Brentford take on Benfica at Estádio da Luz on Thursday 25 July (8pm kick-off) as part of a pre-season trip to Portugal.
The Bees began the 2024/25 campaign with a 5-2 victory over AFC Wimbledon, while 38-time Primeira Liga champions Benfica beat Almería 3-1 last time out.
Download the Brentford FC app to stream the game live from the UK.
Bees fans outside of the UK can watch the game from our host broadcasters via Benfica TV.
Pre-match Analysis
Stephen Gillett, Playmaker Stats: High-pressing Eagles eager to win the ball back in dangerous areas
Brentford's meteoric rise in recent times is best measured by their current Premier League status, but a pre-season trip to 38-time Portuguese champions and two-time European Cup winners Benfica also reflects their progress.
This Thursday, the Bees take on the Eagles at the fabled Estádio da Luz for their second pre-season friendly after a 5-2 win at AFC Wimbledon last weekend.
Bees' summer signing Igor Thiago scored twice on his debut at Cherry Red Records Stadium with further goals from Yoane Wissa, Kevin Schade and Bryan Mbeumo sealing victory for Thomas Frank's side.
Thiago's brace on Saturday bodes well for the Brazilian ahead of his first season in the Premier League, but he won't be the only new striker looking to flex his muscles in Lisbon on Thursday.
Benfica's summer recruit Vangelis Pavlidis has hit three goals in three pre-season outings thus far and the 25-year-old Greece international appears to be settling in nicely after an €18m move from Dutch side AZ Alkmaar, for whom he scored 33 goals last season.
Hopes are pinned on Pavlidis after an underwhelming campaign last term that saw Roger Schmidt's side finish trophy-less and 10 points adrift of crosstown rivals Sporting in the Primeira Liga.
After losing Cristiano Ronaldo's international understudy Gonçalo Ramos to PSG at the end of the 2022/23 season, Benfica struggled up front for much of last season and notably scored 19 goals fewer than champions Sporting despite taking more shots per game (17.3) than any team in the Portuguese top flight.
Manager Schmidt failed to replace Ramos, Leverkusen left-back Alejandro Grimaldo and Chelsea midfielder Enzo Fernández from the ‘Class of 2022/23’, as the Eagles struggled to impose themselves domestically last term and lost in the quarter-final of the Europa League to Marseille after finishing bottom of their Champions League group.
However, the addition of Pavlidis along with left-back Jan Niklas Beste - who finished second in the Bundesliga's assist charts for Heidenheim last season - and former Mainz defensive midfielder Leandro Barreira indicate that Schmidt has bolstered his squad in key areas ahead of the coming campaign.
A disciple of the 'Gegenpressing' school, Schmidt's Benfica will line up in a 4-2-3-1 and Brentford's defenders can expect to be harried in possession with the Eagles eager to win the ball back in dangerous areas.
Although the likes of Portugal's João Neves and Turkey's Orkun Kokcu will not feature after their involvement at Euro 2024, former Ajax winger David Neres will pose a considerable threat on Benfica's right and young Brazilian Marcos Leonardo is another exciting talent.
In what are likely to be sweltering conditions at the Luz, an excellent pre-season workout lies in store...
Scout Report
Benfica tipped for strong season following eye-catching summer signings
After three seasons without a league title, normality was restored for Benfica in 2022/23, when Roger Schmidt came in and won the Primeira Liga in his first season as head coach of the Eagles.
Goncalo Ramos and Joao Mario scored 50 goals in all competitions between them, with Alex Grimaldo chipping in with eight goals and 16 assists.
"We are very proud, but also relieved by this title," said Schmidt. "We put in a lot of effort, and we deserve to be champions."
They had won five of the six titles between 2013/14 and 2018/19 to assert the kind of dominance fans had not seen since the 1960s and 70s. For context, between 1959/60 and 1976/77, they won 14 of the 18 titles on offer.
But then Grimaldo left for Bayer Leverkusen on a free transfer, while Ramos joined Paris Saint-Germain on loan, with an obligation to buy for an initial €65m. The heart of the team had been ripped out quite dramatically - and an opening-day defeat to Boavista put them right on the backfoot.
Now, a 22-match unbeaten run between August and March would be pretty good going in most leagues, particularly when you consider Benfica drew just four of those games. But such is the competitiveness at the very top of the Primeira Liga, that only afforded Benfica top spot for five matchdays. So, when they lost three of the final 11 games - two of which were against rivals Porto and Sporting - their fate had long been decided.
The Portuguese Super Cup win at the start of the season aside, it was a pretty forgettable campaign all round, given their semi-final exits in the Taca de Portugal and Taca da Liga, as well as the miserable Champions League group stage exit and subsequent exit during the quarter-final of the Europa League.
They have spent a reported €14m on two of the most precious commodities: left-backs. Álvaro Fernández has joined from Manchester United - following a loan spell earlier this year - though seemingly more likely to slot straight into the defence is former German Under-20s international Jan-Nicklas Beste. Benfica greatly missed the influence of Grimaldo in 2023/24, but in Beste, they look to have found the ideal replacement; in two seasons with Heidenheim, he scored 20 goals and assisted 28 more in just 68 appearances.
And, up front, Vangelis Pavlidis might just be the Goncalo Ramos replacement Benfica have been seeking. The Greek international, 25 - a reported €18m capture - has signed a five-year deal after leaving AZ Alkmaar, for whom he scored 80 goals and assisted another 27 in 137 appearances.
Club president - and Portuguese legend - Rui Costa has put his faith in Schmidt to deliver success in his third season in charge. With the attractive signings Benfica have made, it is easy to see why they are favourites to bring the title back to Estádio da Luz.
In the Dugout
Roger Schmidt
Roger Schmidt had a two-decade long career in Germany's lower leagues.
Playing as a midfielder, he featured in more than 200 league games for SC Verl - one of the seven teams he turned out for - while balancing his footballing career with a day job as a mechanical engineer.
He retired in 2006 after two years as player-manager of Delbrucker SC and continued there until 2007 when he walked away from football.
That was short-lived, however, as he was tempted to return by SC Preussen Munster, where he spent three years after quitting his job in engineering to pursue management.
A year at former club SC Paderborn 07 followed, before he joined Red Bull Salzburg in June 2012. In 2013/14, he led the club to the Austrian Bundesliga and Austrian Cup double.
His success in Austria attracted Bayer Leverkusen, who brought Schmidt in on a two-year deal. He led them to a fourth in 2014/15 and third in 2015/16, before being sacked in March 2017.
Next up was a two-year spell in China with Beijing Guoan, where he won the Chinese Cup in 2018.
After he was sacked in July 2019, it was not until April 2020 that Schmidt found himself employed once more when he returned to Europe to replace Ernest Faber at PSV. During his two years in the Netherlands, he added the Dutch FA Cup and the Dutch Super Cup to his CV.
Shortly after leaving PSV when his contract came to an end, Schmidt took over at Benfica in July 2022.
His first season was a resounding success, with the Portuguese club winning the Primeira Liga for the first time for four years and the Portuguese Super Cup.
He has won 78 of his 111 games in charge, which represents a win ratio of over 70 per cent.
The Gameplan
With Portuguese football expert Tom Kundert
Tom Kundert, Portuguese football expert and creator of PortuGOAL.net, explains how Roger Schmidt is likely to set up his Benfica side against the Bees:
“His favoured method is usually a 4-2-3-1 but, with [Ángel] Di María, that seems to often be more like a 4-3-3.
“He almost always plays with a lone striker and then two holding midfielders; there was a bit of controversy last season because they spent €30 million on Turkish midfielder Orkun Kökçü, who had built a good reputation in the Netherlands with Feyenoord, and he basically had to play because he was their record signing.
“However, with the way the coach set the team up, Rafa Silva was one of Benfica’s best attacking players and he had the no.10 position, so Kökçü had to almost play as a defensive midfielder.
“About three-quarters of the way through the season, Kökçü had not really justified his fee and he gave quite an explosive interview to the Dutch press where he said he was not being played in his correct position, they did not know how to use him, and he did not feel as though he was being given a proper chance.
“That caused a bit of a stir and he was disciplined, but then - what do you know - it turned out to be quite an intelligent thing to do because he played for the rest of the season in his proper no.10 position and did much better!”
Read the full interview with Tom Kundert here
Last Time Out
AFC Wimbledon 2 Brentford 5
Igor Thiago scored twice on his debut as Brentford began pre-season with a thumping 5-2 victory over AFC Wimbledon.
Joe Lewis gave the Dons a third-minute lead, but Thiago’s well-taken brace and Yoane Wissa’s penalty meant the Bees were in charge at the break.
Kevin Schade and Bryan Mbeumo, two of 10 half-time changes made by head coach Thomas Frank, extended the visitors’ advantage, before Mat Stevens netted a late consolation.