Sheffield United must wait to discover where they need to finish to qualify for the Champions League

Judges at the Court of Arbitration for Sport, where Pep Guardiola’s side are attempting to overturn the suspension UEFA imposed for alleged “serious” breaches of their financial fair play regulations, are set to finish considering evidence later today after opening proceedings on Monday.

If the governing body’s verdict is upheld, then United would only have to climb two places in the table between now and the end of the campaign to secure a place in the tournament because City are second and unlikely to drop below fourth.

But CAS has not issued a timeframe to publish its findings, with senior figures within the game suggesting it could take several weeks before they are announced.

A key element of City’s defence is thought to focus around suggestions that much of the evidence UEFA used to convict them was obtained illegally by the Football Leaks website.

After strenuously denying any wrongdoing, City are also believed to argue that FFP could also be unenforceable by law and that the disciplinary process itself was flawed.

If their lawyers pursue this line of attack, they are expected to focus on concerns about confidentiality and the proportionality of the ban, which was announced in February - a month before the fixture schedule was suspended because of Covid-19.

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