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KEY FIXTURES
Premier League: Arsenal vs. Brentford, Sat 12, 17:30 / 12:30. Brentford have just one win from their last five league games and are winless in nine straight home matches. They’ve not won away at Arsenal since 1938. Liverpool vs. West Ham, Sun 13, 14:00 / 09:00. Liverpool have lost just one of their last 57 home games against West Ham in all competitions. Meanwhile, the Hammers are without a win in their last four league games. See every Premier League fixture here.
La Liga: Leganes vs. Barcelona, Sat 12, 20:00 / 15:00. Barcelona have scored a league-high 83 goals this season. They could go seven points clear with a victory, although 18th-placed Leganes won the reverse fixture 1-0 in December and have lost just four of their 15 home games this season. See every La Liga fixture here.
Results…
TOP TALKING POINTS
Matches Abroad Step Closer
Relevent Sports, a New York-based promoter, has settled its antitrust lawsuit with the U.S. Soccer Federation (USSF). Combined with an earlier settlement with Fifa last year, the path for Relevant to hold foreign league matches in the United States and elsewhere is now clear.
The USSF had refused to sanction Relevent’s attempts to play competitive European league matches in the United States, likely due to concerns about increased competition for Major League Soccer. In the lawsuit, which lasted over six years, Relevent argued that the USSF is giving an advantage to Soccer United Marketing, the marketing arm of MLS. FIFA’s settlement and the launch of a working group on overseas matches weakened USSF's resistance.
Relevent has worked with Spain’s La Liga since 2018 to push for league matches on foreign soil. Barcelona and Atletico Madrid’s fixture was nearly played in Miami in December. Earlier this year, Italy’s Serie A admitted it is open to hosting matches abroad.
Champions League New Favourites
Arsenal are the new favourites to win the Champions League, according to Opta’s latest projections. After the first legs of the quarter-finals, Mikel Arteta’s side have been given a 27.8% chance of winning the competition, overtaking Barcelona, who are now at 25.9%.
The model gives little hope for second-leg comebacks. The winners of the first legs–Barcelona (99.5%), Arsenal (96%), Paris Saint-Germain (92%), and Inter (83%)–have seen a sharp rise in their chances of advancing to the semi-finals.
Should Arsenal or Real Madrid (agg 3-0) progress, they will face either PSG or Aston Villa (agg 3-1). The winner of Barcelona and Borussia Dortmund (agg 4-0) will meet either Bayern Munich or Inter (1-2). See the bracket here.
Extra Time Stays
Uefa has decided to keep extra time in European knockout matches after a proposal to change the rule was discussed. Europe’s football governing body believes scrapping extra time would encourage more defensive football, with underdogs playing for penalties.
Uefa has faced pressure to go straight to shoot-outs after 90 minutes to reduce the burden on players in an already congested fixture schedule. Critics also argued that extra time gives an unfair advantage to the team playing at home in the second leg. In February, a report found that 45% of fans would favour scrapping extra time, while 37% would oppose its removal.
Last season, only three Champions League ties from the round of 16 onwards went into extra time, while none required an additional period in 2022-23.
POLL
Do you think extra time should stay in European competitions?
ON THE BALL
Europe
> A verdict on Manchester City’s 115 charges is reportedly unlikely before the summer (More); Dive deeper into the charges (More) | Chelsea midfielder Moises Caicedo has had his car seized after he was suspected of driving without a valid license (More)
> Kylian Mbappe’s legal team say that several of Paris Saint-Germain’s accounts have been frozen as they try to resolve what they claim are the Frenchman’s €55m in unpaid wages (More)
> The Women’s FA Cup semi-final takes place this weekend, with Chelsea vs Liverpool on Saturday (Apr 12) and Manchester City vs Manchester United on Sunday (Apr 13) (More)
> Bayern Munich (1st) will host Borussia Dortmund (8th) on Saturday (Apr 12) in the Bundesliga for Der Klassiker (More)
> Leo Beenhakker, former Real Madrid and Netherlands coach, has died at the age of 82 (More)
Americas
> Lionel Messi scored two goals in Inter Miami’s 3-1 win over LAFC in the Concacaf Champions Cup quarter-finals (See Highlights) | Vancouver Whitecaps advance over Pumas to face Miami in the semi-finals (More)
> The Los Angeles 2028 Olympics will increase women’s football teams from 12 to 16, while the men’s competition will be downsized from 16 to 12 teams (More)
> MLS Matchday 8 kicks off with Toronto vs Minnesota on Saturday (Apr 12) as Vancouver Whitecaps lead the Western Conference and Columbus Crew lead the Eastern Conference (Fixtures) | See the league’s upcoming milestones for this weekend (More)
> The NWSL returns after the international break for Matchday 4 as Utah Royals host Portland Thorns on Friday (Apr 11) (Fixtures) | The NWSL expects to continue to play during next year’s Fifa men’s World Cup, co-hosted by the United States (More)
Rest of the World
> Cristiano Ronaldo has teamed up with X-Men director Matthew Vaughn for a joint venture film studio (More)
ROUTERS’ VOICE
Yesterday’s Poll: Which do you think is harder to win: a domestic league title or the Champions League?
🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🏠 Domestic title... (38%)
🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🌍 Champions League... (59%)
🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (3%)
Your punditry takes:
🏠 J.B: “A favourable draw can really help in the Champions League, although that's been changed with the new format. A league title (particularly in recent years) requires a team to be almost perfect from August to May. From an Arsenal fan, trust me, a league title is harder to win.”
🌍 J.E.D: “PSG are a perfect example that it is more difficult to win the Champions League than the domestic league, winning 11 out of the last 13 Ligue 1 titles, but no Champions League. Big fish in a small pond domestically, but playing against elite sides almost every game is completely different (though there is a good chance they could win it this year).”
✍️ L.J: “Tricky… Obviously, you need to do well in the domestic to even get to the Champions League, and you can have a couple of bad games in the domestic and still win, but a couple of bad games in the Champions League, and you are out. However, the standard in the lower half (perhaps not the bottom three) of the Premier League seems higher now, which means there are very few easy games in the domestic league, whereas you could argue there are easy games early on in the Champions League. Tough one!”
✍️ C.L: “It depends on the team. Some teams (Juventus, PSG, City) have been very successful domestically, but not so much on the European stage. There are other teams (Liverpool, AC Milan) that are the opposite.”
EXTRA TIME
The real price of Champions League tickets.
Should the Women’s World Cup expand to 48 teams?
Prince William might have a career in punditry.
The stats backing Flekken as the PL’s best.
USWNT new women’s home kit leaked.
Matty Cash interviewed by his sister.
How good is Desire Doue—really?
Gary Neville on players confronting him for critical punditry.
GAME FACE ON
Who Am I…
I’ve played in the Serie A, Premier League, Bundesliga, La Liga, Qatar Stars League and Brazilian Serie A.
I have a combined transfer fee of around €170m.
I’ve won the Copa America in 2018-19, the Champions League in 2019-20, and La Liga in 2017-18 and 2018-19.
Scroll below for the answer.
ON TODAY
La Liga
Valencia vs Sevilla (20:00)
Bundesliga
Wolfsburg vs Leipzig (19:30)
Serie A
Udinese vs AC Milan (19:45)
*All time in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.
Answer
Philippe Coutinho.
I don’t believe in superstitions. I just do certain things because I’m scared in case something will happen if I don’t do them.
