," Maresca said. "In this tournament, at this stage, and under these conditions, it's difficult to see a big difference between teams."

He emphasized the importance of small details in deciding the outcome of the game, saying that "the small details are very important" in a closely contested match like this.

Maresca is confident that he knows how Benfica play, but he also acknowledges that anything can happen in a knockout game. He emphasized that the team that makes the most mistakes will be the one that goes home.

"The most important thing is the way we prepare ourselves," Maresca said. "It's very complicated at this moment to see games where the difference between the two teams is big. They are more or less very close, and it's a game where the details are going to make the difference."