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Hearts will want to put their opening-weekend Scottish Premiership defeat behind them when they face Benfica at the Estadio da Luz in the first leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier on Thursday night.
Indeed, the visitors lost 2-1 on their travels to Aberdeen, which was not the start they would have hoped for having narrowly missed out on the title last season.
Meanwhile, Benfica are yet to start their new Liga Portugal campaign, after finishing third last term despite going the whole of it unbeaten.
Read our prediction, preview and betting tips for the game below, and make sure to check out our today's betting tips page for more of our expert predictions.
Benfica vs. Hearts key stats
- Benfica have won three of their five games in all competitions this season (L2).
- Hearts have lost three of their last four matches across all competitions (W1).
- Benfica are on a three-game winning run on home soil.
Benfica vs. Hearts preview: Portuguese giants to pick up win?
Benfica vs Hearts — Tale of the Tape
| Benfica | vs | Hearts |
|---|---|---|
| 3rd (Liga Portugal) | Position | 9th (Scottish Premiership) |
| 80 | Points | 0 |
| 74 | Goals For | 1 |
| 25 | Goals Against | 2 |
| 14 | Clean Sheets | 0 |
| 3rd | Home / Away Rank | 11th |
After getting a call to return to Real Madrid, Jose Mourinho left Benfica this summer.
Former Fulham manager Marco Silva has replaced him, and he has had mixed results so far after losing 2-1 away to St. Gallen in the first leg of their second-round qualifier, only to thrash them 5-0 in the second leg on home soil.
The Eagles have also been involved in friendlies in preparation for the new domestic season, and have won their last two after losing 2-1 to Flamengo in their opener.
Benfica have no fresh injury concerns ahead of this clash, with Vangelis Pavlidis, who scored four goals in the 5-0 thrashing of St. Gallen, expected to lead the line again.
Hearts got a sign of what it may be like without former manager Derek McInnes, ex-captain Lawrence Shankland and key player Cammy Devlin, all of who have joined Rangers.
Indeed, new boss Wouter Vrancken had to watch his side concede a stoppage-time winner to Aberdeen in their opening Scottish Premiership match.
Hearts were also knocked out of the Champions League 6-0 by Sturm Graz, piling more misery on the Jambos after what would have been a memorable Scottish Premiership title was taken away from them on the final day of last season by Celtic.
Christian Borchgrevink, Stephen Kingsley, Craig Halkett and Ageu are all missing through injury, so it will be a tough task to get any kind of positive result in Portugal.
Benfica vs. Hearts form guide & betting tips
| Benfica | vs | Hearts |
|---|---|---|
LWLWW |
Form | WLWLL |
| 14 | Goals For | 4 |
| 5 | Goals Against | 9 |
LW |
Europa League | N/A |
Whispers predicts: Benfica 3-0 Hearts
Benfica are clear 2/15 (1.13) favourites to win, but while we side with the bookies, we want to explore some more ambitious bets.
Benfica to win (-2 handicap) at 19/20 (1.95) immediately offers more value, and could come through as they have had a 5-0 win in Europe already, while Hearts have had a 4-0 defeat.
BTTS – No at 8/11 (1.73) also offers better value, with Hearts losing both previous European matches without scoring.
Overall, we are predicting a Correct score – 3-0 at 6/1 (7.00), which should reflect the gulf in quality between the two teams.
> BTTS – No at 8/11 (1.73) | Likelihood: Probable
> Benfica to win (-2 handicap) at 19/20 (1.95) | Likelihood: Probable
> Correct score – 3-0 at 6/1 (7.00) | Likelihood: Outsider