Benfica will field a heavily changed starting XI for the visit to Hearts, with José Neto getting his first opportunity of the season and Manu Silva starting at center back for the first time. The lineup for the match at Tynecastle Park in Edimburgo also includes Amar Dedic, Ríos, Lukebakio and Durán, while Gabriel Índio was set to begin on the bench.
The match was scheduled for 19:45 and comes with Benfica carrying only a thin core from the side that faced Académico de Viseu on Sunday. Only Samuel Soares, Lenglet, Barrenechea and Sudakov were kept in the starting group, while Schjelderup, Richard Ríos, Lukebakio and Durán are all set for their first starts of the season. That kind of turnover makes sense in a European qualifier, where fresh legs often matter as much as rhythm.
José Neto stands out in the reshuffle because he arrives with something most of the XI does not have this season: a first start, after a career built on being a European and world under-17 champion. He is one of three changes in defense alongside Dedic and Manu, with Lenglet the only holdover from the previous back line. The shape suggests a practical adjustment rather than a flourish, with Benfica choosing to absorb the loss of familiarity in exchange for a different balance across the field.
The sharper edge is at the heart of that decision. Manu Silva is being trusted in central defense even though Benfica had not yet signed a replacement for António SIlva, and that leaves little margin for error if Hearts force the game into repeated defensive duels. Marco Silva had already indicated Manu had been training there since António SIlva's departure, but a training role is not the same thing as carrying the back line in a match with a place in the UEFA Europa League league phase at stake.
So Benfica go into Tynecastle Park with a line-up that looks built for control and cover, not continuity. If the changes work, they will look like a coach protecting the team and spreading the load. If they do not, the night will be remembered as the one when Benfica asked too many new pieces to hold together at once.
