Benfica v Celtic: Confirmed line-ups as Bhoys face huge Europa League test

Celtic face a difficult task to get off the mark in the Europa League as they visit Benfica.

Martin O’Neill’s men were beaten 3-1 at home by Ferencvaros in their league phase opener, and are underdogs for the meeting with Marco Silva’s men in Lisbon.

101Great Goals has the full team news from Estadio da Luz.

Benfica team news

Benfica make five changes from the side that beat Vitoria Guimaraes 2-0 at the weekend.

Clement Lenglet comes in for Alessandro Circati at the back, while Fredrik Aursnes captains the side as he replaces Leandro Barreiro in midfield.

The most extensive alterations are in the forward areas, with Dodi Lukebakio, Georgiy Sudakov and Jhon Duran coming in for Rafa Silva, Andreas Schjelderup and Vangelis Pavlidis.

Benfica: Trubin; Bah, Araujo, Lenglet, Dahl; Aursnes, Palhinha; Lukebakio, Sudakov, Prestianni; Duran.

Benfica substitutes: Soares, Circati, Pavlidis, Manu Silva, Barreiro, Schjelderup, Rafa Silva, Echeverri, Indio, El Karouani, Cabral, Freitas.

Celtic team news

Celtic, by contrast, make only two changes from the 2-0 win over Motherwell last time out.

Auston Trusty replaces Liam Scales at centre-back, while Oliver Sorensen takes the number 10 role from Benjamin Nygren.

Celtic: Sinisalo; Donovan, Murray, Trusty, Tierney; McGregor, Baur; Duran, Sorensen, Tounekti; Hogh.

Celtic substitutes: Johnstone, Lotomba, Scales, Nygren, McCowan, Osmand, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Hassan, Forrest, Ralston, Kennedy, Clearie.

Stats for Benfica v Celtic

• Benfica have won nine of their last 10 competitive matches, scoring at least twice in nine of them.
• Benfica are unbeaten in their last 11 Europa League league-phase or group-stage games (W8 D3).
• Vangelis Pavlidis has scored 14 goals in 14 games in all competitions this season.
• Celtic have lost three of their last four games in all competitions.
• Celtic have kept just two clean sheets in their last 29 Europa League main-draw matches.

Where to Watch Benfica v Celtic: TV and online streams

Benfica versus Celtic kicks off at 8pm BST (8pm local time) on Thursday, October 15 at the Estádio da Luz.

The match is live on TNT Sports 3 in the UK and Ireland.