Confirmation of the venue for the Champions League final will finally be announced on Thursday, according to latest reports.

Manchester City and Chelsea are both awaiting news from Uefa about a possible switch of the May 29 showpiece from its original location of the Ataturk Olympic Stadium in Istanbul.

But with growing speculation that Portugal will host the final for the second year running, and the UK government refusing to accede to a relaxation of their own Covid-19 restrictions, it seems that the authorities in Lisbon may have come to an agreement with UEFA today (Wednesday).

Porto's Estadio Do Dragao home is top of the list, and reports on Wednesday evening suggested that it would be confirmed as the new venue on Thursday. Fans of both clubs would be able to attend the final with reports of 6,000 tickets being made available to each club's supporters.

But the bad news for those fans is that if Portugal is indeed confirmed as the new host country, the cost of flights has increased dramatically in recent days, with some return flights from the UK for around the date of the final costing upwards of £600.

Accommodation to be found at short notice wouldn't be cheap either, and that's before the cost of required Covid tests and a match ticket.

The UK government's decision to place Covid hotspot Istanbul on their travel "red list" made it impossible for supporters to attend, and strict quarantine rules could have disrupted Uefa's own Euro 2021 finals, due to start two weeks after the final.

Uefa had hoped to switch the final to Wembley, but the government's refusal to bend their rules in order to allow an army of officials, staff, VIPs and media from all over the world, without observing hotel quarantine, has seemingly killed that chance.

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Culture secretary Oliver Dowden has been at the heart of talks with Uefa and yesterday hadn't yet given up all hope of a compromise solution.

"I had constructive discussions yesterday with the President of UEFA," said Dowden. "We stand ready. We are working through the FA. We cleared the way to get Wembley available if UEFA want to take advantage of that.

"UEFA have some asks as well of us and we are working through that. It is though important that we protect the integrity of our quarantine system.

"I am still hopeful we might be able to get it here but we do have to protect certain principles."

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The head of the Porto tourist authority Luís Pedro Martins has indicated that the decision has hinged on the national government's willingness to allow the final on Portuguese soil.

Martins said the possibility of Porto hosting the final in their 50,000-capacity stadium "is dependent on the response of the Portuguese authorities."

And he urged the government to agree to the switch: "These are opportunities that we cannot afford to miss, for the lives of companies and institutions. These major events are not taking place at the same pace that decisions are sometimes made by the director general of health.

"We are aiming to host this year's UEFA Champions League final, which will be played on May 29 between the British clubs Chelsea and Manchester City.

"We are very happy with this possibility. At this moment I think it is only dependent on some response from our authorities, it is important because once again it puts our region on the map."