Hearts x Benfica: second leg of Europa League in Edinburgh

On Thursday the 13th, Benfica faces Hearts at Tynecastle Park in Edinburgh for the second leg of the third preliminary round of the Europa League. After the 6‑1 thrashing in the first match, the Portuguese side arrives with a five‑goal advantage, while the Scottish club needs to win by five to stay in the competition.

Match time and broadcast

The match kicks off at 15:45 Brasília time (19:45 mainland Portugal time). In Brazil, the game will be broadcast live on Canal GOL Brasil, with a simultaneous stream on YouTube. In Portugal, it will be shown on Sport TV 5.

Match situation

With the 6‑1 win in the first leg, Benfica holds a five‑goal advantage; Hearts must win by five to progress. Hearts reached this match after beating Dundee United 4‑0 in the Scottish Championship, but the European mission is virtually impossible. Benfica, despite arriving with the tie already in hand, seeks greater consistency after a 2‑2 draw with Académico de Viseu in the opening round of the Portuguese league.

Probable line‑ups

• Hearts: Beau Reus; Christian Dahle Borchgrevink, Stuart Findlay, Oisin McEntee, Harry Milne; Mendy, Blair Spittal; Sabah Kerjota, Dhanda, Josh McPake; Cláudio Braga. Coach: Wouter Vrancken.
• Benfica: Samuel Soares; Alex Bah, Tomás Araújo, Clément Lenglet, Samuel Dahl; Enzo Barrenechea, Leandro Barreiro; Gianluca Prestianni, Giorgi Sudakov, Rafa Silva; Vangelis Pavlidis. Coach: Marco Silva.

Refereeing

UEFA appointed Dutch referee Sander van der Eijk, with assistants Rens Bluemink and Stefan de Groot. The fourth official was Alex Bos and the VAR was handled by Erwin Blank.

Challenges and coaches' comments

Marco Silva highlighted: “Matches are always different. There are no identical games. After that good performance, if we played the next day, even if it were at the Luz stadium, it would be different. Tomorrow will be different. We want and aspire to finish with the same result. We have a result that gives confidence, but we cannot be complacent.”

Wouter Vrancken commented: “We cannot dismiss Benfica’s quality, who did not lose in the Primeira Liga last season and finished third. They are an enjoyable team to watch and possess great quality. We must be ready to give everything and extend the feeling we had on Sunday. We need experience, something that is only gained by competing at this level, and we must be physically prepared. We have an excellent opportunity to learn a lot.”

With information from VEJA, Terra, Observador.