- SL Benfica have won five, drawn three and lost two of their last ten matches across all competitions.
- FC St. Gallen have won seven, drawn one and lost two of their last ten games across all competitions.
- Benfica have conceded just five goals in five home matches across all competitions (W3, D1, L1).
Eagles look to soar after St. Gallen upset
SL Benfica are the 6/25 favourites to beat FC St. Gallen in the return leg of this UEFA Europa League Qualification 2026 tie, but the Swiss outfit are backable at 23/5, while the draw is 23/5. The Eagles are coming off a bad result away to St. Gallen, losing 2-1, but prior to that bounced back with a 2-0 home win over Villarreal CF, leaving this tie delicately poised.
Marco Silva's side have a solid record of 3 wins, 1 draw and 1 defeat from five home games across all competitions, so the Eagles are strong at home but not invincible. Benfica are not a team that fluffs games, they like to build up in a patient manner and push the ball wide to overloading the flanks, but they can be made to sweat when the opposition sit deep and make them work for it.
The Swiss visitors, who have won 5, drawn 0 and lost 1 of their 6 away matches in all competitions, bring some good momentum to Estadio da Luz on Thursday. St. Gallen have won three and lost two of their last five, a volatile, but dangerous run of form that started with a 6-3 away defeat to Lyon, before they were thumped 0-3 at home by Norwich City and then beat Benfica 2-1. This is a team that can hurt you, which makes this tie no sure-fire banker.
St. Gallen are the live-wires
Enrico Maassen has been in charge of FC St. Gallen since 1st July 2024, so he has had plenty of time to get his ideas across and it shows. The St. Gallen boss sets up in a pragmatic 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3 that is set up to stay compact and frustrate the ball-dominant sides while they can spring the counter-attack at pace.
St. Gallen's game plan is to make possession-based sides uncomfortable, and Benfica are certainly one of those. The Portuguese powerhouse like to control the tempo with the ball, and their pressing game is measured, so this could be a battle of tempo and whoever wins that will likely own this European tussle.
Betting tips and predictions
Benfica should win this game, but St. Gallen's 2-1 win in the previous leg makes us wary of the short odds on the hosts, so we're going for a tight match prediction at 11/20 and Under 2.5 goals at 59/50.
Aliou Balde is the top scorer for FC St. Gallen in UEFA Europa League Qualification 2026 with one goal in one game and looks sharp for the big games. Rafa Silva has netted four of Benfica's nine goals in their last five games, he is the end-product machine for the Portuguese giants and is their main danger man here.
