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

A two-goal advantage puts Benfica in a comfortable position to seal progression to the Europa League main stage as they travel to take on Aarhus at Randers Stadium for the second leg of their playoff tie.

Marco Silva’s men secured a 3-1 win in last Thursday’s first leg at Estadio da Luz, leaving AGF with a huge task to overturn that deficit at their nominal home ground.

Match preview

Although Benfica have been ruthless in recent weeks, especially at where they had beaten St. Gallen and Hearts by a combined 11-1 aggregate score in the previous rounds, last week’s victory over Aarhus still leaves them with a comfortable cushion to seal progression.

Manager Silva would have been particularly impressed by his side’s fast start to the encounter, with Rafa Silva opening the scoring inside two minutes before Leandro Barreiro doubled their advantage in the 31st minute. 

Vangelis Pavlidis then restored Benfica’s two-goal lead from the penalty spot just before half-time after Sebastian Jorgensen had pulled one back for the Danes, with the scoreline remaining unchanged after the interval.

The result extended the Eagles’ unbeaten run to seven games (W5, D2) since a 2-1 defeat at St. Gallen in the first leg of their Europa League second qualifying round tie, which also marked Silva’s first competitive game in charge after replacing Jose Mourinho this summer.

Prior to last week’s victory over Aarhus, Benfica had dispatched Casa Pia 7-0 on matchday two of the Primeira Liga campaign, although their scheduled round-three trip to Moreirense was postponed due to fixture congestion caused by their European commitments.

That leaves the Eagles fresh for Thursday’s second-leg trip to Denmark as they look to secure passage to the main stage of a European competition for a 17th consecutive season, having exited last term’s Champions League knockout playoffs at the hands of Real Madrid.

© Iconsport / MIchael Barrett Boesen / Alamy

Aarhus, on the other hand, are at risk of slipping further down the tier of European club competition, having dropped into the playoffs of the Europa League following a 5-2 aggregate defeat to Sabah in the Champions League third qualifying round.

Even a Conference League consolation place would represent a significant achievement, though, for a side that have not featured on a continental main stage since their second-round run in the 1997-98 UEFA Cup campaign.

However, Jakob Poulsen's side would fancy their chances of a dramatic comeback on Thursday despite being without a win in their last four outings across all competitions (D1, L3), including a 2-2 draw against Odense at the weekend. 

That result leaves AGF 10th in the Danish Superliga and extends a difficult start to their title defence following last season's triumph, which saw the Jutland club end a 40-year wait for the domestic title.

Aside from their recent form, Aarhus also have history to contend with, as last week's first-leg loss was their fourth defeat in their previous five meetings with Benfica, having also been eliminated by the Eagles in the European Champions Cup in 1960-61 (quarter-finals) and 1987-88 (round of 16).

Aarhus Europa League form:

Aarhus form (all competitions):

Benfica Europa League form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Team News

© Imago

Benfica welcomed the return of captain Fredrik Aursnes, who featured in a short cameo in what was his first appearance of the season and should get more minutes here, even if he is not named in the starting lineup.

Pavlidis’s strike last week marked his 10th goal in his last five appearances for the Eagles, and he will look to continue that form here as he leads the line.

Silva is also in great form, having now scored in four of his six starts for Benfica across all competitions this season, and could once again operate on the right wing.

Meanwhile, James Bogere has found the net three times in the last two games Aarhus have hosted and will be looking to continue that trend on Thursday as he leads the line.

Jorgensen has also either scored or provided an assist in each of his last two games, including his consolation goal in last week’s first leg in Lisbon, and will aim to cause problems for the visitors from the flank.

In terms of injuries, Aarhus have several absentees, including Frederik Tingager (foot), Nicolai Poulsen (Achilles tendon) and Kevin Yakob (knee).

Aarhus possible starting lineup:

Hedenstad; Rosler, Camara, Kahl; Andersen, Knudsen, Arnstad, Emmery; Jorgensen, Bech; Bogere

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Soares; Bah, Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Barreiro, Barrenechea; Silva, Sudakov, Prestianni; Pavlidis

We say: Aarhus 1-2 Benfica (Benfica 5-2 aggregate win)

Aarhus are expected to push Benfica as they look to overturn their first-leg deficit, but the gap in quality should prove decisive.

We expect the visitors to secure a hard-fought victory, although the hosts should still pose a threat going forward.

For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.