Benfica dey ready to start dia 2026-27 Primeira Liga campaign with home match against newly promoted Academico de Viseu at Estadio da Luz this weekend.
The Lisbon giants don enter new season with former Fulham boss Marco Silva as coach, after Jose Mourinho leave go Real Madrid. Silva dey hope to improve on last season wey no sweet at all.
Mourinho second spell at Benfica no produce the result dem want. The club miss out on top-two finish for first time in three years, and dem comot for every cup competition before end of February. Dem lose to Braga for Taca da Liga semi-final, then Porto push dem out for Taca de Portugal, and Real Madrid finish dem for Champions League knockout playoff.
Despite being the only side wey no lose any match last term, Benfica still finish third for Primeira Liga table. Dem dey eight points behind champions Porto and two points behind Sporting Lisbon. Because of that, dem go play for Europa League, where dem don already beat St. Gallen 5-0 for second qualifying round.
For third qualifying round, dem also thrash Hearts 6-1 for first leg. Now dem go focus on domestic match before return leg next week.
Sunday match against Academico go make Silva dey try to extend Benfica 49-match unbeaten run for league.
Academico de Viseu dey return to Portugal elite after 37 years for lower divisions. Dem finish second for Liga 2 last season, with superior head-to-head over Torreense. Sergio Fonseca replace Sergio Vieira during campaign and help the team from bottom half to promotion place before he go.
Bruno Pinheiro don take over as coach on June 19. The 49-year-old return to Portuguese football after one year with Eupen. He don manage Estoril Praia and Gil Vicente before, so he know the demands of Primeira Liga.
Pinheiro don enjoy good pre-season, with three wins from five matches. The last one na 1-0 victory for third-place play-off of Torneio de Verao da Povoa de Varzim.
But Academico face tough test this weekend. Benfica don beat dem for all previous four meetings, and Academico never score for those games. The most recent encounter na 1988-89 campaign.
For squad news, Benfica don keep most of dia regular starters. Nicoas Otamendi don leave to River Plate, but dem add Jhon Duran on loan from Al Nassr, Jakub Kaminski from Koln, Enzo Barrenechea from Aston Villa, and Clement Lenglet on loan from Atletico Madrid.
Duran score first goal for Hearts match, but e no go likely take Vangelis Pavlidis position. The Greek striker score 22 times last season, and e don score five goals for last two matches.
Academico don keep core of promotion squad. Dem sign Ewerton, Alejandro Mestanza, Marcos Lavin, Cristian Ferreira, and Andro Babic. Mohamed Bouldini don return for second spell.
Captain Luis Silva, Robinho, Andre Ceitil, and Andre Clovis go provide experience. Clovis score four times for pre-season, while Silva fit despite resting last weekend.
Meanwhile, PSP don distance itself from Benfica fan zone for the behind-closed-doors match. Police say the fan zone outside the stadium na club responsibility. Dem go still police the match and enforce stadium closure.
The fan zone with giant screens and catering go dey outside so supporters fit watch match, with welcome by Eusebio statue. Game still set for Sunday at 20:30, with stands shut.
