Benfica aims to solidify their chances of advancing to the Europa League group stage as they host Aarhus at Estadio da Luz on Thursday for the first leg of their playoff tie. The Eagles have made their way through the earlier rounds with impressive home victories, notably defeating St. Gallen and Hearts decisively, while Aarhus fell into the Europa League after being knocked out of the Champions League. Marco Silva, who took over from Jose Mourinho in June, has faced some challenges in his initial tenure as Benfica's coach, but his team has shown resilience in tough situations. After a 2-1 loss to St. Gallen in his debut match, the Eagles bounced back with a commanding 5-0 win at home, securing their spot in the Europa League third qualifying round. They followed this with a dominant 6-1 victory over Hearts in the first leg of that tie, and a 1-1 draw in Scotland was sufficient to advance them to the playoff round. Benfica enters Thursday's match with boosted morale, having recently thrashed Casa Pia 7-0 in a domestic clash on Monday. Vangelis Pavlidis shone in that match, scoring a hat-trick and continuing his strong start to the season, which helped the Eagles recover from a disappointing 2-2 draw against newly promoted Academico de Viseu in their opening game. This latest win has revitalized Benfica's ambitions for the title after a lackluster third-place finish last season, while also setting the stage for their goal of returning to Europe's elite competition after being eliminated by Real Madrid in the Champions League knockout playoffs last year. Aarhus, on the other hand, is making their debut in the Champions League after clinching their sixth Danish league title last season, ending a 40-year wait for the championship.