Manchester City face a battle to retain their Champions League crown after being held to a thrilling 3-3 draw by Real Madrid in the Spanish capital.

The holders twice led in an enthralling contest under the Bernabeu Stadium’s new roof but the quarter-final remains on a knife edge after Federico Valverde gave the hosts a deserved share of the spoils.

Bernardo Silva got City off to a flying start but a Ruben Dias own goal and Rodrygo effort sent Real in at half-time of Tuesday’s first leg 2-1 ahead.

Phil Foden equalised for City with a brilliant strike and Josko Gvardiol put them back in front but Valverde had the final word to set up another intriguing contest at Etihad Stadium next week.

City missed the creativity and influence of Kevin De Bruyne who, having been feeling unwell, was sick soon after the team arrived at the stadium.

That forced manager Pep Guardiola to make a late change to his plans and bring Mateo Kovacic into the starting line-up.

The visitors initially seemed unaffected both by that and the raucous atmosphere Real had attempted to amplify by closing the roof at their newly-remodelled 85,000-capacity arena.

They were quickly onto the front foot and were given their early chance to take the lead when Aurelien Tchouameni crudely halted Jack Grealish to earn a booking that will keep him out of the second leg.

With Real failing to form a wall, Silva took full advantage and caught goalkeeper Andriy Lunin napping as he thumped a left-foot shot into the bottom corner after just two minutes.

City went close to adding a second as Erling Haaland had a shot saved from a tight angle and Grealish’s follow-up effort was blocked.

It had seemed the perfect start for City but Real hit back with two quickfire goals.

The equaliser came after a patient build-up as Eduardo Camavinga charged forward and fired a long-range shot that took a wicked deflection off Dias and gave Stefan Ortega – starting despite Ederson’s presence on the bench – no chance.

The hosts grabbed the lead just moments later as Rodrygo broke clear down the left and outpaced the backtracking Manuel Akanji before delicately poking the ball past Ortega.

Real threatened again as Valverde shot at Ortega and Rodrygo put another effort over.

City began to get sloppy in possession as Real upped the pressure. The normally solid Rodri looked laboured and Vinicius Junior tested Ortega before the break.

Grealish cut inside but missed the target as City tried to re-establish themselves early in the second half but Real regained control with Jude Bellingham and Vinicius going close.

Lesser sides could have folded but City underlined their enduring class as they not only weathered the storm but pulled themselves back into the game with a stunning strike from Foden.

The England international, who had been enduring a frustrating game, caught Lunin unaware as he lashed a ferocious strike into the top corner from outside the area after 66 minutes.

It was soon to get better for City as Gvardiol bagged his first goal for the club with an equally thunderous long-range effort five minutes later.

Yet, in keeping with a compelling encounter, it was not to be the end of the scoring as Real responded yet again.

This time Valverde was the player on target as he met a Vinicius cross with a fine volley that flew past Ortega.

Sheffield Wednesday battled back from two goals down to snatch a 2-2 draw with Norwich and strengthen their Sky Bet Championship survival bid.

Wednesday handed Norwich the initiative straight away and the visitors established a two-goal lead early on through Josh Sargent and Borja Sainz but the home side had James Beadle to thank for keeping the deficit at two heading into the break.

Wednesday looked more confident in the second period and Norwich were made to pay for their flurry of missed chances in the second half as two headers from Michael Ihiekwe and Michael Smith rescued an unlikely point.

Norwich were almost gifted the opening goal of the game when Marcelino Nunez latched onto to some sloppy possession at the back and took a shot but Beadle did well to parry the ball out to Ashley Barnes, who blasted wide on the rebound.

Wednesday had the warning a couple of moments ago but Norwich scored the first in the 10th minute as Sam McCallum’s throw-in was flicked on by Barnes and Sargent tapped in at the back post.

The Canaries were all over the hosts and almost doubled their lead straight away as Sainz ran through on goal and unleashed a low drive into the corner but Beadle was on hand to tip behind again.

Wednesday were making the same mistakes at the back and Norwich did not let them off the hook this time – as the home side tried to play out of the back, Nunez was gifted the ball and he fed through Sainz, who stroked home to make it 2-0.

Creators of their downfall yet again, Wednesday nearly handed Norwich a third as Sainz teed up Nunez, who sliced just wide of the post.

The Owls were lucky to be trailing by two at the break as McCallum sprung down the left and whipped a ball in, Nunez smashed over the crossbar to keep Wednesday alive, just.

The hosts made four substitutions at the break and started the second period with a little more life but the Canaries seemed keen for a third though, Jack Stacey raced beyond the back line who were expecting an offside flag that never went up, but Beadle denied Stacey to keep them in the contest.

Another couple of chances came and went for Norwich after Sainz was brought down outside the box, Nunez’s resulting free-kick was palmed away by Beadle and Gabriel Sara scuffed an effort wide a couple of moments later.

Wednesday’s best chance of the match came after Callum Paterson chased down a long ball and found himself one-on-one but could not guide his effort past Angus Gunn.

The visitors failed to put Wednesday away and they had their route back into the match after Ihiekwe nodded home from Will Vauks’ corner.

Wednesday piled on the pressure in search of an equaliser no one saw coming and they had one from yet another corner, this time Vaulks picked out Smith at the back post, who headed in to leave them in the relegation zone on goal difference.

Milutin Osmajic came off the bench to score a hat-trick in the space of eight minutes as play-off chasing Preston came from behind to beat Huddersfield 4-1 in the Championship.

Josh Koroma fired the relegation-battling Terriers in front late in the first half but the tide turned after the break after as Will Keane levelled from the penalty spot in the 53rd minute.

Osmajic then entered the fray with a stunning cameo, putting Preston in front in the 84th minute before scoring two more, the last of them in the first minute of time added on.

The Montenegrin had only scored once since November coming into the night but his match-winning contribution helped keep alive Preston’s hopes of making the play-offs, with victory leaving them five points off sixth place with five games to play.

But for Huddersfield, defeat leaves them outside the bottom three on goal difference alone.

The Terriers had been the better side for much of the first half as Sorba Thomas and Delano Burgzorg provided a constant threat, with Preston struggling to get out of their own half.

Huddersfield’s industry was rewarded just before the break. Burgzorg ran on to a through ball from Ben Wiles, outmuscling Ali McCann to win possession and then keeping the ball in on the byline to pull it back.

Wiles’ shot was blocked but the ball fell for Koroma who took a touch before lashing a shot across goal.

There were boos from the home fans at the half-time whistle but it took only six minutes of the second half for the mood to change. Alex Matos took a loose touch in the Huddersfield box and, in his bid to make amends, the Chelsea loanee bundled into Keane.

Matos saw yellow, and Keane stepped up to send Lee Nicholls the wrong way.

Huddersfield boss Andre Breitenreiter replaced Matos with Rhys Healey – who got the stoppage-time winner against Millwall at the weekend – but Preston still looked the more likely scorers, with Duane Holmes wriggling through the box before testing Nicholls with a powerful shot.

Osmajic’s first contribution after coming on was to appeal for a penalty. He was initially slow to react to a through ball but then barged Brodie Spencer off it before dropping to the deck, with referee Lewis Smith unimpressed.

But five minutes later he was celebrating his first goal, meeting Thomas’ cross from the right at the near post.

The Preston fans had not returned to their seats before he got another, racing on to Alan Browne’s pass to slot the ball into the bottom left-hand corner.

And, as the game moved into six minutes of time added on, he added a final flourish, beating Spencer to get a toe on to Mads Frokjaer-Jensen’s low ball from the right.

Blackpool secured bragging rights over relegation-threatened Fylde Coast neighbours Fleetwood with a 1-0 victory.

The Seasiders boosted their hopes of a play-off place thanks to Jake Beesley’s first-half effort and a missed Shayne Lavery penalty at Bloomfield Road.

Neil Critchley’s side are three points off the top six.

Beesley nodded home the only goal of the game in the 22nd minute as he got on the end of CJ Hamilton’s fine cross.

Jay Lynch denied the hosts two minutes later when he kept out George Byers’ stinging strike.

After the break, Byers squandered a great chance when he fired wide before Beesley also fluffed his lines.

Lavery, who was brought down inside the box, saw his 77th-minute penalty superbly saved by Lynch.

Charlie Adam’s side failed to take advantage to rescue a point in their survival fight as Fleetwood sit six points off safety with just four games left.

Managerless Plymouth claimed a much-needed 85th-minute leveller to earn a late 1-1 Championship draw at home to relegation-rivals QPR.

Following a goalmouth scramble in which Plymouth goalkeeper Michael Cooper twice brilliantly saved on his line, Sam Field hammered the ball home from close range after 73 minutes to give the visitors the lead.

But Albert Adomah put into his own net with five minutes remaining as Argyle claimed a share of the spoils.

Ilias Chair fired over from 20 yards out as the ball fell to him from QPR’s first corner of the game.

Adam Randall won and took a 13th-minute free-kick for the hosts which flew over from 20 yards out.

Top scorer Morgan Whittaker went the closest with his 25-yard shot on the run which went just wide of Asmir Bergovic’s goal in the 15th minute.

It was the closest either side went in a tentative getting-to-know-you start from both teams.

Callum Wright helped continue a flowing move with a cheeky acrobatic back heel which resulted in a shooting opportunity for the attacking midfielder just outside the QPR penalty area.

Wright’s thumping 26th-minute shot from 20 yards flew just over the crossbar, while Chair continued to be a thorn in Argyle’s side and when he cut inside from the left – three minutes later – his low goal-bound shot had to be blocked by a defender.

Minutes later Lucas Andersen beat two defenders as he cut inside from the right and let fly with a low angled drive that flew just wide of the diving Cooper’s far post.

Paul Smyth went even closer in the 36th minute, latching onto a Chair cross from the left at the far post. Smyth controlled the ball well and his first-time shot on the half volley rocketed into the side netting.

Ryan Hardie’s shot from centre of the penalty area eight minutes before the break was comfortably saved by Begovic.

A slip on the ball by Anthony Phillips allowed Chair a run-on goal from the halfway. The Morocco international homed in on goal before firing just wide from the edge of the box.

Cooper made a brilliant 56th-minute save to deny Smyth as he looked certain to score after being teed up inside the box by Lydon Dykes. Somehow the Argyle number one kept out Smyth’s measured shot.

A minute later, Begovic was forced to save low at the foot of his post to keep out a Bali Mumba shot.

Central defender Lewis Gibson looked set to score when a corner, flicked on, landed at his feet at the far post but his shot across goal curled away from the target and sailed inches wide.

Plymouth defender Dan Scarr did brilliantly to head off the goal line in the 68th minute as QPR upped the pressure and Smyth’s cross looked to be heading in.

Field finally broke the deadlock from close range after 73 minutes to give QPR the lead.

Begovic made a brilliant stop to deny Mumba – as Argyle piled on the pressure – but Adomah appeared to score an own goal, under pressure from substitute striker Mustapha Bundu, at the far post as QPR failed to clear the 85th-minute corner.

Leicester suffered a wobble in their bid for an instant return to the Premier League after a stunning Ryan Longman strike condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at struggling Millwall.

Back-to-back wins had reignited the Foxes’ promotion bid and lifted them back to the top of the Championship.

But they slipped up in south London as the Lions, in need of the points for different reasons, battled to a first win in five matches to go four points clear of the relegation zone.

In a huge match at both ends of the table, Leicester’s defeat will have been welcomed by Ipswich and Leeds as the three-horse race for automatic promotion enters the final straight.

Millwall had a chance to open the scoring in the first minute, George Honeyman floating in a free-kick which Longman headed too close to Foxes goalkeeper Mads Hermansen.

Leicester quickly settled, though, and Stephy Mavididi – the late matchwinner against Birmingham on Saturday – should have done better when he was sent through by Yunus Akgun but his touch was too heavy.

Ricardo Pereira’s clever flick then found Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, who slipped in Jamie Vardy.

But the 37-year-old former England striker was losing his balance as he got his shot away and Matija Sarkic made a comfortable save.

Dewsbury-Hall, playing as a number 10, took aim from 20 yards but his effort was deflected wide.

Millwall, happy to sit back and let Leicester have the ball, almost snatched the lead on the break before half-time.

Ryan Leonard whipped in a cross from the right and captain Jake Hooper got a firm head on the ball, but it was pushed away by Hermansen.

The goal arrived on the hour and, for Millwall fans at least, it was well worth the wait.

Wout Faes lost the ball in midfield and Billy Mitchell sent Longman scampering away down the left.

The on-loan Hull winger cut inside Harry Winks before curling a spectacular 25-yard effort past Hermansen and in off the underside of the crossbar.

Millwall almost doubled their lead when Michael Obafemi bulldozed his way into a shooting position but Hermansen got down well to save.

Leicester pushed for an equaliser and Pereira got in behind only to see his angled drive blocked by the legs of Sarkic.

They came agonisngly close in stoppage time but were denied by a goal-line clearance from Mitchell to keep out substitute Kelechi Iheanacho’s header.

Che Adams inspired Southampton to a 2-1 victory over fellow Sky Bet Championship promotion chasers Coventry – who missed a penalty.

Striker Adams claimed Saints’ opener after he had deflected in Kyle Walker-Peters’ blast before more decisively bagging a second – both after Haji Wright had missed a spot-kick for the visitors.

Jake Bidwell ended his year-long run without a goal to pull one back, but the hosts held on.

Southampton boss Russell Martin has all but waved the white flag on automatic promotion after two draws and a defeat since the international break and his side currently sit nine points behind the top two with six matches to play.

Coventry fall five points outside of the play-off places as they attempt to make up for their Wembley heartbreak last season.

The Sky Blues had won their previous two away games and since December 23, they had the most wins on the road in the Championship.

It was no surprise then when they started quickly and won a penalty inside 10 minutes when Flynn Downes fouled the underlapping Joel Latibeaudiere.

Wright stepped up, aiming to bag his fifth goal in his last four away games, but slipped on approach. His shot came back off the crossbar but would have most likely been disallowed anyway for a double contact.

It woke Saints up and after having a penalty of their own turned down, they went ahead in the 18th minute. Walker-Peters struck from 25 yards before it bounced off Adams’ back to beat Bradley Collins, with both claiming the goal.

There was no debate over the scorer of the hosts’ second 20 minutes later as Adams bundled in from a corner.

After David Brooks had been denied one-on-one, James Bree had drifted his delivery from the resulting set-piece to find Taylor Harwood-Bellis at the back post. He nodded to Adams who beat his defender by dribbling the ball on his head before thumping home.

Adam Armstrong almost added a third 90 seconds into the second half but Collins pushed his rasping shot wide.

Coventry had to wait almost an hour between shots and Callum O’Hare’s attempt to place one in the top corner from the edge of a crowded box failed to halve the deficit.

Substitute Fabio Tavares went closer when his crashing strike was deflected onto the roof of the goal.

Their perseverance finally paid dividends as Tavares’ sumptuous delivery from the right was side-footed on the volley at the back post by Bidwell – his first goal since January 2023 – but there was not to be an equaliser.

England got a first Euro 2025 qualifying win on the board as they defeated the Republic of Ireland 2-0 at the Aviva Stadium.

Four days on from being held 1-1 by Sweden at Wembley in their Group A3 opener, Sarina Wiegman’s reigning European champions went in front via Lauren James’ 12th-minute finish.

They were then awarded two penalties for handball, with defender Alex Greenwood converting the first in the 18th minute before sending the second against a post in the 30th.

After the break England substitute Fran Kirby was thwarted by a fine Courtney Brosnan save, and Hannah Hampton – selected over Mary Earps in the Lionesses goal – then parried Caitlin Hayes’ header as the Republic applied late pressure in front of a crowd of 32,742.

Wiegman’s side sit second in the pool behind France, who have six points after beating Sweden 1-0, while Eileen Gleeson’s Ireland remain without a point, having lost 1-0 to the French in their first game last Friday.

England are next in action with a double-header against France in June.

Wiegman opted to make five changes to her starting line-up from the Sweden match, which as well as Hampton replacing Earps included fit-again skipper Leah Williamson returning for her first appearance in just under a year.

Hampton claimed an early Irish corner but England were soon on the front foot and after Alessia Russo’s header was dealt with by Brosnan, the visitors grabbed the lead when Keira Walsh crossed from the left, Lucy Bronze’s knock-down bounced off Anna Patten and the loose ball was drilled in by James.

The advantage was then swiftly doubled after a shot from Jess Park – another brought into the England XI – struck the arm of Ruesha Littlejohn, Finnish referee Lina Lehtovaara gave a penalty and it was scored by Greenwood as Brosnan went the wrong way.

Just before the half-hour mark Lehtovaara was once more pointing to the spot having judged the Republic guilty of handball, this time penalising Louise Quinn after the ball hit her leg then arm as she battled with Russo to get to a Hemp cross – a decision that prompted considerable protests from the hosts.

Greenwood stepped up to take again, but the outcome was different as her strike from 12 yards came back off the inside of the right post.

James saw a 39th-minute shot gathered by Brosnan before the early stages of the second half saw Wiegman send on Beth Mead and Kirby and Ireland make substitutions that included the introduction of Megan Campbell.

Mead and Kirby combined, with the latter being denied by Brosnan’s excellent stop, but having struggled to produce much in attack Ireland began to show more threat in the final quarter of an hour.

Campbell’s long throw led to a free-kick, Katie McCabe lofted it towards Quinn and she sent the ball into the danger zone, but no green shirt could finish.

Hayes then put one header wide before seeing another moments later blocked by Hampton.

Soon after, Hampton accidentally kicked the ball against the nearby McCabe, who brought another save out of the Chelsea goalkeeper as the Republic’s late push proved in vain.

Sam Lavelle’s first-half goal earned already-relegated Carlisle a 1-0 victory at Cheltenham, denting the home side’s survival bid.

Cheltenham knew a win would lift them out of the bottom four in League One for the first time since mid-August, but Carlisle were the better side during a cagey first half.

Joe Nuttall missed a good opportunity to give Cheltenham the lead in the sixth minute, side-footing wide after Liam Sercombe’s pass.

Georgie Kelly saw a shot saved by Luke Southwood at the other end and Luke Armstrong fired wide of the near post.

Jack Armer blasted one over the bar for the Cumbrians, but the deadlock was broken three minutes before half-time.

Jack Robinson’s corner was headed back across goal by Ben Barclay and Lavelle touched it in from close range.

Cheltenham sent on four substitutes at half-time and changed formation, resulting in some early pressure on the visitors’ goal.

But goalkeeper Harry Lewis was rarely troubled and Southwood had to fly at full stretch to keep out a looping effort from Jon Mellish in the 77th minute.

Reggae Boyz left back Kemar Lawrence will now call the Romanian Super League home after joining FC UTA Arad.

This will be the sixth club in the 31-year-old’s professional career. Lawrence started his pro career with Harbour View from 2009-2014 before moving to MLS club New York Red Bulls from 2015-2019 where he scored five goals in 118 games.

Lawrence then had his first stint in Europe with Belgian club Anderlecht from 2020-2021 before moving back to MLS with Toronto FC and then Minnesota United.

He was released by the latter in August last year.

Lawrence has scored three goals in 77 appearances for the Reggae Boyz since his debut in 2013.

Luis Enrique has no qualms over going into battle with former club Barcelona as he attempts to end Paris St Germain’s quest for Champions League glory.

The 53-year-old Spaniard guided Barca, for whom he had made 300 appearances as a player, to European glory as manager in 2015 and was handed the task of repeating the feat with the big-spending French champions last summer.

The two sides go head-to-head in the first leg of their quarter-final showdown at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday evening with no question over where Enrique’s loyalties lie.

He told a press conference: “Of course I like Barcelona, but I’m very pleased to be here at PSG. I just need to focus on my job and this team and building confidence here.

“I think I’m capable of bringing trophies to this club and I’m full of desire to be at the top level in this tie.”

Enrique’s former team-mate Xavi – who he sent on as a late replacement for Andres Iniesta in the 3-1 2015 final victory over Juventus in Berlin – will be in the away dugout as the Catalan giants attempt to reach the semi-finals for the first time since 2019.

However, the PSG boss is not convinced his inside knowledge will do him any good.

Enrique, who will be without the suspended Achraf Hakimi, said: “I have to say that I don’t know Xavi at all as a coach. I know about him as a player – he was my team-mate – I know about him as a footballer, but not as a coach.

“I know the club very well, I know Barcelona and the players, but I don’t know if that could be an advantage. Maybe it could be the opposite.”

PSG, who are on a 27-game unbeaten run in all competitions, have not made the quarter-finals in three seasons, while five-time winners Barca have gone out in the group stage in each of the last two campaigns.

The sides are meeting in the last eight for the fourth time with Barca having come out on top in the last two in 2012-13 and 2014-15, with the French giants getting the better of their Spanish opponents back in 1994-95.

PSG held sway the last time they were last paired together – in the last 16 – three seasons ago when Kylian Mbappe’s hat-trick secured a 4-1 first-leg victory at the Nou Camp after Lionel Messi had opened the scoring from the penalty spot before both men scored in a 1-1 draw in the return.

However, perhaps the most remarkable tie in which the two clubs have been involved came at the same stage of the 2016-17 campaign when the Catalan giants returned from the Parc des Princes on the wrong end of a 4-0 scoreline to win 6-1 on home turf.

Barcelona reached the Champions League quarter-finals for the first time in four years after beating Napoli in the round of 16 and boss Xavi was feeling the “excitement” for Wednesday’s tie.

“I think the word for tomorrow, after being out of the quarter-finals for four years, is excitement,” he said in a press conference.

“We can dream and we are very motivated.

“We are enjoying our best form of the season and we will face a team prepared to win the Champions League with one of the better coaches in Luis Enrique. I have all the respect in the world for them.”

Dujuan ‘Whisper’ Richards was on target twice to help Chelsea U-21s secure a comfortable 4-0 win over Aston Villa U-21s in Premier League 2 action at the Aston Villa Training Ground on Monday.

The 18-year-old opened his account in the 11^th minute with a clever chip with his preferred left foot over the onrushing Aston villa keeper James Wright.

The Jamaican then doubled his tally and his side’s advantage with another left-footed finish, this time into the bottom left corner leaving Wright with no chance.

Chelsea’s other goals came from Deivid Washington in the 63^rd minute and Tyrique George in the 95^th minute.

Richards now has four goals in six appearances for the young blues who are now fourth in the PL2 table with 32 points from 18 games.

The former Kingston College standout has represented the Reggae Boyz on 10 occasions with his lone goal coming against Trinidad & Tobago in the 2023 CONCACAF Gold Cup.

Philippe Clement said Rangers faced a “crazy situation” as they prepared to travel to Dundee still unsure whether Wednesday night’s game would go ahead.

The cinch Premiership clash at the Scot Foam Stadium at Dens Park was rescheduled after it was contentiously called off 90 minutes before kick-off last month.

Dundee’s home game against Motherwell on Saturday was allowed to take place after a second pitch inspection, with the Fir Park club stating before their 3-2 comeback win they were “deeply concerned for the welfare of all players”.

Dundee managing director John Nelms told Sky Sports he was as “confident as we can be” the Rangers game would go ahead but pointed to April 16 or 17 as a contingency plan.

Gers boss Clement, whose side will leapfrog Celtic at the top of the table with a win, would prefer an early decision and said he was comfortable with the game being switched to a neutral ground to get it played before the split, saying: “In these circumstances it can be a logical choice.”

“It is a crazy situation in a top league that you don’t know the day before if the game is on or not,” said the Belgian, who confirmed Ridvan Yilmaz remained out with a knock and midfielder Ryan Jack had had a setback with a calf problem that could end his season.

“So that is a really weird situation. Okay, it can happen in extreme circumstances, but I don’t think it has happened in the last few years in all the top leagues.

“But now there is a problem every time it is raining in Scotland and it’s not that there are normally a lot of sunny days in Scotland.

“It is a bad situation for the league and for Dundee themselves, I don’t think they are happy with the situation.

“I haven’t seen the pitch, but it was clear when we were there the last time that it was dangerous for both sides and it was not playable, but I am not the one who decides, it is the referee who decides.

“I want a decision today because you want to prepare, but both clubs and the league are in talks about that.

“If it is not possible you want to see what the alternative is. We don’t have much time because there is a split in the league. These things give a bad image to the league and it needs to be solved.

“If you want to play in Dundee next week, what is going to happen if it rains next week? Strange for me because every time it rains there is a problem.”

As his squad got ready to travel to their hotel near Dundee on Tuesday afternoon, Clement asked for a decision to be made the day before the scheduled kick-off.

He said: “If we cannot play tomorrow, when are we going to play? Thursday?

“If it is Thursday I would like to know today so we can train tomorrow.

“If the decision is made tomorrow evening, we have one afternoon, evening in a hotel near to Dundee for nothing.

“I understand that games are cancelled in the last minutes, last hours in special weather circumstances, but this is something that is repeated every time it is raining so I think you can make an assessment today.”

Clement said there was a “big chance” long-term absentees Danilo and Oscar Cortes would not return before the end of the season.

Eric Dier believes he is playing the best football of his career and warrants a place in England’s Euro 2024 squad.

The 30-year-old has been a regular for Bayern Munich since his eye-catching loan switch in January, having dropped down the pecking order at Tottenham where he made only four appearances under Ange Postecoglou.

Dier has impressed for the German giants but Southgate overlooked the 49-cap England defender for March’s final camp before naming his Euros squad.

The centre-back has not played for the national team since their World Cup last-16 win over Senegal in December 2022 but believes he deserves to be in consideration to go to a fourth major tournament.

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“Obviously, I want to be a part of the England set-up and I believe that I should be a part of it, that I’m that level of a player,” Dier told The Overlap podcast.

“I haven’t spoken at all to Gareth Southgate, but you try and play as well as possible for your club and then the decision is out of your hands.

“Since the World Cup, I wouldn’t say that I’ve had any dip in form, I’m playing the best football of my career since (Antonio) Conte came (to Tottenham in 2021) and I’ve carried it on since I’ve been here, and I think I’ve shown that.

“People think that I’m 37 or something, but I’m 30 years-old and am nowhere near the end of my prime and imagine that this will be my prime.

“When I look around the players I’ve played with in my career, like (Mousa) Dembele, (Jan) Vertonghen, (Toby) Alderweireld, (Hugo) Lloris – all these guys, they were 31, 32 and were playing their best football at Tottenham.”

Dier went to the 2018 and 2022 World Cups as well as Euro 2016, but had to watch England’s run to the final of the last European Championship three years ago from afar.

Southgate was asked at March’s squad announcement about overlooking the former Sporting Lisbon player for the friendlies against Brazil and Belgium.

“Clearly he’s a player we know really well,” the England boss said of Dier. “He’s only had seven starts this season.

“Bayern have had a mixed period but it’s good to see Eric playing. It’s a great move for him, playing for such a big club.

“He’s a player that if we felt he was the best for that role, he could slot easily back in ahead of the Euros.

“I think there is more value for us at the moment in looking at a (Jarrad) Branthwaite, who we haven’t worked with before because we know about Eric.

“If Eric is playing well and is playing better than all the others by the end of the season, we can bring him in. I’m also mindful he’s stuck on 49 caps and that’s nearly as uncomfortable for me, given what he’s given us, as it is for him!”

Fans have criticised UEFA’s decision to allocate a “paltry” 50 per cent of tickets for the Europa League final in Dublin to supporters of the two teams involved.

The match in the Irish capital could yet be an all-English affair, with quarter-finalists Liverpool and West Ham on opposite sides of the draw.

Fans’ group Football Supporters Europe welcomed the fact that the 58 per cent allocation to the Champions League finalists at Wembley this summer was the highest in a decade, but called for a rethink for the continent’s second-tier competition finale on May 22.

“Football Supporters Europe (FSE) today shares its serious concern that the finalists’ allocations at the 2024 Europa League Final in Dublin will reach just 50% of the stadium’s total capacity on the day,” a statement from the group read.

“Further, FSE calls on UEFA and the local organisers to do right by the supporters and increase these allocations.

“A paltry 50 per cent of capacity for Europa League finalist clubs is, simply, not good enough and falls well short of FSE’s demand to provide at least 66 per cent of tickets for all European finals to supporters of the teams involved. Fans of competing teams need to be given clear priority over public sale options.

“Based on previous experiences, a higher allocation of tickets for general sale will significantly fuel black market ticket activity, exploiting fans’ loyalty in the process.”

UEFA confirmed on Tuesday morning that each of the finalists for the Europa League will receive 12,000 tickets for the match, where capacity at the Aviva Stadium will be 48,000.

The tickets allocated to the fans of the finalists will be the cheapest on offer at 40 euros (just over £34) each, with general sale tickets starting at 65 euros (£55.70) each.

The two teams reaching the Champions League final will receive 25,000 tickets each for Wembley, with those tickets also the cheapest available at £60.

UEFA has been approached for a response to FSE’s statement.

UEFA’s general secretary Theodore Theodoridis admitted last month that staging the Europa League final in Dublin could prove “extremely challenging” and revealed the 82,000-capacity Croke Park had been reserved as a potential fan zone.

At the time he made those comments, there was still the possibility of a final between Liverpool and Rangers, two clubs with large followings on the island of Ireland, but the Scottish side were knocked out in the last 16 by Benfica.

However, a number of challenging scenarios remain, not least an all-Premier League encounter in what would be Jurgen Klopp’s final match as Liverpool boss should the Reds make it.