Automatic qualification for the Champions League? What Sporting need | OneFootball

Sporting secured second place in the Liga Portugal Betclic and booked a return to the Champions League, following the club’s best-ever campaign in Europe’s top club competition. Even so, the Lions still depend on an external scenario to qualify directly for the competition’s main stage.

To avoid the preliminary rounds of the Champions League, the team coached by Rui Borges need Aston Villa to finish fourth in the Premier League, but that alone is not enough. The English club would also have to win the Europa League.

Unai Emery’s side took an important step toward that goal last Saturday by thrashing Liverpool. The win allowed the Villans to extend their lead over the Reds to three points, with only two matchdays left in the English league season.

In addition to the battle for a top-four finish in England, Aston Villa are now preparing to play in the Europa League final. The English side will face Freiburg, the team that knocked out Braga in the semi-finals, on 20 May in Istanbul.

Meanwhile, Sporting are still set to play in the Portuguese Cup final. The green-and-white side will face Torreense next Sunday, 24 May, at the Estádio Nacional. The match, which will bring the season to a close, is scheduled for 5:15 pm.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇵🇹 here.