After back-to-back European Cup triumphs in 1961 and 1962, continental action has mainly provided Benfica with heartbreak.
The Portuguese giants have lost nine major European finals since those successes, and they are going to have to do things the hard way if they are to rediscover their winning touch this term.
Benfica finished third in last season’s Primeira Liga but were bumped out of the automatic-qualification spot for the Europa League after Torreense shocked Sporting in the Portuguese Cup final.
New boss Marco Silva is the man tasked with taking them forward after Jose Mourinho’s departure for Real Madrid and, luckily for the former Fulham boss, he has been dealt a kind enough first game, with Swiss hosts St Gallen unlikely to trouble the Eagles too much in their opening Europa League qualifier.
St Gallen v Benfica Tips Summary
Best Bet - Benfica to win to nil @ 6/4
Alternative Bet - Rafa Silva anytime goalscorer @ 13/10
Bet Builder - Draw at half-time, Georgiy Sudakov 2+ shots, Aliou Balde 1+ shot on target @ 13/2
St Gallen v Benfica Prediction
Best Bet: Benfica to win to nil @ 6/4
Silva will be eager to get off to a strong start with Benfica and while pre-season results shouldn’t be read into too much, a 2-0 victory over Villarreal recently suggests he should do just that at St Gallen.
The visitors will travel light to Switzerland as World Cup stars Richard Rios, Dodi Lukebakio, Fredrik Aursnes and Andreas Schjelderup aren’t back yet, and Gianluca Prestianni remains suspended, but even that is unlikely to be enough to prevent them claiming a routine victory.
There are still plenty of top players for Silva to choose from, including Vangelis Pavlidis and Leandro Barreiro, and his style of play should help Benfica control the game.
Despite playing in an extremely competitive Premier League, Fulham kept a clean sheet in three of their final six games under the Portuguese, and Benfica should have no issues shutting out St Gallen, who were exposed when going down 3-0 to Norwich City in a friendly last Friday.
Alternative Bet: Rafa Silva anytime goalscorer @ 13/10
Benfica will need some other players to step up in the absence of their late-returning World Cup stars and experienced midfielder Rafa Silva may be the man to do so.
Last season, Silva scored five goals in just 917 Primeira Liga minutes after returning from Besiktas in January and he also netted once in 163 minutes of UEFA Champions League action.
He will get close to target man Pavlidis and is a decent price to find the net against a side who shipped nine goals across their final two pre-season friendlies.
St Gallen v Benfica Bet Builder Tip
Draw at half-time
Georgiy Sudakov 2+ shots
Aliou Balde 1+ shot on target
Pays 13/2
Having played only two friendlies over the summer, it may take some time for Benfica to get going in Switzerland.
New manager Silva also plays in an entirely different manner to his predecessor Mourinho, so a slow start can be expected.
Once they do get going, however, expect the big guns to step up. Georgiy Sudakov didn’t quite live up to expectations in his first season following a move from Shakhtar but he did average 2.23 shots per 90 minutes in the Primeira Liga and is happy to let fly from anywhere.
At the other end, Aliou Balde looks a real threat. The Guinean speedster is a livewire who averaged 1.25 shots on target per 90 minutes in last season’s Swiss Super League, so expect him to provide the biggest danger to Benfica’s backline.
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Key Match Stats
Benfica are unbeaten in six away matches, winning four
Under 2.5 goals was a winning bet in six of Fulham’s final seven games with Marco Silva in charge
St Gallen have gone two home matches without a victory
The Swiss hosts conceded nine goals in their final two pre-season friendlies
St Gallen won only one of their six games in the 2024-25 Conference League, their latest European campaign
Benfica reached the UEFA Champions League knockout-stage playoff round last term
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This article was written by a partner sports writer via Spotlight Sports Group. All odds displayed on this page were correct at the time of writing and are subject to withdrawal or change at any time.
