GM football fans. It’s Friday, Apr. 18 - the Premier League run-in, a first-ever second division women’s league in the United States, and everything else you need to know. Forwarded this email? Sign up here.

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KEY FIXTURES

UEFA Women’s Champions League, Semi-finals: Arsenal Women vs. Olympique Lyonnais Women, Sat 19, 12:30 / 07:30. Lyon have progressed from each of their last 11 semi-final ties in the competition. Meanwhile, Arsenal go into the fixture in good form, having scored 4+ goals in each of their last six home games in the WSL. Barcelona Femeni vs. Chelsea Women, Sun 20, 17:00 / 12:00. Chelsea have been denied twice at the semis by Barcelona, but Sonia Bompastor’s side have only lost once all season and they have the Quadruple still alive. Dive deeper into a full preview of the UWCL semi-finals here.

Results…

• Europa League, QF: Man Utd 5-4 Lyon (Agg 7-6) (Report) (Highlights / US readers) | Frankfurt 0-1 Spurs (Agg 1-2) (Report) | Athletic Club 2-0 Rangers (Agg 2-0) | Lazio 3-1 Bodo/Glimt (Agg 3-3, Bodo/Glimt win 3-2 on pens) (Europa League Bracket)

• Conference League, QF: Chelsea 1-2 Legia (Agg 4-2) (Report) | Fiorentina 2-2 Celje (Agg 4-3) | Jagiellonia 1-1 Betis (Agg 1-3) | Rapid Vienna 1-4 Djurgarden (Agg 2-4)

TOP TALKING POINTS

Premier League Run-In

Liverpool could win the Premier League title this weekend if they beat Leicester City and Arsenal lose to 18th-placed Ipswich. Either way, the Reds need another six points out of the 18 across their remaining six league matches to guarantee a second Premier League title. See all the Premier League MW33 fixtures here.

Assuming the Premier League secures five Champions League spots–though up to seven could qualify–Newcastle (91.5%), Manchester City (81.7%), and Nottingham Forest (72.7%) are projected to join Liverpool and Arsenal in qualifying. Opta’s model expects Chelsea to secure a Europa League spot, while Aston Villa are favoured for the Europa Conference League. Final spots may shift based on whether Manchester United or Tottenham Hotspur win the Europa League.

Newly promoted clubs–Ipswich and Leicester—are more or less nailed-on for relegation. Leicester will be relegated with anything but a win against Liverpool this Sunday (Apr. 20), joining Southampton, already confirmed as the fastest-relegated team in Premier League history.

New Women’s League

For the first time, the United States will introduce a second-division women’s professional league below the NWSL. This news comes in the same week Canada launched its first professional women’s league, the Northern Super League (NSL) (see previous write-up).

Named the Women’s Professional Soccer League (WPSL Pro), the new competition is expected to launch in April 2026, one month after the NWSL season begins. Fifteen teams have already been confirmed by the league, each paying a $1m franchise fee. Notably, the WPSL Pro is considering giving players equity in the league.

Groups that fell short of landing an NWSL expansion team will look to feature in the new league. The Cleveland Soccer Group, who were not selected for an NWSL expansion, have already confirmed their spot in the WPSL Pro and plans to build a $50 million, 10,000-seat downtown stadium for the team.

Klopp’s Madrid Talks

Jurgen Klopp has agreed to negotiate with Real Madrid over becoming their next manager, Spanish outlet SPORT reports. Current boss Carlo Ancelotti is expected to leave the club after the Copa del Rey final against Barcelona on April 26.

Four months ago, Klopp became Head of Global Soccer at Red Bull, where he oversees the company’s network of clubs: RB Leipzig, Red Bull Salzburg, New York Red Bulls, Red Bull Bragantino in Brazil, and Omiya Ardija in Japan. He signed a four-year deal with a release clause allowing him to leave for the German national team coaching position.

Brazil’s national team are understood to remain hopeful of appointing Ancelotti, with Diego Fernandes, a prominent Brazilian businessman, attempting to broker a deal.

POLL

ON THE BALL

Europe

> Virgil van Dijk has signed a new two-year contract with Liverpool; reports say his contract will be similar to his previous salary of £220,000 a week, but performance-related bonuses could reach about £400,000 a week (More) | Dive deeper into Van Dijk’s Liverpool stats (More)

> The inaugural chair of English football’s regulator has yet to be found as three short-listed candidates are “unlikely” to get the job (More) | Everton fan who filmed himself stealing food at the club’s new stadium has received a lifetime ban (More)

> Inter Milan (71 points) face tricky fifth-place Bologna away on Sunday, while Serie A’s second-placed Napoli (68 points) face Monza away on Saturday (More)

> Bayern Munich can secure the Bundesliga title with three wins from the last five games; they face Heidenheim on Saturday, where they previously collapsed 12 months ago; see full Bundesliga weekend preview (More)

> Title play-offs could be brought into the Women’s Super League; another proposal involves splitting into two smaller divisions each season (More)

Americas

> The Northern Super League, Canada’s first professional women’s league, saw attendance of 14,018 in its inaugural match on Wednesday; Vancouver Rise FC won 1-0 against Calgary Wild FC (More)

> Neymar exits the pitch in tears after 34 minutes due to a left thigh injury in Santos’ 2-0 win over Atletico-MG (More)

> For the first time, 15 MLS matches will be played on the same day during Matchday 9 (Full Fixtures) | See the weekend’s must-watch fixtures (More)

> NWSL Matchday 5 kicks off on Friday (Apr. 18) with Utah Royals hosting Chicago Star (19:30 MT / 2:30 BST) (Full Fixtures) | Matchday 4 recap (More)

Rest of the World

> Two Egyptian clubs face two South African clubs this weekend in the semi-finals of the African Champions League (More)

> A Nigerian club has been found negligent for the death of one of its players during a match five years ago (More)

ROUTERS’ VOICE

Yesterday’s Poll: Who do you think will win the Champions League? 

🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🟩 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Arsenal (34%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇪🇸 Barcelona (27%)

🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇮🇹 Inter Milan (12%)

🟨 🟨 🟨 🟨 ⬜️ ⬜️ 🇫🇷 Paris Saint-Germain (26.5%)

Your punditry takes:

• 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 T.F: “Arsenal have the best defence out of the four teams left. Six clean sheets in the competition so far. It would have been seven if not for Saliba's gift. So far, Arteta has gotten his tactics spot on. All this without a striker. They are a balanced unit out there playing complementary football. Nice to watch.”

• 🇪🇸 C.S: “As a BVB fan, Barca. They were dominant and have been all year. The only opponent I'm worried about them losing to is Inter—if they get past them, they'll win it.”

• 🇮🇹 S.E: “Inter have quietly progressed without much fanfare. But they have a very balanced and strong team. They are capable of beating anyone in their current form.”

• 🇫🇷 M.W: “Most in-form team, they’re able to rest and rotate to prioritise the competition. Absolutely lethal attacking force.”

EXTRA TIME

ESPN predicts the Champions League semi-finals.

… and the UCL Team of the Week.

Are strikers not as important as you think?

One-legged footballer shines in amateur league.

Club to wear one-off kit in homage to Senna.

What a $10,000 MLS ticket really like. (video)

How Van Dijk compares with other great PL centre-backs.

Duncan Ferguson on fending off two burglars.

GAME FACE ON

Question: Can you name the six managers who have won the Premier League title in their first season at a club?

Scroll below for the answer.

ON TODAY

La Liga

• Espanyol vs Getafe (20:00)

Ligue 1

• Rennes vs Nantes (19:45)

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

Answer

Alex Ferguson, Manchester United, 1992-93. Jose Mourinho, Chelsea, 2004-05 Carlo Ancelotti, Chelsea, 2009-10. Manuel Pellegrini – Manchester City, 2013-14. Claudio Ranieri – Leicester City, 2015-16. Antonio Conte – Chelsea, 2016-17.