[ad_1]
The loss in Thessaloniki against PAOK and the consequent elimination from the Champions League sent Benfica into the Europa League. The eagles have direct entry to the second European competition and will be in pot one in the draw in early October.
The Reds have the fifth best UEFA coefficient in the Europa League, behind Arsenal, Tottenham, Roma and Naples. Of these four teams, only Tottenham have yet to secure entry to the Europa League, with José Mourinho’s team playing qualifying rounds. In pot one are still Sporting (if they reach the group stage), Leverkusen, Basel (if they reach the group stage), Villarreal, Besiktas (if they reach the group stage), CSKA and Copenhagen (if they reach the group stage) the group stage).
SC Braga has direct entry into the competition after third place last season, and is the club with the best coefficient for pot two. The Minho can take advantage of an elimination of the teams in the qualifying rounds to reach the list of the first shortlisted.
Portuguese football still has Rio Ave in the Europa League, with Vila-Condenses playing the Bosnian Borac Banja Luka on Thursday.
