Why is Arsenal vs Benfica in Greece and do away goals still count at neutral venues?

ARSENAL are taking on Benfica in their Europa League Last 32 second leg tonight.

But, like their first leg in Rome which ended 1-1, the second leg will ALSO be taking place in a neutral venue – this time the Georgios Karaiskakis  stadium in Athens.

Why is Arsenal vs Benfica being played in Athens?

Arsenal vs Benfica is not being played at the Emirates Stadium.

Instead it is being played at the Georgios Karaiskakis Stadium in Athens, meaning the Gunners will be playing a "home" match in Greece.

UK authorities placed Portugal on the red list due to the Brazilian coronavirus variant in January.

This meant the home tie last week could not take place in Benfica's home stadium, nor Benfica able to travel to the UK for the second leg so neutral venues have been found for both.

Do away goals count?

Despite ties taking place at neutral venues, UEFA have confirmed that away goals will still count as double if the tie is level.

The tie is 1-1 from the first leg in Rome.

What time does Arsenal vs Benfica kick-off?

  • Kick-off is at 5.55pm GMT today.
  • The game will take place at the Stadio Georgios Karaiskakis in Greece, rather than in London at the Emirates because of coronavirus restrictions.

What channel is it on and can it be live streamed?

  • The game will be shown live on BT Sport 1.
  • You can stream the action from the BT Sport app, which can be downloaded onto your mobile or tablet device.

Can I watch for FREE?

  • EE customers can get BT Sport INCLUDED to their plan at no extra cost if they are on a plan with Smart Benefits – simply log in to EE and choose BT Sport app.
  • And then get it on the big screen by texting SPORT to 150 to get a FREE three-month trial of Large Screen so you can cast all the action on your TV.
  • At the end of the three months you will automatically roll onto the £5 per month BT Sport Large Screen subscription unless cancelled.

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