- St. Gallen form: FC St. Gallen have won four of their last five games in all competitions, beating FC Vaduz 0-1 away last time out in a 6-3 thriller against Olympique Lyonnais.
- Benfica away form: Benfica are unbeaten in five away across all competitions (Won 3, Drawn 2), and are averaging two goals per game on the road.
- Recent comparative form: There is little between St. Gallen and Benfica in terms of overall form, with the Swiss side winning seven, drawing one and losing two of their last ten in all competitions, and the Portuguese side winning six, drawing three and losing one of the same.
St. Gallen ready to roll
FC St. Gallen enter Thursday's UEFA Europa League qualification 2026 first leg in good shape, having won four of their last five matches across all competitions, including a 1-0 win away at FC Vaduz last weekend prior to a crazy 6-3 defeat to the French powerhouses. Enrico Maassen has transformed the St. Gallen team into a high-energy, vertical unit that presses opponents aggressively and looks to counter-attack in an instant through the thirds.
In Lukas Goertler, they have a spark to light the fire, two of their six goals in the last five coming from his boot. St. Gallen have won one, drawn one and lost one of their last three matches at home across all competitions and are conceding at a rate of two goals per-game in the same period.
Benfica in better form
Form and style
SL Benfica are the form team in this matchup, albeit by a slim margin, having won six, drawn three and lost just one of their last 10 matches in all competitions (W2, D2, L1 in their last five). Marco Silva has Benfica playing a more controlled but still positive style of soccer, in which they mix ball possession with sharp vertical combinations and the fullbacks get involved in the build up, but they haven't been entirely convincing of late, following a 2-2 home draw with SC Braga and a 1-2 defeat to Brazilian giants Flamengo RJ.
Odds and outlook
Benfica are the clear favorites in this one, as they should be at 1.53, but St. Gallen are huge underdogs at 5.73, with the draw at 4.0. However, Benfica are capable of winning this matchup without a fuss.
St. Gallen can make this lively
There is no recent head-to-head record to go by for this Europa League qualifying tie, so the first-leg chess match between styles should be intriguing.
Our main selection will be Benfica to win, but we feel the St. Gallen tempo and intense pressing will make this a lively night for the visitors, rather than a stroll in the park.
- St. Gallen are a compact 4-3-1-2 unit that can really get under the skin of an opponent with their intense counter-press, but Benfica have greater rotation to their game and are better ball-players, which should help them play through pressure.
- Over 2.5 goals at 1.55 and both teams to score at 1.62 look good value to capture the feel of the game and increase the likelihood of a correct score win for Benfica.
