Hearts are paying the price for their success last season, losing all three games with eight goals conceded. The last thing they need right now is a trip to Benfica who can build on their 5-0 home win last week.
HTH - One Way Traffic
Benfica have a perfect 3-0 record against Hearts. They met in the 1960/61 European Cup first round.
José Águas and José Augusto scored in both legs as Benfica won 2-1 in Edinburgh and 3-0 in Lisbon.
Hearts Back to Winning Ways
Hearts had an awful start to the season, thrashed 6-0 on aggregate by Sturm Graz in the Champions League qualifiers.
The Edinburgh club were on track to win at Aberdeen in their opening Premiership clash, conceding two late goals to go down 2-1.
Wouter Vrancken’s side dropped into the Europa League qualifiers where they suffered a heavy 6-1 defeat at Benfica. They had just 33% possession in Lisbon where they ended with 1.20-3.65 xG.
Hearts got their first win of the campaign against Dundee United on Sunday. Claudio Braga was back to his best, registering a goal and two assists in a 4-0 victory.
Vrancken commented after the win: "Really great. Also happy for the players because they worked hard for this. They didn't get what they deserved in the last few games.
"But they kept going. They stand up every time. You saw today the confidence growing during the game and I'm happy to see that they tried to play in that mentality. The team spirit stayed and they tried to keep the clean sheet."
Benfica Suffer Setback in the Liga
Benfica began the new campaign with a 2-1 defeat at St. Gallen in the Europa League qualifiers. They won 5-0 in the return leg, Vangelis Pavlidis scoring four goals.
The Eagles maintained the momentum against Hearts last week, six different scorers finding the net in a 6-1 victory.
Marco Silva’s side were pegged back twice by Academico Viseu in their opening Liga Portugal match on Sunday. Gianluca Prestianni assisted Pavlidis and scored a fine solo goal, but it wasn’t enough against the promoted side.
Silva admitted the result was an early setback: "There was a very high attacking flow, we were dominant, we scored an early goal which could have given us more peace of mind to look for a second and try to kill the game, but we didn't."
"We reacted well to the equalizer because we scored the 2-1 right away, but then we conceded again. It's a very bad result for us, there's no hiding that, and now it's time to prepare for the next game on Thursday and then the league game."
Predicted Lineups & Team News
Hearts (4-2-3-1) Beau Reus; Jordi Altena, Stuart Findlay, Oisin McEntee, Calvin Miller; Tom Renaud, Blair Spittal; Sabah Kerjota, Claudio Braga, Josh McPake; Amadou Ba-Sy
Vrancken will be unlikely to make many changes to his starting side here. Stuart Findlay is available after suspension and could replace Jamie McCart.
Centre-back Craig Halkett is out until December due to an achilles injury.
Benfica (4-2-3-1) Samuel Soares; Amar Dedić, Tomás Araújo, Manu Silva, José Neto; Miguel Figueiredo, Richard Ríos; Dodi Lukebakio, Andreas Schjelderup, Jakub Kaminski; Jhon Durán
Silva will surely make changes here with youngsters José Neto and Miguel Figueiredo in line to start. Jhon Durán should get a chance up front ahead of Vangelis Pavlidis.
Bruma and Fredrik Aursnes remain doubtful.
How to Watch Hearts vs Benfica Live
- Event: UEFA Europa League qualifiers
- Round: Third Round Second Leg
- Date: Thursday, 13 August 2026
The Hearts vs Benfica match in the 2025/26 UEFA Europa League qualifiers is available to stream live for registered users on Stake.
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Steps to Stream the Match Live:
- Create an Account: Visit Stake.com via our official link to open an account.
- Fund Your Account: Make a minimum deposit using your preferred payment method.
- Locate the Match: Go to the Football tab under Live Events and select Hearts vs Benfica.
- Start Streaming: Click the Live Stream icon on the match screen to open the video feed.*
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