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.

 

Benfica linked to Famalicao defensive midfielder once again

Benfica are once again linked to Famalicao's defensive midfielder Goncalo Assuncao, as they look to strengthen their defensive play in the back end. Some may be wondering why the club is looking at a position that they had someone in place to play the role before loaning him out, in Florentino Luis but current club manager Jorge Jesus is not only looking for a defensive midfielder but one that can form one half of a midfield pair in which he felt Florentino was not capable of doing. Assuncao has also been linked with FC Porto and French side Nice and is the son of former FC Porto midfielder Paulo Assuncao and has a contract with Famalicao until the summer of 2025. Assuncao also has a €50M buy out clause that will make any negotiation difficult for any of the interested parties but Jesus has asked club President Vieira to make Assuncao a priority come January.

Benfica pair test positive for COVID-19

Benfica have been dealt a possible blow to their League and UEFA campaigns as both striker Darwin Nunez and midfielder Julian Weigl have tested positive for COVID-19 the club announced today. Nunez has spent the last two weeks with the Uruguayan national team where there was an outbreak of COVID-19 that effected players and staff, Nunez more then likely caught the virus from this outbreak. While Weigl remained in Lisbon during the international break and it is unknown how Weigl may have caught the virus. The two players will now be out of action indefinitely until they return a negative test for COVID-19.