League: What still have Sporting and Benfica to play and when could there be a champion

Sporting took a “giant step” towards the title, on Tuesday, by defeating its guest, Famalicao (1-0), in a match to adjust the schedule. From the beginning, the Lions eliminated Porto from the title race, and now they are only rivaled by Benfica, although they are seven points behind them.

Ruben Amorim's team leads with 77 points, while the Reds have 70 points. At this point, there are five rounds left to play, which means there are 15 points to play for.

For Sporting to become national champions, they need to achieve three wins, if Benfica do not also stumble. If the two teams win the next three matches, the Lions will celebrate the title at home, in the 32nd round, against Portimonense.

The best possible scenario for Sporting is to celebrate not in the next round, but in the 31st round, in El Clasico at FC Porto, on April 28. However, to achieve this, it will be necessary for the Lions to win the next two matches (V. Guimarães at home and Porto to Dragao) and for Benfica to lose in one of the next two rounds. Sporting would then have a 10-point advantage over Benfica, with nine points still in dispute, meaning the Reds would be unable to catch up to their rivals.

Sporting will only confirm the title in the final round, for example, if they lose two games until then and Benfica win them all until the final round.

As for Benfica, in order to aspire to the title – which is a difficult possibility, but it is still on the table – it must wait, at least, for two defeats and a draw from the Amorim team until the end of the tournament, in addition to the necessity of winning. Their games.

If Sporting loses one match, draws two, and Benfica wins those three matches, the two teams will be equal on points. With the direct confrontation drawn, after Benfica's victory in Luz with a score of 2-1 and Leonen's victory in Alvalade with the same score, the criterion of “the largest difference between the number of goals scored and the number of goals conceded by the clubs” is interference in the matches played throughout the competition. That criterion, at this stage, clearly favors the Lions, who have a goal difference of 56 to the Reds' 42.

What's left to play for Sporting and Benfica:

Sports calendar

30th place: Sporting-V. Guimarães

Thirty-first place: Porto Sporting

32nd place: Sporting Portimonense

33rd place: Estoril Sporting

34th place: Sporting Disp. Keys

Benfica calendar

Farense – Benfica 30

31 Benfica-SP. Braga

32 Famalicao – Benfica

Benfica – Arauca 33

34 Rio Street – Benfica