Hearts' hopes of reaching the league phase of the Europa League are all but over after a 6-1 first-leg defeat to Benfica in qualifying. The post Hearts boss Vrancken laments ‘stupid penalties’ in heavy Europa League defeat to Benfica appeared first on SoccerNews.
To say it has been a difficult few months for Hearts would be the understatement of the year. Few will give the Tynecastle club much chance of returning from Lisbon with a positive result from the Europa League qualifying trip to face Benfica and it is easy to understand why. It has been a far from ideal start for Wouter Vrancken.
Looking to lay down a dominant first-leg marker on Thursday night and extend on their Europa League qualifying charge, Benfica will welcome Hearts to Lisbon. With Europe’s elite domestic leagues set to officially make their respective returns over the next fortnight, there are plenty of attractive betting promotions available. Verdict: Benfica to win both halves […] The post Prediction: Benfica vs Hearts appeared first on SoccerNews.
The Tynecastle side will face Aarhus of Denmark or Sabah of Azerbaijan should they progress to the Europa League play-off round by defeating Benfica. Defeat to Benfica would send Hearts into a Conference League play-off against Paide Linnameeskond of Estonia or Rapid Vienna.
Hearts have found out their potential opponents in both the Europa League and Conference League play-offs, depending on the result of their tie with Benfica. Wouter Vrancken's men face the Portuguese giants in a Europa League third qualifying round double header over the next two weeks. If the Jambos were to pull off a huge upset and beat Benfica over two legs, they would face either a trip to Denmark to battle AGF Aarhus, or Azerbaijan to play FC Sabah.
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