UCL scenarios for second-placed Super League team
With Olympiacos almost sure of winning the Super League title, AGONAsport looks at the potential UEFA Champions League scenarios for the second-placed team.
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Once again, two Greek teams will compete in the Champions League, with the champion entering the tournament in the third qualifying round and the club in second place being granted a berth in the second qualification phase. In early March, the regular season of the Super League reached its completion, with Olympiacos an overwhelming 14 points ahead of PAOK in first. A seven-point deduction for PAOK means that AEK, who have hugely improved with Massimo Carrera at the helm, are only a single point behind the Dikefalos tou Vorra in third position.
As a result of the coronavirus pandemic, the playoffs and playouts of the Super League are still indefinitely suspended, but there is a possibility that they will begin in June.
Let’s take a look at the possible Champions League path in the second qualifying round for either AEK or PAOK:
LIKELY SCENARIO
The second-placed teams of the Austrian, Croatian, Czech and Greek leagues are all guaranteed to enter the 2020/2021 Champions League in the second qualifying round. Clubs representing Austria and the Czech Republic will be seeded.
AEK or PAOK, competing in the League Route, will be unseeded for the draw. As it stands, RB Salzburg and Viktoria Plzen are the two possible opponents for the Greeks, with the two teams currently in second place of their respective leagues. However, Salzburg are only trailing Austrian Bundesliga leaders LASK Linz by three points, and Rapid Vienna are a mere four points behind in third. Viktoria Plzen are eight points off the pace in the Czech Republic.
Rijeka, Lokomotiv Zagreb or Hajduk Split will be the second unseeded team alongside AEK or PAOK. The three teams hold 47, 46 and 45 points respectively in the 1. HNL after 26 rounds, while Dinamo Zagreb have steamed ahead in first spot with 65 points on the board.
ALTERNATIVE SCENARIO
If the winner of the 2019/2020 UEFA Europa League does not qualify for the Champions League through the domestic league, teams in second position of the Dutch and Turkish championships will also enter Europe’s premier competition in the second qualifying phase.
Furthermore, if that proceeds to occur and Galatasaray do not finish in second place of the Super Lig, PAOK will become one of the seeded teams for the draw. Galatasaray will instead be seeded if they’re second.
At the moment, Galatasaray are in third of the league, three points behind the leading pair of Trabzonspor and Basaksehir. Sivasspor are trailing Galatasaray by one point in fourth position.
AEK will remain unseeded in any case.
In the Netherlands, AZ Alkmaar are six points clear of Feyenoord in second of the Eredivisie, tied on 56 points with reigning champions Ajax.
IMPORTANCE OF THE SECOND QUALIFYING ROUND
If AEK or PAOK progress to the third qualifying round of the Champions League, they will automatically be sure of a berth in at least the Europa League group stage, a factor which further increases the importance of the second qualification phase. Defeat in the second qualifying round will send the participating Greek team down to the third qualifying phase of the Europa League.
It must also be noted, of course, that the qualifying rounds are very unlikely to take place in July and August as scheduled. Format changes could subsequently be proposed by UEFA.
