Position
Benfica actually got off to a flying start in their first match against Qarabag in the league phase of the UEFA Champions League. The Eagles led 2-0 at home after just 16 minutes, but then eased off and were stunned when the visitors from Azerbaijan ran out 3-2 winners - Qarabag's first ever victory in the UCL proper. And one with consequences for Benfica coach Bruno Lage: the club parted company with the 49-year-old immediately after the defeat. Benfica appointed his compatriot José Mourinho as his successor - the man who had just failed to beat Benfica in the Champions League qualifying play-offs as coach of Fenerbahce just three weeks earlier (1-0 on aggregate). And that led to his dismissal at the Turkish giants.
‘The Special One’ took over Benfica on 19 September 2025, almost 25 years to the day after he started his coaching career at the Portuguese record champions as successor to Jupp Heynckes. However, Mourinho only stayed for three months before resigning. Now, the famous 62-year-old coach may be on a path to success in his second spell in charge of Benfica - in the Portuguese league, the Eagles won their first game under Mourinho 3-0 at AVS Futebol SAD - but success in the Champions League continues to elude them this term. Mourinho and Benfica lost 1-0 away to his former club Chelsea thanks to an own goal from midfielder Richard Rios. And the second away game at a Premier League club also ended in defeat as Benfica were beaten 3-0 at Newcastle United on Matchday 3. However, the visitors put in a good performance in the first half and had three excellent chances to score, particularly through striker Dodi Lukebakio.
After three defeats, Benfica, who reached the Round of 16 in the previous season, are currently in second-last place in the Champions League table and are under pressure ahead of the game against the Werkself. At the weekend, Mourinho's side won their fixture before the clash with Bayer 04, claiming a 3-0 victory at Vitoria Guimaraes with goals from Tomas Araujo, Samuel Dahl and Joao Rego. Benfica are now unbeaten in the Portuguese top flight after ten games (W7, D3) and in third place behind city rivals Sporting and leaders FC Porto. Mourinho is now "on fire" ahead of the clash with the Werkself, who he knocked out in the semi-finals of the UEFA Europa League two and a half years ago as coach of AS Roma. "We’ll have to give our all. It's still wide open and we have that opportunity if we give our all. The stadium, with 60,000 spectators, must be a cauldron on Wednesday."
Personnel
Benfica's main defender is the oldest player in the team at 37: Nicolas Otamendi. The Argentina international (129 caps) has been playing for the Eagles for five years and now leads them out as captain. Three years ago, the centre-back won the World Cup with Argentina - together with Bayer 04 player Exequiel Palacios. Otamendi is still indispensable for Benfica, and not only as an experienced defender but often also as a goalscorer and provider - in 251 competitive matches, he has netted 17 goals and provided 11 assists. He normally plays alongside two young Portuguese players in Antonio Silva and Tomas Araujo. Options at full-back include the Swede Samuel Dahl (summer signing from Roma) and the Norwegian Fredrik Aursnes. The latter can also be deployed in midfield. Right-back Amar Dedic (also a new signing from FC Salzburg) has been absent recently with a muscle injury.
Enzo Barrenechea (on loan from Aston Villa) and Richard Rios (Palmeiras Sao Paulo) are two other new additions in holding midfield. Former Mainz player Leandro Barreiro is a versatile midfielder. The Luxembourg international was at Mainz between 2016 and 2024 and has made two appearances for Benfica in the Champions League this season. Also familiar from the Bundesliga are forwards Lukebakio and Bruma. Belgian international Lukebakio previously played for Fortuna Düsseldorf, VfL Wolfsburg and Hertha Berlin. Last summer, the 28-year-old moved to Lisbon from Sevilla and has scored once in nine competitive matches for his new club and set up four goals. In the 3-0 defeat at Newcastle, Lukebakio was one of the best players in the team and made three impressive contributions in the first half without any luck in finishing. Left winger Bruma, formerly at RB Leipzig, is currently sidelined due to a torn Achilles tendon.
The top scorer in the team is Greece international Vangelis Pavlidis with 13 goals in 20 games to date. He scored the most goals last season (19) too. The 26-year-old striker has also played in Germany before, including four Bundesliga 2 games for VfL Bochum in 2016/17. Pavlidis caused a sensation in the Champions League in January of this year when he scored three goals at home against Barcelona - Benfica nevertheless lost that thriller 5-4 in stoppage time. Mourinho's other attacking options include the Ukrainian Heorhiy Sudakov (who joined from Shakhtar Donetsk in the summer), the Norwegian Andreas Schjelderup and the Croatian Franjo Ivanovic, who was at FC Augsburg in his youth. Argentinian World Cup winner Ángel di María, on the other hand, returned to his home country in the summer after two years in Lisbon. Benfica also had to cope with the departure of key players including left-back Alvaro Carreras (Real Madrid) and striker Kerem Aktürkoglu (Fenerbahce).
Problems
Benfica have only scored twice in the current Champions League campaign - the two early goals in the home match against Qarabag. They lost to Chelsea and Newcastle United without scoring. In London in particular, Benfica were unimaginative in attack. The Portuguese record champions have now failed to score in the competition for almost 260 minutes.
Performers
On the domestic front at least, Benfica have been solid defensively. Mourinho's men have kept a clean sheet in seven out of 10 league matches and only conceded a total of four goals. They've not conceded in any of their last five league and cup games. With 21 goals scored, the Eagles have the third-best attack in Portugal after Sporting (25) and Porto (23). Now they want to finally demonstrate their attacking qualities in the Champions League.
