Benfica in crisis as nine players out of Europa League

Benfica are in crisis mode as a total of nine of the clubs players are set to miss their Europa League encounter against Rangers on Thursday with a mix of injuries and illness. Manager Jorge Jesus is scrabbling to piece together a squad by adding some of the clubs B team players to the main roster. Benfica will be without Darwin Nunez, Julian Weigl and Taarabt all due to COVID-19 as the trio have all tested positive for the virus. The club also have Andre Almeida, Nuno Tavares, Todibo and Pedrinho out of action with injuries, while center back Otamendi is out of action due to red card received during their last meeting against Rangers. Benfica are also unable to use the services of midfielder Samaris due to the fact that the club did not register him as an option for the Europa League competition. Benfica look set to start a strike combo of Seferovic and Waldschmidt for the first time this season when the club travels to Glasgow and expect team captain Jardel to play along side Vertonghen in the center of the back four. Benfica take on Rangers Thursday at 8pm WEST in the battle for top spot in their group.