Benfica hosts Danish champion Aarhus in Lisbon for Europa League play-off first leg

Play-off clash at Estádio da Luz

Benfica will host Danish champions Aarhus at the Estádio da Luz on Thursday at 20:00 in the first leg of their UEFA Europa League play-off. The Lisbon side entered the qualifying rounds after finishing third in the Portuguese league and seeing third-tier Torreense win the Taça de Portugal. Under manager Marco Silva, who took charge this season, Benfica advanced past Swiss club St. Gallen in the second qualifying round and Scottish club Hearts in the third round. They arrive at the tie four days after a 7-0 league victory against Casa Pia in Rio Maior, following a 2-2 draw with newly promoted Académico de Viseu in their domestic opener. Italian referee Marco Guida will officiate the match, which marks the third European meeting between the two clubs after Benfica eliminated Aarhus in the 1960–1961 and 1987–1988 European Cup campaigns.

Squad adjustments and transfer movements

Benfica registered new Australian centre-back Alessandro Circati under UEFA rules that allow up to two squad additions before the first leg, following the closure of the general registration window on 14 August. Circati arrived from Parma as the club manages recent roster turnover, including the transfer of defender Amar Dedic to Newcastle. Norwegian midfielder Fredrik Aursnes has resumed full training and is available for his first appearance of the season, creating competition for starting roles with Heorhiy Sudakov and Gianluca Prestianni. Striker Vangelis Pavlidis remains the primary candidate to lead the attack ahead of Jhon Durán, while defender Umeh remains sidelined by injury. Marco Silva addressed the state of the roster during his pre-match press conference in Seixal.

Regardless of whether Circati's signing is confirmed, the squad is not closed. It is not an absolute certainty, but, until the end, some departures or arrivals will certainly happen in our squad.

Aarhus prepares amid injury list

Aarhus enters the fixture with six first-team players unavailable due to injury, according to head coach Jakob Poulsen. Frederik Tingager, Tobias Jensen-Abbew, Kevin Yakob, Nikolaj Poulsen, Jacob Haugstrup and Tomas Kristjánsson are all ruled out for the trip to Lisbon. The Danish club dropped into the Europa League qualifiers after elimination from the UEFA Champions League preliminaries and sit tenth in the Danish Superliga after three rounds with two total victories this season. In the previous round, Aarhus overturned a 4-1 first-leg deficit against Polish club Lech Poznań with a 4-1 home victory before progressing on penalty kicks. Poulsen acknowledged the defensive focus required against Benfica's attacking options.

When we play against good teams, we cannot fall asleep. Otherwise, we know that Pavlidis will be in the right place to score goals.

Aarhus captain and Norwegian midfielder Kristian Arnstad expressed anticipation about facing international teammates Fredrik Aursnes and Andreas Schjelderup.

They are two great players. I know Andreas very well. I do not know how long he will stay at Benfica, but both have been playing very well for Benfica. I think it will be a good match and I am looking forward to it starting.

Schedule and second leg outlook

The Portuguese league postponed Benfica's weekend domestic fixture, granting the Lisbon club a full week of preparation between the two legs. Aarhus coach Poulsen noted that facing a crowd of up to 60,000 supporters at the Estádio da Luz will present communication challenges on the pitch. The return leg is scheduled for Thursday, 27 August at 19:00 at Cepheus Park in Randers, where Aarhus will play as the nominal home team. The aggregate winner over the two matches will secure a place in the Europa League 36-team league phase.