The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 3-1 victory over Basel on Saturday, while the Saudi outfit suffered a 5-0 beating at the hands of Celta Vigo on Monday night.
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Benfica will continue their preparations for the upcoming 2023-24 season with a pre-season friendly against Al-Nasser at Estadio Algarve on Thursday night. The hosts are heading into the match on the back of a 3-1 victory over Basel on Saturday, while the Saudi outfit suffered a 5-0 beating at the hands of Celta Vigo on Monday night. The visitors are building towards a Saudi Pro League title-challenge, after finishing at the second spot in the standings last season, collecting 67 points from 30 games, five points adrift of champions Al-Ittihad.
🔴⚪ IT’S MATCHDAY!#PreSeason pic.twitter.com/r17CiPENA6
— SL Benfica (@slbenfica_en) July 20, 2023
Benfica are preparing for back-to-back Portuguese Primeira Liga titles, following the top-of-the table finish last season. The Eagles collected 87 points from 34 league-games, just two points clear of second-placed Porto, and thereby won their 38th Portuguese top flight crown. Meanwhile, Roger Schmidt’s side have begun their preparations for the new season on a positive note, recording back-to-back wins against Southampton (2-0) and Basel. The Portuguese club got the better of Basel last time out courtesy of first-half efforts from Angel di Maria, Goncalo Ramos and David Jurasek. After the game against Al-Nasser, they will take on Celta Vigo, Burnley and Feyenoord before kicking off their competitive season in early August in the Supertaca Candido de Oliveira.
Al-Nasser, on the other hand, are bidding to secure their 10th Saudi Pro League title having previously triumphed in the 2018-19 season. Al-Alami have appointed Luis Castro as their new manager this summer, and the 61-year-old’s tenure began with a pre-season trip to Portugal, in which Faris Najd had four games scheduled, and they started off with back-to-back wins over Alverca (2-0) and Farense (5-1), before losing out to Celta Vigo last time out. The La Liga outfit scored five times in the second-half through Gael Alonso’s opener and a brace each from Miguel Rodriguez and Jorgen Strand Larsen. They will ramp up their preparatory camp in Portugal with a contest against Benfica, before flying to Japan for their final friendlies against Paris Saint-Germain and Inter Milan.
Benfica probable starting lineup: Vlachodimos, Bah, Morato, Silva, Jurasek, Florentino, Kokcu, Di Maria, Mario, Silva, Ramos
Al-Nasser probable starting lineup: Ospina, Al-Ghanam, Madu, Lajami, Konan, Ghareeb, Brozovic, Fofana, Masharipov, Ronaldo, Talisca
Benfica
| Opponents | Score |
| Basel | 1-2 (W) |
| Southampton | 2-0 (W) |
| Santa Clara | 3-0 (W) |
| Sporting CP | 2-2 (D) |
| Portimonense | 1-5 (W) |
Al-Nasser
| Opponents | Score |
| Celta Vigo | 5-0 (L) |
| SC Farense | 5-1 (W) |
| Alverca | 2-0 (W) |
| Al-Fateh | 3-0 (W) |
| Al-Ettifaq | 1-1 (D) |
The friendly fixture between Benfica and Al-Nasser will take place at Estadio Algarve on Friday at 1:00 am IST.
| Benfica vs Al-Nasser | Key Details |
| Date | July 20 (Portugal) |
| Venue | Estadio Algarve |
| Kickoff time in Portugal | 8:30 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in Saudi Arabia | 10:30 pm (Thursday) |
| Kickoff time in India | 1:00 am (Friday) |
Football fans in Portugal can catch the live action via Sport TV network.
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