Marco Silva is weighing changes to Benfica's team for the second leg against Heart of Midlothian, with the match offering him a first competitive look at several players who have yet to start this season. Andreas Schjelderup, Richard Rios, Dodi Lukebakio, Amar Dedic and Jhon Duran are all in that group, and Silva said the decision on who begins will wait until tomorrow.
That is why Hearts Vs Benfica is being searched now. Benfica already lead 6-1 from the first leg in Lisbon, but the return match is due to bring a different atmosphere and a different task. Silva said it will be a chance to test the squad in another setting, adding that some of the players he may use have not started an official game this season and that the team still needs to be integrated.
The first leg at the Estadio da Luz drew more than 60,000 spectators, and Benfica made the scoreline look severe long before the tie reaches its second act. Silva said the group has worked through the match in different ways and created enough chances to show the performance was not just about one lucky spell. The question now is how much he changes a side that has already produced one heavy win.
Silva did not pretend the margin changes the mood inside Benfica. He said the home side will try to react, that the atmosphere is expected to be top for Hearts, and that Benfica must be ready for a more tightly played match. He also said it does not matter who starts, because it is still Benfica, and the aim remains to win again even with the first-leg lead intact.
That is the friction in the story. Benfica can treat the tie as effectively secured, yet Silva is still speaking as if the second leg has to be approached from zero. For Hearts, that gives the night a smaller but still real purpose: they can try to restore some pride and show their fans a response after the 6-1 defeat, even if the wider balance of the qualifier has already tilted heavily toward Benfica.
Silva said he expects Benfica to start at high intensity and to control the game from the first minute, but he also stressed that the side must adapt if the flow changes. The line-up is still not confirmed, which leaves the most interesting part of the evening unresolved until kickoff. If Silva does make changes, the match becomes less about the first-leg score and more about which of Benfica's untested players he trusts to carry the next step forward.
