GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Apr. 15 - Champions League quarter-final leg two overview, Modric’s minority stake in Swansea, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

UEFA Champions League, Quarter-Final, Leg 2, 20:00 / 15:00. Aston Villa vs. Paris Saint-Germain, Agg 1-3. PSG have lost three of the seven Champions League knockout ties where they’ve held a two-goal advantage–though they’ve won 16 straight away matches in all competitions. Meanwhile, Villa are unbeaten in 17 home matches and have scored 2+ goals in seven of their last eight at Villa Park. Borussia Dortmund vs. FC Barcelona, Agg 0-4. Barcelona are unbeaten in 24 matches in 2025 and have won their last eight away games, while Dortmund have only won three of their last 12 home games and have lost their last two meetings with the Catalan side. See the Champions League bracket here.

Results…

• Premier League: Bournemouth 1-0 Fulham (Full Results)

• La Liga: Atletico 4-2 Valladolid (Full Results)

• Serie A: Napoli 3-0 Empoli (Full Results)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Champions League Overview

The Champions League quarter-final second legs take place on Tuesday and Wednesday. See the bracket here.

Tuesday’s matchups are the most decisive, according to Opta’s prediction model. Paris Saint-Germain, who lead Aston Villa 3-1 on aggregate, have a 91.5% chance of progressing to the semi-finals. Barcelona, who host Borussia Dortmund after their 4-0 first-leg win, are given the highest projection, with a 99.4% chance of advancing.

Wednesday’s ties are also tilted, though the trailing sides have slightly better odds. Bayern Munich, who lost 2-1 at home to Inter in the first leg, have a 28.1% chance of overturning the deficit. Real Madrid’s odds have dropped from 49.8% to 8.9% following their 3-0 away loss to Arsenal.

Overall, Opta’s model has Barcelona as the 28.2% favourites to win the competition, followed by Arsenal at 24.5%. PSG are third (23.9%), Inter are fourth (16.7%), Bayern are fifth (4.1%), Real Madrid are sixth (1.5%), Villa are seventh (1%), and Dortmund are eighth (0%).

FA Updates Gender Policy

Transgender women will be allowed to continue to compete in women’s football in England under stricter eligibility rules, the FA has confirmed. The update follows pressure from campaigners and a letter signed by 48 MPs urging the FA to “protect women and girls” in sport.

Transgender women will be allowed to compete only if their testosterone levels are below prescribed levels for at least 12 months. An FA official will have “ultimate discretion” to approve or refuse a player’s permission to play. The FA says there are around 20 transgender women registered to play amateur football in England, with none currently playing professionally across the United Kingdom.

Across the pond, the National Women’s Super League (NWSL) issued a policy on transgender and nonbinary athlete participation in 2021. Transgender women are eligible to compete if their testosterone level is within “typical limits of women athletes over a set period.” The policy faced criticism for its reliance on testosterone.

Modric’s Swansea Stake

Real Madrid midfielder Luka Modric is set to become a minority owner of Championship club Swansea City. It is believed to be his first investment in football ownership, though he will continue playing for Real Madrid, with his contract set to expire at the end of the season.

The 39-year-old joins Andy Coleman, Brett Cravatt, Nigel Morris, and Jason Cohen in the ownership group that acquired controlling shares in November. It’s unclear how much Modric has invested or the size of his stake.

Swansea, currently 12th in the Championship, remain without a permanent manager. Interim boss Alan Sheehan has impressed since taking over from Luke Williams in March, and is expected to be offered the full-time role.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Kylian Mbappe is set to be suspended for just one game after his red card challenge in Real Madrid’s win over Alaves (More)

> Newcastle manager Eddie Howe is recovering from pneumonia, a lung infection (More) | Chelsea have spent the most (£60m) on agent fees of all Premier League clubs between February 2024 to February 2025—and Chelsea Women’s spent 28.6% of the WSL’s total spend (More) | Retired Premier League footballer Kevin Campbell died of natural causes after becoming seriously ill with heart and kidney failure, a coroner has concluded (More)

> Scottish Premiership’s post-split fixtures have been announced (More)

> The Rome Derby may return to afternoon kickoffs next season after Sunday night’s fixture left 13 police officers injured in clashes between rival fan groups (More)

> The upcoming German Cup final between third division Arminia Bielefeld and Bundesliga side VfB Stuttgart has become the most in-demand final in the competition’s history, with 1.6m ticket requests (More)

Americas

> Canada head coach Jesse Marsch is ready to call a truce with Bayern Munich and Alphonso Davies’ agent Nedal Huoseh. Davies’ agent suggested the player was unfit and “pressured” to play in Canada’s third-place Concacaf Nations League match, while Bayern threatened legal action (More)

> Inter Miami are interested in signing Kevin de Bruyne on a free transfer when the 33-year-old leaves Manchester City at the end of the season (More)

> After Matchday 3, Flamengo and Palmeiras share the top spot in the Brazilian Serie A, both with two wins, one draw and a 3+ goal difference (Table)

Rest of the World

> There has been a record seven bids to host the AFC Asian Cup 2031 (More)

> The Indian Super League final held a half-time show to feature Pokemon characters as part of its new sponsorship deal (Watch)

> Avispa Fukuoka beat Yokohama F Marinos 2-1 to climb to the top of the league in Japan, one point clear of Kyoto Sanga (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Do you think MLS should align its calendar with other major leagues around the world?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 📆 Yes... (74%)

🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅‍♂️ Nope... (23%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other... (3%)

Your punditry takes:

• 📆 H.B: “Simple! It’s a global game now. Every country that plays the game does so from August through May. That promotes continuity, same transfer windows, exposure for players and comparisons regarding level of competition.”

• 📆 K.G: “This is the next step towards legitimising MLS on the world stage. Then comes the big one—promotion/relegation.”

• 🙅‍♂️ D.B: “How is this pragmatic for teams like CF Montreal or TFC, Chicago, Minnesota, hell, even New York gets massive snow storms. Kansas City gets crazy cold for Chiefs games, even. This would be cost-prohibitive for a lot of teams, and beyond impractical. What fan wants to sit outside at BMO Field in -12 weather? It would be a stupid move.”

• 🙅‍♂️ J.B: “As a Philly Union fan, games in the winter months would be miserable to attend. Also, when playing in summer, MLS gets a larger spotlight, as none of the other leagues play then.”

• ✍️ T.A: “It’s easy to say yes, but it’s not that simple. The league would be playing the bulk of its games competing against every other major US sports league, where it’s already at the bottom of relevance. As it stands now, MLB is the only league on for the bulk of the season. Then there is the weather. All Canadian teams, Boston, Chicago, Columbus, NY, Salt Lake, Minnesota, Philly, are unbearable in the winter months. There will certainly be an attendance hit, should they switch.”

EXTRA TIME

Can Madrid really get past Arsenal?

Goalkeeper randomly goes on a solo run.

What the future of football could look like.

When can Liverpool win the Premier League?

Action figure trend with football greats.

How Raphina became a Ballon d’Or favourite.

Adidas reissue iconic Real Madrid ‘99 shirts.

When the MLS had 30-yard penalties.

The top summer free agents—ranked.

GAME FACE ON

Question: In 2003, Manchester United beat Real Madrid 4-3 in a Champions League quarter-final second leg, despite losing 6-5 on aggregate. Can you name the starting XI of each team?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

UEFA Champions League, QF

• Aston Villa vs PSG (Agg 1-3) (20:00)

• Borussia Dortmund vs Barcelona (Agg 0-4) (20:00)

Women’s Super League

• Arsenal vs Leicester City (19:30)

*All time in UK. ET -5. CDT -6. PDT -8. MDT -7. CET +1.

Answer

Manchester United: Barthez, Brown, Ferdinand, Silvestre, O’Shea, Butt, Keane, Veron, Solskjaer, Giggs, Van Nistelrooy.

Real Madrid: Casillas, Carlos, Helguera, Hierro, Salgado, McManaman, Makelele, Guti, Zidane, Figo, Ronaldo Nazario.

Watch the match highlights here. (US link)