Benfica vs Celtic Preview

Celtic have lost three of their last five and now travel to the Estádio da Luz on Thursday night to face a Benfica side that has won four of its last five. The Scottish club lost 3-1 at home to Ferencváros in their Europa League opener on 17 September and sit 28th on zero points, while Benfica beat AC Milan 2-0 away in their first game and are seventh on three. Each arrives off a Sunday win: Celtic won 2-0 away at Motherwell, and Benfica beat Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0 at home. For Celtic, a first league phase point or win would ease the pressure. For Benfica, a second win would make it six from six in Europe. Kick-off in Lisbon is at 8pm UK time.

Benfica have won four of their last five, scoring 12 goals and conceding four. The latest was Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Vitoria Guimaraes in the Liga Portugal. Before that, FC Porto won 3-1 at home on 20 September, the one defeat in the run and the only game in which Benfica conceded more than once. Further back, Milan were beaten 2-0 away in the Europa League on 16 September, Gil Vicente were beaten 3-1 at home on 13 September, and Moreirense were beaten 4-0 away on 9 September. At the Estádio da Luz, Benfica won both home games in the sample by a combined 5-1. Away from home, they won two of three and lost to Porto.

Celtic’s last five read W2 L3, with four goals scored and seven conceded. Sunday’s 2-0 win away at Motherwell in the Scottish Premiership is the latest result, and it ended a run of three straight defeats. Before that, Rangers won 1-0 against Celtic in the league on 20 September, and Ferencváros won 3-1 in the Europa League opener on 17 September. Rangers also won 3-0 in the League Cup on 13 September. The oldest result is a 1-0 win away at St Johnstone on 9 September. Celtic failed to score in two of the five games, and both of those were against Rangers. They have kept clean sheets in only the two wins.

Benfica lead the five meetings listed, with three wins to Celtic’s one and a draw. The most recent was a 2-1 Benfica home win in the Champions League on 20 November 2012, and before that, the sides drew 0-0 on 19 September 2012 with Celtic as the home team. Benfica won all three of the meetings in which they were the home side, by a combined 6-1, which makes the Estádio da Luz a difficult place for Celtic in this record. Celtic’s only win was a 1-0 home victory on 6 November 2007, and they failed to score in three of the five games.

Benfica are seventh in the league phase standings on three points with a goal difference of +2, while Celtic are 28th on zero points with -2. A win would take Celtic to three points, though their position would depend on results elsewhere on matchday two.

In Portugal, the match is live on Sport TV5, with Sport TV Multiscreen streaming. UK viewers can watch on TNT Sports 3, with HBO Max streaming, and Celtic Player carries it internationally. In the USA it’s on CBS Sports Network, Paramount+ and fuboTV.

Possible Lineups

Benfica — Form

Celtic — Form

Head to Head

Where to Watch

Table

Europa League Standings