Aarhus went out of the Champions League qualifiers and couldn’t have asked for a tougher draw here. Benfica have scored 13 goals in their previous three home games, another high scoring expected in Lisbon.
HTH - Benfica Unbeaten
Benfica have a 3-0 advantage against Aarhus alongside one draw. The last meeting came in 1987.
Eagles Scoring Freely
Benfica got past St. Gallen in the Europa League second round qualifiers. They lost 2-1 in Switzerland before a 5-0 victory in Lisbon where Vangelis Pavlidis scored four goals.
Marco Silva’s side had no problems against Hearts after a 6-1 home win in the first leg. They drew 1-1 in Edinburgh where they couldn’t capitalise on 20-5 shots.
The Eagles began the new Liga Portugal campaign with a disappointing 2-2 draw against Academico Viseu. They bounced back by thrashing Casa Pia 7-0 in Rio Maior where Pavlidis hit a hat-trick in seven minutes.
Bad Draw for Danes
Aarhus looked down and out in the Champions League qualifiers, losing 4-1 against Lech Poznan in the second round first leg. They went to Poland and won 4-1 before winning the penalty shootout.
The Danish club registered a fortunate 2-1 win against Sabah Baku in the third round. They went to Azerbaijan where they were thrashed 4-0, giving up 29 shots.
Jakob Poulsen’s side have had a poor start in the Superliga, starting with draw against Brondby and Lyngby. Aarhus lost 2-1 at Viborg on Friday despite having 66% possession, 22-12 shots and 1.92-1.02 xG.
Team News
Amar Dedic has moved to Newcastle which leaves Benfica with a gap at right-back. Young Australian centre-back Alessandro Circati arrived from Parma for €18 million.
Fredrik Aursnes has trained this week and is in the squad. Marco Silva commented on the Norwegian: "He's been getting in better shape. He felt some muscle discomfort and we decided to integrate him gradually."
"He didn't have pre-season training, but he's been integrated in the last week, and that's the most important thing. He's always been with us and he's an intelligent player, he understands things even without being on the pitch.
"He's in the squad for tomorrow. He's been very important to Benfica in recent years and this time will be no different. He has a versatility that allows us to change things in the game without changing the player."
Jaden Umeh is recovering from surgery and Joshua Wynder remains out.
Aarhus are missing injured centre-backs Jonas Jensen-Abbew and Frederik Tingager. Midfielders Kevin Yakob, Nicolai Poulsen and Oskar Haugstrup are out.
Winger Tómas Kristjánsson is out until October due to a broken hand and striker Richmond Gyamfi is on the treatment table.