Championship outfit Reading will lock horns with Portuguese giants Benfica in a behind-closed-doors friendly on Saturday.
The two teams, who will be meeting each other for the very first time, will play at St George's Park, the home of England's national football teams.
Match preview
© Reuters
After successfully steering Reading clear of the Championship relegation zone last season, Paul Ince has since been appointed as the club's permanent head coach.
The 54-year-old took charge at the Madejski Stadium on an interim basis in February and eventually guided the Royals to a 21st-placed finish, four points clear of the bottom three.
Ince now has the chance to rebuild his Reading side ahead of the new campaign, although supporters have been left frustrated by the club's lack of activity in the transfer market, albeit while they remain under an embargo which restricts them to recruiting only loan players and free transfers.
The likes of John Swift, Josh Laurent, Michael Morrison, Alen Halilovic and Andy Rinomhota are among a number of first-team players to have left the club, while Paul Ince's son Tom Ince as well as Dean Bouzanis and Joe Lumley have all joined the Royals, with the latter arriving on loan from Middlesbrough.
Reading, who have been training at St George's Park for the last week, will face Maidenhead United, West Ham United, AFC Wimbledon and Brighton & Hove Albion in pre-season friendlies after Saturday's game with Benfica.
© Reuters
For a third successive season, Benfica were unable to get their hands on the Primeira Liga title and could only finish third in the 2021-22 campaign, 11 points behind Sporting Lisbon in second and 17 points behind champions Porto.
The Eagles also lost to Sporting in the Taca da Liga final and were eliminated in the Champions League quarter-finals by runners-up Liverpool.
Interim boss Nelson Verissimo has now left the club following a five-month spell in charge, and has been replaced by German coach Roger Schmidt, who spent the last two years with Dutch outfit PSV Eindhoven where he won the KNVB Cup last season.
Benfica have been busy in the summer transfer window, with the most notable departure being star striker Darwin Nunez, who has joined Liverpool for a fee which could rise to around £85m.
Everton Soares, Jota, Gedson Fernandes, Pedro Pereira and Mile Svilar have also left the club permanently, while Schmidt has bolstered his squad with the arrivals of David Neres, Enzo Fernandez, Alexander Bah, Petar Musa and Mihailo Ristic for a combined fee just short of £35m.
Reading are not the only English club who Benfica will face in pre-season as they are also scheduled to come up against Premier League duo Fulham and Newcastle United before their opening top-flight fixture against Arouca on August 7.
- W
Team News
© Reuters
Reading's first pre-season friendly of the summer saw them beat Colchester United 2-0 on Saturday in a game which saw four trialists used by Ince.
It is difficult to predict how the Royals will line up this weekend, but the likes of Lumley, Ovie Ejaria and Lucas Joao – who were all involved against Colchester – could feature again against Benfica.
The Portuguese giants, meanwhile, are yet to kick a ball in pre-season and are set to travel to England on Friday before training at St George's Park on the same day.
The likes of Nicolas Otamendi, Jan Vertonghen and Adel Taarabt, who have all spent time with English clubs earlier in their careers, could be involved, although striker Roman Yaremchuk is unlikely to feature due to an ankle injury.
We say: Reading 0-2 Benfica
While Benfica will be regarded as the strong favourites to come out on top, Ince will be hoping that his Reading side can be competitive on Saturday and build on their opening pre-season win last weekend.
It remains to be seen how both teams will line up, but we believe that the visitors will have enough quality in their side to secure a routine win at St George's Park.
For data analysis of the most likely results, scorelines and more for this match please click here.
Oliver Thomas
