FC Porto, Portuguese survivor in the round of 16 of the football Champions League, and Benfica, Sporting and Sporting de Braga, in the play-off for access to the round of 16 of the Europa League, face each other this Monday to their next European rivals Monday.
In Nyon, Switzerland, starting at 12:00 local time (11:00 in Lisbon), the Dragons will be the first team to know their fate and be able to catch one of the great giants, such as Manchester City (England) , Bayern Munich (Germany) and Real Madrid. (Spain).
These will be the rivals to avoid in the draw, more than the English team Arsenal, the Spanish Real Sociedad and Atlético de Madrid and the German team Borussia Dortmund, and in none of these cases can any ease be expected. .
As runners-up in Group H, won by FC Barcelona, the only qualifier they cannot face, Sérgio Conceição’s eleven already knows that they will play the first leg at home, on February 13, 14, 20 or 21 2024.
Second leg of the round of 16, phase in which the Dragons will compete for the 14th time, repeating 2003/04 (season in which this phase debuted), 2004/05, 2006/07, 2007/08, 2008/09, 2009/10, 2012/13, 2014/15, 2016/17, 2017/18, 2018/19, 2020/21 and 2022/23, taking place on March 5, 6, 12 and 13.
Regarding the Europa League, Benfica and Sporting de Braga, fallen from the Champions League for being third in their respective groups, have seven possible rivals in the play-off to access the round of 16 and the desire common not to do so. He will face Roma, José Mourinho, Rui Patrício, Renato Sanches and João Costa.
The other possible rivals of the Reds and Arsenal are three French clubs (Marseille, Rennes and Toulouse), the Germans of Freiburg, the Czechs of Sparta Prague and the friendly, although distant, Azeris of Qarabag.
For its part, Sporting, who could not go directly to the round of 16, as they finished second in Group D of the Europa League, behind Atalanta, will surely not want to face the Italians of AC Milan and meet again with Rafael Leão.
Also on the lion’s path are the Turks of Galatasaray, the French of Lens, the Dutch of Feyenoord, the Swiss of Young Boys and the Ukrainians of Shakhtar Donetsk, to which FC Porto was relegated to the second UEFA competition.
The draw for the play-off for access to the round of 16 of the Europa League is scheduled at 1:00 p.m. local time (12:00 p.m. in Lisbon) and the matches are scheduled for February 15 and 22, with Sporting finishing at home , where Benfica and Braga will face each other. begin.
Source: TSF
