Peter Grant has dismissed any suggestion Celtic should expect an easier night against Benfica if Marco Silva rotates his side on Thursday.

Celtic travel to Lisbon looking for a response in Europe, with the Portuguese side expected to be one of the strongest teams in the Europa League. There has been some discussion around whether Silva could make changes to his team, but Grant is not buying the idea that it would give Celtic a major advantage.

The former Celtic midfielder knows Silva from his time in England and believes the Benfica boss will still send out a side capable of winning the match.

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Speaking on the Go Radio Football Show, Grant said: “I don’t think so in respect of I’ve seen all these managers say that many times and I know Marco Silva, because obviously he was at Fulham.

“So I know the way he plays. I know the way his teams play. Please believe me, he puts out a team there to win. That will be the old one, ‘yeah we’re playing a weaker team’, it doesn’t matter.”

Silva has built a reputation for well-organised, aggressive sides, and Benfica will be under pressure to take care of their home fixtures in this format. Grant believes that matters just as much as the names on the team sheet.

He added: “You’re still playing Benfica and you’re respecting your own fans. And because of the way it works, you have to win games. That’s the beauty of it.

“It is not a home and away game. You’ve got to take care of the games. You want to be in that, you want to stay in it as long as you possibly can. And Benfica are like Celtic, they will be in there and Benfica will one of the favourites. There’s no doubt of that.

“That becomes a big blow if they go out of it, with their supporters, because they’ll be thinking that they’re one of the ones that’s going to go on and win it.”

The Europa League has already become a major part of Celtic’s season, particularly after the frustration of missing out on the Champions League. Martin O’Neill’s side need to show they can compete against a higher level of opponent away from home.

Grant’s comments cut through any talk of a weakened Benfica side. Rotation does not always mean a drop-off at clubs with squads of that level, and Celtic will still need to produce one of their best European away performances in recent years to get a result.

Benfica will be expected to have plenty of the ball, push Celtic back for spells and make the most of the atmosphere in Lisbon. Celtic’s job will be to stay organised, use the ball better when chances come, and avoid the kind of mistakes that have cost them in Europe before.

Whatever team Silva names, Grant clearly does not expect Benfica to take Celtic lightly.