Benfica look to bounce back against Manchester United

SL Benfica and Manchester United FC are long-standing European rivals but, while the visitors are looking to make it three Group A wins in as many games, the Portuguese side must regroup swiftly after a heavy defeat last time out.

Previous meetings
• United have prevailed in six of the clubs' nine encounters, starting with a quarter-final triumph in the 1965/66 European Champion Clubs' Cup and continuing with their 1967/68 final success at Wembley as the English side captured the trophy for the first time.

• Benfica's sole win came when a team including Luisão beat United 2-1 in Lisbon in December 2005, eliminating Sir Alex Ferguson's team at the group stage for the first time since 1994.

• United avenged that defeat when Louis Saha secured a 1-0 win in Lisbon in September 2006. They subsequently came from behind to beat Benfica 3-1 back at Old Trafford and consign their opponents to an early exit.

• The teams were also paired in the 2011/12 group stage, drawing 1-1 in Lisbon with Ryan Giggs (42) cancelling out Óscar Cardozo's 24th-minute opener for Benfica.

• The line-ups at the Estádio do Sport Lisboa e Benfica on 14 September 2011 were:
Benfica: Artur, Emerson, Luisão, Garay, Maxi Pereira, Witsel, Javi García, Rúben Amorim (Nolito 56), Aimar (Matić 75), Gaitán (Bruno César 90+1), Cardozo.
United: Lindegaard, Fabio (Jones 78), Evans, Smalling, Evra, Park, Carrick, Fletcher (Hernández 69), Valencia (Nani 69), Giggs, Rooney.

• It was also all square in their most recent fixture in Manchester, a Phil Jones own goal and a Pablo Aimar finish giving Benfica a 2-2 matchday five draw at Old Trafford on 22 November 2011. United's goals came from Dimitar Berbatov and Darren Fletcher.

• Benfica, then coached by Jorge Jesus, came first in Group C in 2011/12; United finished third, behind FC Basel 1893.

Match background

Benfica
• The Eagles suffered their biggest UEFA Champions League defeat in going down 5-0 at Basel on matchday two.

• Benfica have played 34 games against English clubs in UEFA competition; their record is W11 D6 L17 (W7 D4 L5 in Lisbon). In addition to their 1968 European Cup final defeat against United, they also lost the 2013 UEFA Europa League final in Amsterdam, 2-1 to Chelsea FC.

• Portuguese double winners in 2016/17, Benfica are in the UEFA Champions League group stage for the 13th time – and the eighth season running.

• The Lisbon club got to the quarter-finals in 2015/16 and again progressed from the group stage last year, losing 4-1 on aggregate to Borussia Dortmund in the round of 16.

• Beaten 2-1 at home by PFC CSKA Moskva on matchday one, Benfica have won only one of their last six European matches, home and away – the 1-0 victory against Dortmund in last season's round of 16 first leg – and lost the last three.

• On home soil in the 2016/17 group stage, Benfica drew 1-1 with Beşiktaş JK and beat FC Dynamo Kyiv 1-0. They also went down 2-1 to SSC Napoli but the CSKA Moskva defeat was still only their third loss in their last 12 European home games.

Manchester United
• United's record in Portugal is W6 D2 L4. They are unbeaten in five visits dating back to December 2005 and that loss at Benfica.

• On their last visit, Sir Alex Ferguson's side won 3-1 at SC Braga in the 2012/13 group stage, United's third successive win in Portugal.

• United were 4-1 winners at CSKA Moskva on matchday two, having overcome Basel 3-0 at Old Trafford in their first Group A fixture.

• This is United's fourth European match this term, their campaign having started with the 2-1 loss to Real Madrid CF in the UEFA Super Cup in Skopje on 8 August. That ended United's 11-match unbeaten run (W8 D3) since a 2-1 reverse at Fenerbahçe SK on matchday four of last season's UEFA Europa League. The defeat in Istanbul had been their fifth in nine European games.

• The Madrid defeat is United's only reverse in their last 14 European matches, home and away (W10 D3). They are now seeking to extend a six-match unbeaten European away record (W4 D2) since that setback at Fenerbahçe.

• This is United's 21st campaign in the UEFA Champions League group stage, and only four times have they failed to make the next round. Two of those eliminations came in their last four participations; the English club finished third in their section in both 2011/12 and 2015/16, their last appearance.

• United completed a clean sweep of European trophies with victory in last season's UEFA Europa League. The win against AFC Ajax in Stockholm added to their European Cup triumphs in 1968, 1999 and 2008 and their 1991 European Cup Winners' Cup success.

Coach and player links
• Mourinho started his coaching career at Benfica in September 2000, but lasted little more than two months in charge. In the next three seasons, with UD Leiria and FC Porto, he faced the Eagles seven times (W4 D2 L1). The sole defeat came in the 2003/04 Portuguese Cup final.

• Victor Lindelöf joined United from Benfica this summer, having made 48 first-team league appearances over five years with the Portuguese club.

• Nemanja Matić was at Benfica from 2011 to 2014, scoring seven goals in 56 league outings.

• Rui Vitória's UD Vilafranquense were beaten 4-0 away by Mourinho's Porto in the 2003/04 Portuguese Cup last 16.

• During his time with Sporting Clube de Portugal between 2012 and 2014, Marcos Rojo played five games against Benfica (D1 L4). In the 2013/14 Portuguese Liga, he scored the only goal in a triumph over a Vitória FC team managed by Rui Vitória.

• Luisão scored the decisive goal in Benfica's 4-3 win over Sporting in the fourth round of the 2013/14 Portuguese Cup, a game in which Rojo was sent off.

• Zlatan Ibrahimović scored twice in Paris Saint-Germain's 3-0 win against Benfica in the 2013/14 UEFA Champions League group stage.

• Haris Seferovic was sent off in Switzerland's 2-1 friendly defeat by Belgium in May 2016, Romelu Lukaku scoring twice.

• Daley Blind scored past Júlio César as the Netherlands beat Brazil 3-0 in the third place play-off at the 2014 FIFA World Cup.

• Have played together:
Júlio César & Zlatan Ibrahimović (FC Internazionale Milano, 2006–09)
Eduardo Salvio & David De Gea (Club Atlético de Madrid, 2009/10)
Jonas & Juan Mata (Valencia CF, 2010/11)

• International team-mates:
Ljubomir Fejsa, Andrija Živković & Nemanja Matić (Serbia)
Eduardo Salvio, Sergio Romero & Marcos Rojo (Argentina)

• Mourinho was Júlio César's coach at Internazionale between 2008 and 2010, winning a treble including the UEFA Champions League in 2009/10.

Match facts

Benfica
• André Almeida serves the first of a two-game ban following his red card against Basel on matchday two.

• Benfica have won only two of their last seven matches in all competitions.

• Salvio (Argentina) and Eliseu (Portugal) played during the international break as their teams qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

• João Félix, 17, made his Portugal Under-21 debut in a 3-1 loss to Bosnia and Herzegovina on 10 October.

Manchester United
• United are 11 games unbeaten, winning nine of them, since the loss to Real Madrid in the UEFA Super Cup.

• Lukaku – who found the net in each of his last nine appearances in all competitions prior to Saturday's goalless draw with Liverpool FC – has 16 goals in 14 outings for United and Belgium this season.

• The Red Devils have managed four goals in a game on six occasions this campaign.

• David de Gea (Spain), Sergio Romero (Argentina), Jesse Lingard (England), Matić (Serbia) and Marcus Rashford (England) played during the international break as their teams qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup.

• Marouane Fellaini was ruled out for around two weeks after sustaining a knee injury in Belgium's 4-3 win against Bosnia and Herzegovina on 7 October.

• Paul Pogba has not played since he suffered a hamstring injury on matchday one.

• De Gea is on the 30-man shortlist for the Ballon d'Or. The winner will be announced in December.