Hearts vs Benfica prediction 13.08.2026 | Europa League

Hearts return to Tynecastle with renewed confidence after claiming an impressive 4:0 Premiership victory against Dundee United on Sunday.

Tom Renaud opened the scoring with a superb long-range strike before Calvin Miller, Claudio Braga and Josh McPake completed a dominant home victory.

That result was Hearts’ first competitive win under Wouter Vrancken following four successive defeats at the start of the season.

The Jambos have struggled defensively in Europe, conceding 12 goals across three continental defeats this season, including six in Lisbon last week and six across two matches against Sturm Graz.

Head coach Vrancken is likely to stick with much of the same side that eased past Dundee United. 

Christian Borchgrevink, Stephen Kingsley, Craig Halkett and Ageu remain injury concerns for the hosts. Alexandros Kyziridis could also miss out as he closes in on a move away from Tynecastle.

Benfica make the trip to Edinburgh with one foot firmly in the Europa League playoff round after their emphatic 6:1 first-leg victory.

Rafa Silva, Tomas Araujo, Vangelis Pavlidis, Gianluca Prestianni, Jhon Duran and Andreas Schjelderup were all on target for the Portuguese giants in an easy win last Thursday. 

The Portuguese giants have scored 12 goals across their last three European matches, including five against St Gallen and six against Hearts.

Benfica were unable to maintain their winning form in the Liga Portugal on Sunday, conceding twice in a surprising 2:2 home draw against newly promoted Academico Viseu.

Pavlidis and Prestianni were again on the scoresheet for Marco Silvan’s men.

With a five-goal aggregate advantage, Benfica are likely to rotate their squad at Tynecastle. First-leg substitutes Jhon Duran and Andreas Schjelderup could be handed starting opportunities after scoring in Lisbon.