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

Struggling Hearts will see their Europa League journey come to an end unless they can produce one of the biggest turnarounds in European football when they welcome Benfica to Tynecastle Park on Thursday night.

The two sides met in the Portuguese capital last week, where the Jambos were thrashed 6-1 as the hosts produced a dominant display featuring six goals from six different scorers.

Match preview

Following a devastating final day of the Scottish Premiership season in May, Hearts have struggled to recover from the disappointment of seeing their title hopes disappear in a 3-1 defeat away to Martin O'Neill's eventual champions Celtic.

The Jambos came agonisingly close to becoming the first team outside of Celtic and Rangers to win the Scottish title since Aberdeen in 1985, but ultimately fell short by the barest of all margins before enduring a difficult summer.

Manager Derek McInnes, who had guided them so close to a historic triumph, departed for Rangers, while captain Lawrence Shankland and key midfielder Cammy Devlin also left the Scottish capital to join in in the blue half of Glasgow, leaving Hearts with a significant rebuilding job.

Wouter Vrancken was brought in from Belgian side Sint-Truiden to oversee that process, with Hearts entering the season in the Champions League qualifying rounds and hoping to go one better in the Scottish Premiership.

However, the Belgian has endured a difficult start to life in Scotland, with just one victory from his opening five matches.

Four defeats from their opening five matches saw Hearts lose their place in Champions League qualifying to Sturm Graz before suffering a losing start to their league campaign, surrendering a 1-0 lead in a 2-1 defeat to Aberdeen.

They then travelled to Portugal on the back of three successive losses, where a 6-1 thrashing has the potential to leave psychological scars.

Despite conceding 14 times since Vrancken's arrival, the Jambos finally secured their first win of the season at the weekend, comfortably beating Dundee United 4-0 at home, with a goal inside the opening four minutes removing any fears of a European hangover.

As for Benfica, they travel to Edinburgh with more than one foot in the Europa League league phase, knowing that only a remarkable collapse will prevent them from progressing.

Like their opponents, the Eagles were searching for a new manager during the summer after Jose Mourinho was appointed as the new Real Madrid boss, leaving Benfica after having gone unbeaten in the league last season in a third-placed finish.

The Portuguese giants turned to former Everton and Fulham boss Marco Silva, who returned to his homeland after almost a decade working in England.

Silva's reign got off to a shaky start when Benfica suffered a surprise 2-1 defeat away to St Gallen, but the Eagles quickly put that behind them by thrashing the Swiss side 5-0 in the return leg before dismantling Hearts 6-1 in Lisbon last week, meaning the Portuguese giants have scored 12 goals across their three European outings this season.

While they have been at their clinical best in Europe, Benfica failed to get off to a winning start domestically, being held to a 2-2 draw by Academico Viseu on the opening day of the season.

Hearts Europa League form:

Hearts form (all competitions):

Benfica Europa League form:

Benfica form (all competitions):

Team News

Having claimed a much-needed victory over Dundee United at the weekend, Vrancken will be hoping to build some momentum at Tynecastle, although the size of Benfica's first-leg advantage could allow him to rotate his squad.

With a number of important Scottish Premiership fixtures to come, the Belgian may opt to protect some of his key players with the European tie effectively beyond Hearts' reach.

Claudio Braga, who scored his first goal of the season against Dundee, could therefore be given a rest, despite the end of the transfer window approaching and continued speculation surrounding his future.

The Jambos will, however, be unable to call upon Stephen Kingsley, Craig Helkkett, Malachi Fagan-Walcott and Ageu.

Benfica could also make changes, although Silva has the luxury of rotating his squad with such a commanding advantage.

Clinical striker Vangelis Pavlidis has already scored six goals this season and could be given a breather, with Jhon Duran among the candidates to lead the line.

Duran came off the bench to score in the first leg and could now be rewarded with his first start for the club following his loan move from Al-Nassr.

Former Tottenham and Barcelona defender Clement Lenglet is expected to retain his place in the back four alongside vice-captain Tomas Araujo, with both centre-backs already having found the net this season.

Hearts possible starting lineup:

Reus; Altena, McEntee, Findlay, Milne; Miller, Mendy, Spittal, Kerjota; Sabri Guendouz, Kabore

Benfica possible starting lineup:

Soares; Bah, Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Barreiro, Barrenechea; Prestianni, Schjelderup, Lukebakio; Duran

We say: Hearts 1-3 Benfica (9-2 aggregate)

Benfica's five-goal advantage leaves Hearts with an almost impossible task, and the visitors can afford to approach Thursday's contest without taking unnecessary risks.

The hosts showed at the weekend that they can still produce an attacking threat at Tynecastle, but Silva's side have demonstrated considerably greater quality in front of goal throughout their European campaign.

We expect Benfica to have too much for the Jambos once again and secure a comfortable victory to cruise into the Europa League league phase.

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