Fabio Silva is set to face a Portuguese side for the first since leaving his homeland, in a match that could be set up for him to finally make his mark on Rangers.
Wolves’ record signing, at around £35M, hasn’t really got going since he left Porto, and with Benfica being Porto’s arch-rival, Silva will be absolutely desperate to make something happen against his old nemesis.
Of course, his record against them is excellent – P2 W2, so Porto definitely had the measure of the Lisbon giants while Silva was there, but it’s also worth mentioning he only scored one senior goal in the league before he left for that big sum to the Premier League.
And it’s fair to say he’s not really shone at Rangers, a couple of ‘better’ performances here and there aside.
Silva has been at Ibrox for approaching two months now, and it wouldn’t be unfair to say he’s yet to get going – well, his chance is definitely coming against Benfica, and he will surely be Philippe Clement’s no-so-secret weapon in the tie.
Benfica are very much a tough nut to crack, but having a player in our ranks with vast experience against them and knowing their style is a very handy thing to have, and it will give Clement some useful inside scoop about the Portuguese giants.
Of course, the manager will know his stuff too, he’s no mug, but having a player on the roster who can give an angle Clement might not have is very handy.
But more tellingly, can this tie be Silva finally arriving at Rangers and truly, properly getting going?
His career has stalled horribly since leaving Portugal, and it’s not looked so far like Rangers has been a massive success either.
But we’d like to think this match can be the moment he catches fire and never looks back.