Back at the Luz, Bruno Lage has the keys again and the brief is clear: keep Benfica electric in transition but calmer between the boxes. The attack now revolves around Vangelis Pavlidis, a striker who times near-post runs like clockwork and finishes with ruthless economy. Around him, the creative load tilts to Fredrik Aursnes—the connector who never wastes a touch—and Georgiy Sudakov—the line-breaker who looks forward by default. António Silva steps into midfield to break lines, while Bruma and Gianluca Prestianni stretch the pitch, then cut back across the six-yard line. The structure is familiar, the personnel is refreshed, and the crowd expects control to turn into chances before the hour.

How Benfica break the block

Lage wants Pavlidis to pin a centre-back and open lanes for third-man runs. When Aursnes receives, he draws a step and slips the ball forward; when Sudakov gets it, he threads vertical passes into feet or clips the channel to be chased. With Pavlidis as focal point, deliveries diversify: driven crosses and pull-backs, not just lofted balls. Benfica will also vary rhythm—one long switch to pull Qarabağ’s block laterally, then two quick passes to attack the space just vacated. If the Luz starts humming, Pavlidis’ front-post movement becomes a problem defenders solve only once—after it’s in the net.

How Qarabağ steal minutes

Gurban Gurbanov’s side is a metronome of their own: compact distances, clean clearances, and well-timed breaks. Shahrudin Magomedaliyev starts counters with quick throws, Kevin Medina protects the left channel with timing more than pace, and Abdellah Zoubir carries attacks into space. Musa Gurbanli provides penalty-box presence and pulls a centre-back out to open the lane for the late runner. Qarabağ won’t stack shots; they’ll stack interruptions—tactical fouls to cool Benfica’s rhythm, long diagonals to make full-backs turn, and restarts that eat small chunks of time. They are comfortable at 0–0 for a very long time.

The chessboard

• – António Silva vs Gurbanli: win first contacts and Qarabağ become a crossing team.
• – Aursnes/Sudakov vs the pivot: deny the half-turn and you starve Pavlidis.
• – Zoubir vs the Benfica right-back: one successful carry can turn a quiet spell into a big chance.
• – Set-plays: Benfica aim at the penalty spot for knock-downs; Qarabağ crowd the six and screen the keeper—second balls decide the mood.

Game state & the Luz effect

If Benfica score early, the match opens and the second may come from a recycled cross at the back post. If it stays goalless past the hour, expect Lage to roll a winger inside to flood zone 14 and keep Pavlidis on the shoulder. Qarabağ are expert time-managers; they will use pauses to drain rhythm, then launch one precise break to test the keeper and the crowd’s nerves. The stadium’s hum is a weapon for Benfica—chain three attacks and the place
becomes a wave machine—but that same energy can turn anxious if clear chances don’t arrive.

Bench chess and tweaks

Lage can flip a winger to the opposite flank and ask Sudakov to drift wider, creating inside lanes for overlapping full-backs; that tweak drags a defensive midfielder out and opens the cut-back to the penalty spot. If minutes need managing, Bruma’s direct running late on against a compact block is often the simplest route to a decisive chance—draw the full-back, slip Pavlidis, finish first time. For Qarabağ, substitutes are less about changing identity and more about maintaining intensity: fresh legs to press the first pass after clearances, a tall target for set-plays, and one runner with license to cheat high so Benfica never fully commit both full-backs.

Tactical outlook & prediction

What Benfica need: quick circulation, patient width, ruthless near-post runs, clean rest-defence. What Qarabağ need: perfect distances, clean exits, smart fouls, and one sharp transition.
Prediction: Benfica 2–0 Qarabağ — patience rewarded around the hour; Pavlidis the difference-maker. If Qarabağ score first, 2–1 remains on the table.
Squad check (UCL list): Benfica — Fredrik Aursnes, Georgiy Sudakov, Vangelis Pavlidis, Bruma, Gianluca Prestianni, António Silva. Qarabağ — Shahrudin Magomedaliyev, Kevin Medina, Abdellah Zoubir, Musa Gurbanli.