- 1 Aarhus vs Benfica: two-goal cushion and a Danish champion running on fumes
- 2 Aarhus: three exits and a Superliga that still wont start
- 3 Benfica: Pavlidis flying, Marco Silva settling in
- 4 Europa League Prediction Aarhus vs Benfica
- 5 First, a quick word on our free predictions
- 6 Nothing binding on us
- 7 Information changes
- 8 Your responsibility
- 9 Responsible gambling first
- 10 Legal age
- 11 About the images…
Aarhus vs Benfica: two-goal cushion and a Danish champion running on fumes 
Thanks to their 3-1 win at the Estadio da Luz on 20 August, Benfica put themselves in a superb position ahead of the second-leg Europa League playoff. It was decided quickly in the first game: Rafa Silva stunned the Danes inside two minutes, before Leandro Barreiro added a comfortable second on the half-hour mark (31st minute).
With a two-goal lead in the bag, the Portuguese side will head into the return leg in control on Thursday 27 August (20:00) at Ceres Park in Aarhus, where the home side need something close to a miracle to turn this around.
Sebastian Jorgensen gave the Danes a lifeline in the 36th minute. Vangelis Pavlidis slapped it back in their face in first-half stoppage time.
That leaves Aarhus still two goals short of their target, and the domestic picture is hardly pretty. The Danish club have failed to win any of their first three Superliga matches.
Last season, though, was a historic one for the club from Jutland. Aarhus claimed their sixth national title, 40 years after their previous crown in 1986.
Benfica, meanwhile, entered a new era this summer. Marco Silva replaced Jose Mourinho in June 2026 and quickly steadied a side that had finished third in the league.
The Eagles are targeting a return to Europe’s top stage after last season’s Champions League knockout playoff exit to Real Madrid. The Europa League league phase is now within reach.
The playoff format is brutal. The winner goes into the Europa League league phase, while the loser drops into the Conference League.
The league-phase draw is set for Friday 28 August. Benfica and Aarhus will therefore know the next day which competition they will be playing in this autumn.
Aarhus: three exits and a Superliga that still wont start 
Aarhus’s European run this summer has shown a team capable of the brilliant and the miserable in equal measure. Against Lech Poznan in the second Champions League qualifying round, the Danes recovered from a three-goal deficit before winning on penalties.
What followed was far harsher. After winning 2-1 away to Sabah in the third round, they were thumped 4-0 in the return leg and sent crashing into the Europa League.
That blow has left marks both on the table and between the ears. The 2-1 defeat at Viborg the following Friday confirmed the slump in results.
The injury room is not helping Jakob Poulsen either. Frederik Tingager remains out after a foot injury picked up in the previous European tie.
Kevin Yakob and Nicolai Poulsen are also unavailable, with knee and Achilles injuries respectively. Three long-term absences that are hurting the squad depth.
Sebastian Jorgensen did at least show at Lisbon that this team can still create chances. His 36th-minute strike remains the only real positive from the first leg.
Recent history also favours neither side. Aarhus have lost three of their last four meetings with Benfica, with the other ending level.
Ceres Park, though, is where Aarhus built their title charge last season. The Jutland club did the bulk of their Superliga-winning work there.
The last time a Danish side reached a European group stage was in the 1997-98 UEFA Cup. Twenty-nine years on, the chance is there again, but only if they pull off something far beyond ordinary against a much stronger opponent.
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Benfica: Pavlidis flying, Marco Silva settling in 
Marco Silva has had a mixed start on the Benfica bench. His first competitive game ended in a 2-1 defeat at St Gallen, before they smashed the Swiss side 5-0 at the Luz in the return.
The pattern repeated in the next round. A 6-1 first-leg win over Hearts was followed by a 1-1 draw in Scotland, enough to book a place in the playoff.
The domestic season is following the same upward curve. After a 2-2 draw with Academico de Viseu on opening day, Benfica hammered Casa Pia 7-0 away on 17 August.
Vangelis Pavlidis scored a hat-trick in that demolition job and then did the same against Aarhus. The Greek forward is the focal point of Silva’s attack.
Rafa Silva is matching that momentum with rare consistency. The winger has scored in five of his last seven starts for Benfica.
Gianluca Prestianni adds another edge with three goals in his last four appearances. Georgiy Sudakov is operating in the playmaking role behind the striker.
The only real doubt is captain Fredrik Aursnes, who has been out since the start of the season. Pavlidis and Rafa Silva were both withdrawn around the hour mark at Casa Pia, a clear sign that Silva is already managing minutes carefully.
The balance of power has already been laid bare in the earlier rounds. St Gallen shipped five at the Luz, Hearts conceded six, and Aarhus took three there as well.
Silva has the luxury of choosing between managing the game or finishing it off. With this kind of depth, either approach should still end in qualification.
Probable Aarhus line-up: Not available at time of publication.
Probable Benfica line-up: Not available at time of publication.
Europa League Prediction Aarhus vs Benfica
Our prediction: Benfica to win
The gap in class was already obvious at the Luz, and there is little to suggest a different story in Denmark. Benfica come in off a 7-0 win at Casa Pia and a 3-1 victory over the same opposition, with Pavlidis following a hat-trick with another European goal.
Aarhus head into this second leg without a win in three Superliga matches and without Tingager, Yakob or Nicolai Poulsen. They have also lost three of their last four games against the Lisbon side.
Forced to chase the tie, the Danes will leave space for a team that thrives in transition. Benfica should finish the job at Ceres Park.
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