St. Gallen – Benfica Tip Europa League, 2nd qualifying round, first leg on Thursday, 23/07/2026 at 20:00 CET
For FC St. Gallen, things are really coming thick and fast in the second qualifying round of the Europa League. With Benfica Lisbon, they will meet a real European football heavyweight who recently felt right at home in the Champions League.
Accordingly, it is no surprise that the Swiss only go into the first leg as outsiders despite the nominal home advantage. After the recent friendly claps against Olympique Lyon (3-6) and Norwich (0-3), there is indeed a threat of trouble.
And so in my St. Gallen Benfica tip, I take aim at the bet “Over 2.5 goals in the game” at odds around 1.50. Regardless of the actual outcome, Benfica should provide one or two goals here.
St. Gallen vs. Benfica AI predictions:
Of course, our AI model is also at the start of the Europa League qualifiers and provides you with additional betting alternatives in its St. Gallen Benfia AI prediction.
However, the first selection of the AI is unlikely to please the fans of the Swiss at all. The digital brain sees St. Gallen without a chance and recommends the bet “Win Benfica with handicap -1”. However, the odds at around 2.10 are also quite tempting.
Predicted chance of winning:
| Victory St. Gallen |
Draw |
Victory Benfica |
| 14.3% |
21.4% |
64.3% |
Despite everything, the AI believes that the Swiss can at least score their own goal. For “St. Gallen over 0.5 goals”, the online bookmakers offer odds of about 1.60. For the back of the mind: In the last eight games, the St. Gallen team has only failed to score against Norwich.
A simple 1×2 bet on Benfica is only worthwhile to a limited extent in view of the odds (approx. 1.45). This is another reason why the AI brings the bet “half-time/full-time Benfica/Benfica” into play. Here, the value climbs to a lucrative 2.10.
What you need to know about St. Gallen vs. Benfica betting
- Both teams will meet for the first time ever in an official match.
- St. Gallen have lost the last two friendlies and have conceded a total of nine goals.
- Benfica have lost just one game since February 2026 (2-1 in the friendly against Flamengo).
- The Portuguese have been represented in the Champions League for the past five seasons.
- St. Gallen was last represented in the main round of the Europa League in the 2013/14 season.
