Porto’s chances of reaching the Europa League last 16 directly | OneFootball

The idea is simple: to secure a place among the top eight in the Europa League group stage and ensure direct qualification to the round of 16, the most favorable scenario for FC Porto is to defeat Rangers this Thursday at the Dragão.

There are other combinations that allow for qualification, but the fewer points Porto earns against the Scots, the more complicated the calculations become. Let's start with the most straightforward outcome: the possibilities if FC Porto wins.

FC Porto qualifies if they beat Rangers and:

– Betis, Ferencváros, or Roma do not win their games;

– Freiburg loses, provided FC Porto can recover the goal difference (currently +3 in favor of the Germans);

– Midtjylland or Sp. Braga lose or draw, and in the case of a points tie, FC Porto must recover the respective goal differences;

– Betis wins, but with FC Porto recovering the goal difference (currently +1 in favor of the Spaniards);

As mentioned, if Porto draws with Rangers, the chances of direct qualification become more demanding. Thus, to climb the table, FC Porto needs one of these situations to occur:

– Betis loses;

– Ferencváros loses by two or more goals;

– Roma loses by four or more goals;

However, there is another risk to consider in the event of a draw: besides climbing in the standings, it's necessary to prevent teams just behind from overtaking FC Porto. For this, the following results must occur together:

– Genk, PAOK, Stuttgart, and Bologna do not win;

– E. Vermelha and Celta draw;

Finally, in case of a defeat, there is a slim chance of direct qualification, but it involves a total of 11 results, all of which would need to occur simultaneously, and some depend on variations in goal differences.

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