Hearts vs Benfica Prediction and Betting Tips

Hearts welcome Benfica to Tynecastle Park on Thursday for the second leg of their UEFA Europa League third-round qualifying tie. The Portuguese giants hold a commanding advantage after last week’s first-leg clash, leaving the hosts with a monumental and frankly nigh-impossible task to overturn the deficit.

Hearts enjoyed a fairytale campaign last season, taking the Scottish Premiership title race down to the wire before a 3-1 away defeat to Celtic on the final matchday saw them finish second.

Their start to the new campaign has, however, been far from smooth. Beginning their hunt for European football in the Champions League qualifiers, Hearts were dumped out at the first hurdle, losing 6-0 on aggregate to Sturm Graz.

Drawn against Benfica in the Europa League, the Jambos admittedly faced a tough task in their first-leg clash in Portugal, but their performance still left much to be desired as they slumped to a 6-1 defeat at the Estadio da Luz.

Six different players got on the scoresheet for As Águias in their first-leg rout, putting Marco Silva’s men within touching distance of the playoff round, where they will take on either AGF or Sabah.

The result came on the back of Benfica’s 6-2 aggregate victory over St. Gallen in the previous round but was followed by a disappointing 2-2 draw in their Primeira Liga opener against newly promoted Académico de Viseu.

The visitors will arrive in Scotland this week keen to set the record straight.

Hearts vs Benfica Head-to-Head and Key Numbers

These two teams have met three times before Thursday’s clash, with Benfica winning all three encounters by an aggregate scoreline of 11-2.
Benfica have had 15 encounters against Scottish opposition in European competitions, winning eight times, drawing four and losing the remaining three.
Hearts last featured in the main stages of the Europa League during the 2004-05 campaign.
Benfica, meanwhile, last played in the UEL group stages during the 2020-21 season.