SL Benfica vs Hearts: Full lineups confirmed for UEFA Europa League 2026-27 Third qualifying round
The Eagles will look to build on their recent form in the Benfica vs Hearts fixture tonight.
Portuguese giants SL Benfica will host Heart of Midlothian FC in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League 2026-27 third-round qualifier at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon on Thursday, August 6.
The Eagles made a brilliant start to their qualifying campaign in Europe, beating Swiss St Gallen 6-2 on aggregate in the second round. Benfica had lost the first leg in Switzerland 2-1, but fought back with a 5-0 win at home, securing a comfortable aggregate victory.
Under new head coach Marco Silva, the Portuguese side have won two of their three pre-season friendlies, including a 5-1 win over Belenenses in their last outing. They also defeated Villarreal 2-0, but lost 2-1 to Flamengo.
Hearts, meanwhile, have had a terrible start to their new campaign under head coach Wouter Vrancken. The Jambos stunningly lost the Scottish Premiership on the last day of the previous season, and have started their new season with a 2-1 loss to Aberdeen in the opening match.
They also crashed out of the UEFA Champions League qualifiers with a 6-0 aggregate loss to Sturm Graz in the second round, meaning Vrancken is still searching for his first competitive win in charge of the Scottish side, which he would look to get in the Benfica vs Hearts match.
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Benfica vs Hearts Lineups
Benfica
Starting XI: Samuel Soares; Samuel Dahl, Clément Lenglet, Tomás Araújo (c), Alexander Bah; Enzo Barrenechea, Rafa Silva, Leandro Barreiro; Georgiy Sudakov, Vangelis Pavlidis, Gianluca Prestianni.
Bench: Anatoliy Trubin (gk), Dodi Lukébakio, Jakub Kamiński, Manu Silva, Amar Dedić, Richard Ríos, Andreas Schjelderup, Jhon Durán, Gabriel Índio, José Neto, Anísio Cabral, Miguel Figueiredo.
Hearts
Starting XI: Beau Reus; Jordi Altena, Oisin McEntee, Stuart Findlay, Harry Milne (c); Calvin Miller, Laurent Mendy, Blair Spittal, Alexandros Kyziridis; Cláudio Braga, Pierre Landry Kaboré.
Bench: Zander Clark (gk), Ryan Fulton (gk), Jamie McCart, Tom Renaud, Joshua McPake, Sabri Guendouz, James Wilson, Tómas Magnússon, MJ Kamson-Kamara, Sabah Kerjota, Matthew Gillies, Amadou Ba-Sy.
When is Benfica vs Hearts being played?
The first leg of the UEFA Europa League third‑round qualifier will be played on Thursday, August 6, 2026. In India, the match will kick off at 12:30 AM IST on August 7.
Where is Benfica vs Hearts taking place?
The match will be held at the Estadio da Luz in Lisbon, Portugal.
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Sushruta has spent over two years covering football, with a particular focus on Indian and international competitions. Alongside football, he has reported on a variety of sports, bringing curiosity and perspective to every story. When he’s not following the action, he can usually be found binge-watching movies or getting lost in a good book.