GM football fans. It’s Tuesday, Apr. 08 - The Champions League quarter-finals, Manchester City’s latest legal challenge, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

Champions League, Quarter-Finals, Leg 1: Arsenal vs. Real Madrid, 20:00 / 15:00. Arsenal are unbeaten in their last 10 UCL home games, keeping eight clean sheets in that time. While the Gunners have never lost a competitive match against Real Madrid, the Spanish giants have won 12 consecutive UCL quarter-final ties since 2004. See predicted line-ups here. Bayern Munich vs. Inter Milan, 20:00 / 15:00. Bayern are unbeaten in their last 22 Champions League home games and have reached the quarter-finals in six consecutive seasons. Meanwhile, Inter have conceded just two goals in 10 UCL matches this season. See predicted line-ups here.

Results…

• Premier League MW31: Leicester 0-3 Newcastle (Report) (Table)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Champions League Overview

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

Tuesday’s matchups–Arsenal vs Real Madrid and Bayern Munich vs Inter–are the most evenly matched, according to Opta’s prediction model. The model predicts that Arsenal have a 50.2% chance of advancing to the semi-final after both legs are played. Similarly, Inter are given a slight edge with a 51.5% chance of progressing over Bayern.

Wednesday’s fixtures appear more decisive. Opta predicts that Paris Saint-Germain, who host Aston Villa in the first leg, have a 71.3% chance of reaching the next round. Barcelona, who visit Borussia Dortmund, are given the strongest projection, with a 78.2% chance of advancing.

Overall, Opta’s model has Barcelona as the 23.1% favourites to win the competition, followed by PSG at 19.3%. Arsenal are third (15.6%), Inter are fourth (13.8%), Real Madrid are fifth (12.2%), Bayern are sixth (10.8%), Villa are seventh (3.7%), and Dortmund are eighth (1.5%).

City Challenge Premier League

Manchester City have launched another legal challenge against the Premier League regarding its associated party transaction (APT) rules. APT rules stop clubs from profiting from commercial deals with companies they’re linked to.

In February, the rules were tweaked after City’s legal action found some parts of the framework unlawful. Despite those changes, City argue that the league should include shareholder loans in its profit and sustainability rules (PSR) calculations.

Without shareholder loans included, City claim they’re being “discriminated” against and have provided figures that suggest other teams have benefited from this. Six Premier League clubs–Everton, Arsenal, Brighton, Liverpool, Chelsea and Fulham–owe over £100m in related-party loans. See data here.

The Premier League could face a £20m legal bill for the first part of the dispute. All the league’s legal fees are paid from the clubs’ central fund.

Brazil’s ‘Memphis’ Rule

Brazil’s Football Federation (CBF) has directed referees to punish players who stand on the ball with a yellow card and an indirect freekick for the opposition. The decision comes three days after Memphis Depay performed a similar skill in the Paulista Championship final, sparking a brawl between the players. See the skill here.

Depay said that he didn’t “see the issue” with the skill move and that he “went to Brazil to experience jogo bonito [the beautiful game] first hand.” Neymar, who now plays for Santos, wrote on Instagram: “Football is getting more and more boring. Too much complaining."

In 2007, a player was banned for four months for his challenge on Brazilian player Kerlon while performing his infamous ‘seal dribble’. While the move is not explicitly banned, referees began penalising Kerlon for provoking opposition into dangerous fouls.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> The Uefa Women’s Nations League Matchday 4 kicks off on Tuesday (Apr. 8), standout fixtures include Germany vs Scotland, Spain vs Portugal and Belgium vs England (Full fixtures); See group standings here (More)

> Southampton have reached an agreement with manager Ivan Juric to leave following relegation from the Premier League (More); Simon Rusk becomes the interim boss with Adam Lallana as assistant (More)

> Ticket sales for 2025 men’s UEFA club competition finals have launched with applications to apply closing on April 11 (More)

> Two players came to blows on the Real Valladolid bench as the club looks to discipline them (More / Video) | La Liga has appealed the ruling by the Spanish government that allowed Barcelona to register Dani Olmo and Pau Victor (More)

Americas

> Lionel Messi scored for the third time in four Major League Soccer matches this season, though Inter Miami were held to a 1-1 draw with Toronto FC (More)

> Neymar dressed as Batman in the Santos dressing room to show support for his teammates, but left before the game started (More)

> Boca Juniors moved top of Group A in the Argentine Primera Division Apertura tournament with a 1-0 home win over Barracas Central (More)

Rest of the World

> Fifa president Gianni Infantino wants Russia to return to world football as part of a peace pact with Ukraine, saying it is “what we have to cheer for” (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Kevin De Bruyne announced he is leaving Manchester City at the end of the season. Does he make it into your Premier League all-time XI?

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 👏 Absolutely (61%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🙅‍♂️ Nope (35%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ✍️ Other (4%)

Your punditry takes:

• 👏 J.B: “His absolute control of the midfield is unmatched. He can play balls with all surfaces of his body in ways that have never been seen before. His ability to threaten not only with passing, but with powerful and precise shots are something that gives defenders nightmares. Kevin De Bruyne is absolutely in the all-time PL XI.”

• 🙅‍♂️ T.R: “KDB’s a great player. But does he make it into an all-time XI? Not for me. He optimises already-great teams, but I can’t imagine him carrying a lesser team to success the same way, say, Gerrard did for Liverpool. His international (lack of) success shows this.”

• ✍️ D.W: “It is difficult to define a single player who is guaranteed a place in the all-time XI. The only two standouts for me are Ronaldo and Henry. From there, you could probably then pick nine more out of a possible 40 other candidates.”

EXTRA TIME

Why football struggles to copy Moneyball.

How Arsenal lost out on Federico Valverde.

Is Juric the PL’s worst-ever manager?

Bellingham kicks VAR monitor.

Lionel Messi breaks yet another record.

Nike drop Air Max 95-inspired boots.

… and Harry Kane’s first signature boot.

Most iconic Champions League QF goals in history. (video)

GAME FACE ON

Question: Rank the following players in order of the number of goals they’ve scored in the Champions League quarter-finals? Highest to lowest.

• Lionel Messi 

• Raul

• Filippo Inzaghi

• Cristiano Ronaldo

• Andriy Shevchenko

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

Champions League, Quarter-Finals

• Arsenal vs Real Madrid (20:00)

• Bayern Munich vs Inter Milan (20:00)

UEFA Women’s Nations League

• Full list of fixtures here.

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

Answer

Cristiano Ronaldo (25), Lionel Messi (12), Raul (10), Filippo Inzaghi (9), Andriy Shevchenko (9).