Benfica face Chelsea after being held to a frustrating 0-0 draw at Olhanense which left them in second place in Portugal, one point behind leaders Porto.
"I haven't changed my opinion, I am still happy to face Chelsea. All teams are strong, some more than others. Chelsea is performing a nice recovery, has a good team, but I still maintain my opinion," coach Jesus said.
"I prefer to play against English teams, it is true that maybe we adapt ourselves better to the English."
The Eagles played a major role in knocking Manchester United out of the tournament in the group phase, drawing twice against the Premier League champions.
Coach Jorge Jesus left Pablo Aimar on the bench at the weekend and when he brought him on the Argentine got himself sent off.
At least the 32-year-old playmaker will be rested and looking to make amends on Tuesday when the hosts will rely on him to orchestrate their attacks and create chances for goal machines Oscar Cardozo and Rodrigo.
Cardozo is Benfica's top scorer in the Champions League and championship.
At the back Brazil centre-back Luisao will likely form a partnership with compatriot Jardel in the absence of Ezequiel Garay who is doubtful.
STALLED REVIVAL
Chelsea's revival under interim coach Roberto Di Matteo has stalled in the last week with a 2-1 defeat at Manchester City on Wednesday and an uninspiring performance when they were second best in Saturday's goalless draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
Di Matteo said after Saturday's match that Chelsea would now probably have to win all of their eight remaining league matches to finish in the top four, but that looks as unlikely as their other possible route back into next season's Champions League - winning it this season.
If they should get past Benfica they will face either Barcelona or AC Milan in the semi-final with one from Real Madrid, Bayern Munich or Olympique Marseille lurking in the final.
Chelsea head to Lisbon with Di Matteo claiming the English FA and Premier League could be harming Chelsea's Champions League chances by making them play three days before European games.
Chelsea are facing seven matches in 20 days and, asked if Premier League teams should be allowed to play on Friday nights before European games, Di Matteo said: "Absolutely, yes. Because the other federations, they do tend to help their teams to be able to perform as good as possible in Europe. It just doesn't seem to be happening in England.
"The fixture list has to take into consideration the fact that teams are maybe qualifying in the FA Cup, going through, and in the Champions League, going through, and try to give them an equal possibility to win games.
"Because there is no doubt in my mind that, on Wednesday, City had a slight advantage because they didn't play on Sunday."
Di Matteo also said Chelsea were in danger of becoming "victims" in Europe, with their FA Cup semi-final having been scheduled two or three days before a possible Champions Leagu
