Premier league

That will continue at the weekend when Real take on Real Betis in their final game of the season, the team potentially reflecting decisions which have already been made by the Italian ahead of the showpiece occasion in Paris.

They are currently suspended from European competitions and they are unlikely to see their ban lifted before Champions League qualifying starts in July. It means Scotland are currently ranked 10th instead of 11th in terms of the European rankings. The consequence is that, even if Villarreal do overcome the likes of Liverpool, Manchester City and Real Madrid, Scotland’s place is still safe.

Real Madrid winger Eden Hazard is hoping to be fit for the first leg of the...

With the FA Cup, much will depend on what sort of form Chelsea are in. If they do manage to get close to their Carabao Cup final performance, it will be a very tough match.

Liverpool have already won the League Cup and FA Cup this term, lifting the latter last weekend after beating Chelsea on penalties in the final, but Hasenhuttl believes that success in the Premier League should be considered as their greatest triumph even if they went on to lift the Champions League.

The Citizens head into the second leg of their quarter-final tie against Atletico Madrid on Wednesday evening with a slender one-goal advantage.

Even without Salah, Liverpool went on to defeat Chelsea on penalties following a goalless 120 minutes to lift their second trophy of the season during their hunt for the quadruple, having repeated the EFL Cup win on penalties against the same opponent back in February.

A single 36 team league will replace the group stages from the 2024/25 season, but plans for how the 35th and 36th teams would qualify had not been decided until now.

Considering Real Madrid have not looked like a team capable of beating City, it is a puzzling prediction from Schmeichel. They may have won against Paris Saint-Germain in the last round but they have recently lost 4-0 to Barcelona at home. They also still have to negotiate a difficult tie versus Chelsea.

“Especially because the players are different. Every player has a mother and a father and every mother and father have different types of personalities and different types of players. I have to adapt and adjust, that’s why I love to overthink and create stupid tactics again. Tonight I will take inspiration and I’m going to do incredible tactics, we will play with 12 tomorrow.”