Jose Mourinho’s Benfica side will take on Real Madrid in a crucial Champions League clash on Wednesday, setting up an emotional reunion for the Portuguese coach with his former club and one of his most trusted ex-players, Alvaro Arbeloa.

Arbeloa, now in his first senior managerial role, was appointed Real Madrid head coach two weeks ago following the dismissal of Xabi Alonso, another former Mourinho player, after a short spell in charge.

Mourinho, who led Real Madrid between 2010 and 2013, spoke fondly of his former defender, describing him as one of his favourites on a personal level.

“Arbeloa is my boy; he’s not just a former player,” Mourinho said at Tuesday’s press conference. “He is one of my favourite people in football. He wasn’t the most talented player I had at Madrid, but he was one of the best men. He’s the last person I would ever put pressure on.”

Asked whether Arbeloa’s relative inexperience could play a role, Mourinho dismissed the suggestion. While wishing his former player well in his new role, he made it clear he hopes Benfica will prevail this time.

“Arbeloa can coach any club in the world,” he said. “I want him to do well at Real — just not tomorrow.”

Real Madrid enter the match in strong form after a dominant 6-1 victory over Monaco last week, which lifted them to third place in the group standings with 15 points. They trail Bayern Munich by three points and leaders Arsenal by six as they push for a top-eight finish and automatic qualification for the last 16.

Benfica, by contrast, are struggling. They sit 29th on six points and remain in the elimination zone. Mourinho’s side must win to keep alive their hopes of finishing in the top 24 and reaching the knockout-phase playoffs.

Despite the scale of the challenge, Mourinho insisted his team remain confident in their approach.

“We need to score one more goal than our opponents — it’s simple,” he said. “We have to attack, but we can’t suffer too much. Balance will be essential. Without balance, Madrid will punish us.”

Mourinho also reflected warmly on Xabi Alonso, another former player who has moved into management.

“Xabi is another one of my boys,” he added. “I’m always happy to see my former players succeed. What happened to him at Madrid doesn’t concern me, but he’s shown the level he can reach as a coach, and I’m sure he’s happy now.”

The former Real Madrid boss, who guided the club to the LaLiga title in 2011/12 as well as Copa del Rey and Spanish Super Cup success, described Wednesday’s fixture as decisive for Benfica.

“This is a ‘kill or be killed’ game for us,” Mourinho said. “We’re facing a great team with great players. We have nothing to lose, so we’ll fight to stay in the competition by playing our game and keeping our balance.”