Heart of Midlothian and Benfica will reconvene for the second leg of their Europa League third-round qualifier at Tynecastle on Thursday night.
This tie is all but over following last week’s first leg in Lisbon, with Benfica dishing out a 6-1 hammering to Hearts.
As such, the hosts looks set to be gearing up for a Europa Conference League qualifier, which is most likely going to be against Rapid Vienna.
Wouter Vrancken’s side bounced back from last week’s bruising setback by dismantling Dundee United 4-0 in the Scottish Premiership on Sunday.
As for Benfica, they already have one foot in the playoff round, where they will face either Sabah or Aarhus.
Despite last week’s commanding victory, Marco Silva’s men stumbled in their opening Primeira Liga game of the season when drawing 2-2 with Academico Viseu
How the bookies view it: Benfica big favourites
With such a comfortable lead to defend, Benfica don’t need to win this match, but the bookies believe they will do so with relative comfort, with an away success trading at 4/9 on bet365.
As for Hearts, they are 21/4 outsiders on bet365, while the draw is priced up at 16/5 with the same firm.
Head to head: Benfica seeking four on the bounce
Last week’s first leg in Lisbon saw Benfica and Hearts renew acquaintances for the first time in more than six decades.The two sides had previously met twice, with Benfica coming out on top on both occasions back in the early 1960s.
The Eagles made it three wins from three against Hearts with a stunning 6-1 victory at the Estadio da Luz last week.
Players to watch: Duran on song
Jhon Duran came off the bench to score one of Benfica’s six goals against Hearts in last week’s first leg. The Colombian attacker will be looking to make another impact when the two sides reconvene at Tynecastle, and he catches the eye as an anytime goalscorer at 10/11 on bet365. The Benfica ace also looks good value to open the scoring at 4/1 with the bookmaker
Calvin Miller has made a quietly impressive start to his Hearts career and could be worth a look at 9/2 in the anytime goalscorer market after finding the back of the net against Dundee United last time out.
Predicted line-ups
Hearts will again be unable to call upon the services of the injured trio of Ageu, Craig Halkett and Stephen Kingsley.
Benfica boss Silva is likely to shuffle his pack on Thursday night with his side in such a commanding position, and the aforementioned Duran is one of the most likely players to be drafted into the starting XI.
Hearts: Reus; Altena, McEntee, McCart, Miller; Kerjota, Mendy, Spittal, McPake; Braga, Ba-Sy
Benfica: Trubin; Bah, Silva; Lenglet, Dahl; Barreiro, Barrenechea; Silva, Sudakov, Kaminski; Duran
Anything else catch the eye?
Backing Benfica with a -1.25 start on the Asian handicap boosts the odds to a more attractive 10/11 on bet365.
This selection only results in a full loss if Benfica fail to win.
Even if the Eagles field an understrength side, their superior quality could still see them come out on top.
GambleAware