Benfica vs Heart of Midlothian Preview

Benfica welcome Heart of Midlothian to Estádio da Luz on Thursday, 6th August 2026, in a Europa League qualifying clash between the Portuguese giants and the Scottish visitors.

Benfica’s form has been broadly positive heading into this one. Their most recent outing was a 5-0 home win over St. Gallen. Prior to that, they beat Os Belenenses 5-1 at home in comfortable fashion. Before that, they were beaten 2-1 away at St. Gallen in the reverse fixture. Earlier in this run, the Eagles won 2-0 at home against Villarreal, and their sequence began with a 1-2 home defeat to Flamengo RJ. Across these five matches, Benfica have won three and lost two, with the most recent result a heavy home win.

Hearts arrive with far less momentum behind them. Their most recent outing ended in a 2-1 defeat away at Aberdeen. Prior to that, they were beaten 0-2 at home by Sturm Graz. Before that, they won 0-1 away at Raith. Earlier in this run, Hearts were beaten 4-0 away at Sturm Graz, and their sequence began with a 2-1 home win over Rayo Vallecano. Overall, the Jambos have won two and lost three across their last five, with their most recent result a loss on the road.

There is no previous meeting on record between these two clubs, so this qualifying tie represents new territory in a fixture with no head-to-head history to lean on.

Benfica’s home form at Estádio da Luz has generally been a source of strength, with two big wins in their last three matches there, and their attacking output has been consistently sharp against lesser opposition. Hearts, by contrast, have struggled for consistency across their pre-season and early domestic fixtures, particularly on the road, where their two heaviest defeats in this run both came away from Tynecastle. That contrast in home comfort versus away struggles could be significant in Lisbon.

Hearts will take confidence from their recent home win over Rayo Vallecano and their away victory at Raith, showing they retain the ability to grind out results even during an uneven run. Benfica, meanwhile, will be wary of complacency after their surprise defeat to St. Gallen showed vulnerabilities can still be exposed even against less heralded opposition. With European football returning to Estádio da Luz, the hosts will be keen to make home advantage count from the outset of this qualifying campaign.

This match will not be broadcast on TV in any territory unfortunately. You can follow the game on our Live Scores page

Possible Lineups

Benfica (4-2-3-1) Trubin, Bah, Lenglet, Silva, Silva, Barrenechea, Barreiro, Dahl, Sudakov, Kaminski, Pavlidis

Heart of Midlothian (4-2-3-1) Reus, Mendy, Findlay, Milne, Altena, Miller, McEntee, Ba-Sy, Braga, Kerjota, Spittal

Benfica Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
✅	Benfica	5-0	St. Gallen	EL	30.07.26
✅	Benfica	5-1	Os Belenenses	CF	24.07.26
❌	St. Gallen	2-1	Benfica	EL	23.07.26
✅	Benfica	2-0	Villarreal	CF	17.07.26
❌	Benfica	1-2	Flamengo RJ	CF	11.07.26

Heart of Midlothian Form

Result	Home Team	Score	Away Team	Competition	Date
❌	Aberdeen	2-1	Hearts	PRE	01.08.26
❌	Hearts	0-2	Sturm Graz	CL	28.07.26
✅	Raith	0-1	Hearts	CF	24.07.26
❌	Sturm Graz	4-0	Hearts	CL	21.07.26
✅	Hearts	2-1	Rayo Vallecano	CF	17.07.26

Head-to-Head

No previous meetings on record between the two sides.

TV Listings / Streaming

Country	Channel
All territories	No broadcasts