UEFA coefficient ranking: 20

How they qualified: Second in Portugal

Last season: Group stage, Europa League quarter-finals

Best European Cup performance: Winners (1960/61, 1961/62)

Top Fantasy Football points scorer last season: João Mário 29

Coach: Bruno Lage

Lage returned to the club for a second spell as coach when he replaced Roger Schmidt on 5 September. The experienced 48-year-old, who had several jobs in youth set-ups and in assistant manager roles, led Benfica to the Portuguese title in 2019 and has also had spells in charge of Wolves and Botafogo.

Key player: Ángel Di María

The veteran attacking midfielder is still as impactful as ever, and was recently rewarded for making a big impression in his first season of his second spell at Benfica with a contract extension. The Argentinian World Cup winner scored nine goals and created 11 assists in the league in 2023/24 to show he has still got what it takes to compete at the top level at 36 years of age.

Big summer signing: Vangelis Pavlidis

The Greek striker has been prolific for Dutch club AZ in Europe over recent years, scoring 12 goals across the last two seasons in the Conference League, qualifying included. A multi-functional No9, Pavlídis is capable of creating a chance out of nothing and his finishing ability should prove invaluable for Benfica.

One to watch: Gianluca Prestianni

Talked about as a potential long-term replacement for his compatriot Di María, Prestianni shares plenty of similarities with his team-mate, and at the age of 18 has already been involved in the national team set-up at U17 level. After coming off the bench to make his senior Benfica debut in the Primeira Liga against Rio Ave at the end of last season, Prestianni looks as if he is ready for more regular action.

2023/24 season

A mixed bag for the Eagles, who were unable to retain their Portuguese Liga crown after being usurped by Sporting CP and lost in the semi-finals of both the Portuguese Cup and Portuguese League Cup. For the third successive season, however, they progressed to a European quarter-final, this time in the Europa League after finishing third in their Champions League group, before they eventually lost to Marseille.

Did you know?

In the 2022/23 Champions League, Benfica won six games in a single edition for the first time, became the first Portuguese team to reach the quarter-finals in consecutive seasons and registered their biggest home and away wins in the competition.