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Benfica will invite Midtjylland to the Estádio da Luz in the first leg of third-round qualifying for the UEFA Champions League on Tuesday.
The winner of this two-legged tie will secure their place in their playoffs, the final step before making it into the group stage. Benfica finished third in the Primeira Liga last season to secure a direct place in the third-round qualifying fixtures.
Midtjylland played out draws in their second-round qualifying fixtures against AEK Larnaca and the winner of the tie had to be decided on penalties. They managed to convert four of their five penalties to secure a 4-3 win over the Cypriot side.
Benfica made it to the quarter-finals last season, suffering a 6-4 defeat on aggregate to eventual runners-up Liverpool. Midtjylland, on the other hand, qualified for the 2020-21 season for the first time but had to settle for the Europa League last season.
Benfica vs Midtjylland Head-to-Head
This will be the first-ever meeting between the two sides, though Benfica and Midtjylland have both gone up against teams from Denmark and Portugal respectively.
The hosts are undefeated in their 14 games against Danish teams across all competitions, winning 12 of them and playing out two draws. Ulvene have a slightly poor record in their six games against Portuguese teams, recording just one win. They have lost four times while one game has ended in a draw.
Benfica form guide (all competitions): W-W-W-W-W
Midtjylland form guide (all competitions): W-W-L-D-D
Benfica vs Midtjylland Team News
Benfica
Rodrigo Pinho was left out of the squad for the third-round qualifiers due to an undisclosed reason and will play no part here. New signings Mihailo Ristic and João Victor did not feature in the friendly game against Newcastle United with injuries and might not recover fully from injuries in the first leg.
The duo have been named in the squad but their involvement here remains doubtful. Lucas Veríssimo is in the final stages of recovering from a serious knee injury and will only be back in action in September.
Injured: Lucas Veríssimo.
Doubtful: Mihailo Ristic, João Victor.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: Rodrigo Pinho.
Midtjylland
Evander was injured in the first leg of the second-round qualifiers and remains sidelined at the moment. Júnior Brumado has not featured in competitive fixtures this season with an injury and remains unavailable for selection.
Injured: Evander, Júnior Brumado.
Doubtful: None.
Suspended: None.
Unavailable: None.
Benfica vs Midtjylland Predicted XIs
Benfica (4-4-2): Odysseas Vlachodimos (GK); Andre Almeida, Nicolas Otamendi, Jan Vertonghen, Gilberto; David Neres, Joao Mario, Julian Weigl, Florentino; Roman Yaremchuk, Rafa Silva.
Midtjylland (3-4-3): Elias Rafn Olafsson (GK); Juninho, Henrik Dalsgaard, Erik Sviatchenko; Joel Andersson, Paulinho, Raphael Onyedika, Edward Chilufya; Anders Dreyer, Sory Kaba, Gustav Isaksen
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Benfica vs Midtjylland Prediction
As Águias kept a 100% record in the pre-season and should be able to continue that red-hot form in this fixture. Midtjylland sacked Bo Henriksen last week but were able to secure a 5-1 win in their league outing on Friday.
Benfica have a solid record in their qualifying campaigns and will be the better side in this home leg. The Portuguese side should be able to record a comfortable win.
Prediction: Benfica 2-1 Midtjylland
