Lisbon appears to be the favorite location to host the final stages of the Champions League. The Portuguese capital is known to intend to stage a condensed version of the tournament, with ties being played as single legs, while Uefa finds a way to complete the competition amid the coronavirus pandemic.
How to finalize the four remaining last-16 matches remains open for debate. Manchester City is set to play Real Madrid, leading 2-1 with a second leg at home. Chelsea is 3-0 down from home first leg against Bayern Munich, while Juventus is heading to Lyon host, who took first leg 1-0 and Barcelona host Napoli at 1-1.
Those matches can be added to the Lisbon fixture list that seems likely to take over from Istanbul as the venue for the final. There are two big stadiums in Lisbon close by Estádio da Luz and Estádio José Alvalade. It is understood that other stadia, such as Porto’s, could also be used in the country.
Unless the executive committee of Uefa decides on Wednesday that Lisbon is the right option, Istanbul will be rewarded with a potential final in the Champions League. The final could take place on Sunday, August 23rd, with The Guardian, said games condensed into 10 days.
All matches would be behind closed doors as things stand, but some supporters would be able to attend if the Portuguese government were to change its guidance in time to organize tickets.
A city in Germany-possibly Frankfurt or Düsseldorf-will host the final stages of the Europa League. The final was due to go to Gdansk.
A similar trend might be followed by the Women’s Champions League. With reports in Spain suggesting the final games may be divided between the Basque cities of Bilbao and San Sebastian.
It is known that Uefa is planning a start for the 2020-21 group stage of the Champions League by mid-October, usually when match-three will be. Whether the qualification rounds happen is a complicated problem, with several leagues likely to start while the preliminaries are normally scheduled.
