Preview: Benfica vs Celtic - prediction, team news, lineups

Benfica and Celtic will meet at Estadio da Luz on Thursday night for a matchday two clash in the league phase of the Europa League.

The two teams have had contrasting starts, with the hosts securing all three points on matchday one, while the visitors suffered a disappointing defeat in their opening game.

Match preview

Benfica appointed Marco Silva as their manager following the departure of Jose Mourinho to Real Madrid in the summer, and the new manager has enjoyed a superb start to life at Estadio da Luz.

The former Fulham boss actually started his tenure with a worrying 2-1 defeat to St Gallen in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie.

However, a commanding 5-0 second-leg triumph ensured their progression, and that win sparked the beginning of a stunning run of results, including booking their place in the league phase of the Europa League with wins over Hearts and AGF in the qualifying rounds.

Those victories were part of an impressive 12-game unbeaten run, which also included Benfica opening their Europa League campaign with a superb 2-0 away triumph against AC Milan.

Benfica's 12-game unbeaten run did come to an eventual end against Porto in the final game before the international break, losing 3-1, but they quickly bounced back with a 2-0 win against Vitoria on Sunday.

Benfica, who consequently sit second in Liga Portugal and seventh in the Europa League, have been at their best at Estadio da Luz this term, winning six and drawing one of their seven home fixtures.

Silva will be eager to maintain that unbeaten home record and build on their win against AC Milan when they take on Celtic on matchday two on Thursday.

Celtic, in comparison, have had a mixed start to the 2026-27 season, featuring several extremely disappointing results that have left the pressure building on Martin O'Neill's position at the helm.

After winning their opening four games of the season, Celtic suffered a catastrophic elimination from the Champions League qualifiers against LASK Linz, squandering a 4-0 lead as they lost 5-1 in the second leg.

Although four Scottish Premiership triumphs followed, Celtic eventually suffered their first domestic defeat of the campaign on September 13, losing 3-0 to rivals Rangers in the League Cup.

That loss marked the start of a miserable three-game losing streak, featuring a 3-1 home defeat to Ferencvaros in the Europa League and a 1-0 home defeat to Rangers in the Scottish Premiership.

O'Neill did manage to buy himself time with a 2-0 win against Motherwell on Sunday, which ensures Celtic remain at the top of the standings, but another lacklustre performance and result on Thursday could see the scrutiny continue to build.

Celtic will draw confidence from their record away from home in the Europa League last season, winning two, drawing two and losing only one of their five fixtures on the road.

However, the Bhoys have already shown signs of weakness on their travels this season, including the 5-1 defeat to LASK in Austria and the 3-0 loss to Rangers at Ibrox.

Benfica Europa League form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Celtic Europa League form:

Celtic form (all competitions):

Team News

Enzo Barrenechea will remain unavailable for Benfica until November due to a knee injury, while Jakub Kaminski is a doubt to feature with a muscle issue.

Vangelis Pavlidis has enjoyed a stunning start to the season with 14 goals in 14 games, and the striker will lead the line ahead of an expected trio of Dodi Lukebakio, Gianluca Prestianni and Andreas Schjelderup.

As for Celtic, Cameron Carter-Vickers, Alistair Johnston and Yang Hyun-Jun are unavailable, while Callum Osmand is a doubt with an ankle injury.

The back four of Kieran Tierney, Liam Scales, Dane Murray and Colby Donovan could remain unchanged from the win against Motherwell, while the attack of Kasper Hogh, Sebastian Tounekti, Benjamin Nygren and Camilo Duran could start again.

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Trubin; Bah, Circati, Araujo, El Karouani; Palhinha, Aursnes; Lukebakio, Prestianni, Schjelderup; Pavlidis

Celtic possible starting lineup:

Sinisalo; Donovan, Murray, Scales, Tierney; McGregor, Baur; Duran, Nygren, Tounekti; Hogh

We say: Benfica 2-0 Celtic

Celtic have struggled away from home in testing matches this season, and with Benfica's ongoing unbeaten run at their home ground, the hosts should claim a comfortable win.

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