Football news live updates: Latest from across Europe, West Ham and Aston Villa in action

Bayer Leverkusen head coach Xabi Alonso is expecting a “tough” game in their Europa League quarter-final second leg against West Ham United on Thursday.

The German side, who clinched the Bundesliga trophy on Sunday, beat West Ham 2-0 in the first leg at the BayArena last week.

However, despite their first-leg advantage, Alonso is aware that there is still work to do to ensure progression to the semi-final. The 42-year-old said: "The team have given me no reasons to doubt their commitment. I feel the hunger and the desire of the players to keep going. For sure we are going to be ready. I have all the confidence that we will play here to go through."

"We are expecting a tough game. West Ham have the experience of turning a tie around like after the Freiburg game, they got the result. Hopefully, we will play our football, we are not here to just defend ourselves."

Leverkusen midfielder Granit Xhaka echoed Alonso's sentiment, calling on his team-mates to bring the confidence from their league victory last weekend to the London Stadium.

The 31-year-old midfielder, who played against West Ham several times during his time at Arsenal, said: "If you are in a quarter-final the hunger is always there to win. We have spoken enough about Sunday, we became champions, but we know that tomorrow is an important game just like the rest of our league games. Everyone is fit and hopefully we will have a great game.

“I have experienced playing here and tomorrow I am expecting a big crowd but with our home result we have the confidence to come here and get through to the next round."

Premier League clubs could require approval from a government-approved independent regulator should they wish to play any home matches abroad, due to a clause inserted into the Football Governance Bill that was introduced to the UK parliament in March.

The possibility of taking one-off domestic league fixtures abroad has increased after FIFA were dropped from a landmark lawsuit by the U.S. events promoter Relevent, who in 2018 were thwarted in their attempts to take a La Liga fixture between Girona and Barcelona to Miami in the United States.

The Athletic can reveal a clause in the Football Governance Bill that says the proposed regulator must be informed firstly when there is a “reasonable prospect” that a team could “enter into arrangements” to play at a location other than its home ground.

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Ronald Araujo has publicly apologised after his sending off turned the tide in Barcelona's Champions League exit to Paris Saint-Germain on Tuesday night.

Araujo, 25, was shown a straight red card in the 29th minute of Barcelona's 4-1 second-leg defeat to PSG for a professional foul on winger Bradley Barcola just outside his own box.

The moment proved a turning point in the tie, with PSG going on to score four goals without reply to progress 6-4 on aggregate.

Araujo publicly apologised on Wednesday for the incident in a short statement on his Instagram page.

He said: "Football's given me a huge amount of joy but is now hitting me hard.

"Thank you to everyone who's remained unconditionally by my side, to my team-mates who left everything on the pitch, to the fans who believed in them to the end. I'm very sorry not (to) bring you joy this time."

Barca return to action on Sunday against bitter rivals and league leaders Real Madrid, who they trail by eight points in the table.

Ada Hegerberg has signed a new contract with Lyon through to 2027.

Hegerberg, 28, has scored 264 goals across her 10 seasons with the French giants and has netted 21 times in 23 appearances this term.

"For 10 years, I grew up here," Hegerberg has said after signing the new deal. "When I came here I was a little girl and I have become a woman.

"It’s here I wrote my story. 244 games, 264 goals, a story of ambition, 10 years of success that I’ve experienced non-stop at the highest level that I am going to keep with me for the rest of my life.

"I’ve experienced with this shirt the craziest moments. I’ve also experienced the most difficult tests of my career. With a lot of courage, I’ve always been able to pick myself up. It’s here, my family, my home. OL, a legendary club where my dream has become a reality.

"10 years and the story continues. I’m staying."

The Norway international joined Lyon in 2014 from Turbine Potsdam and has won 23 trophies with the club, including eight league titles and six Champions League crowns. Her previous contract had been set to expire this summer.

Callum Wilson has returned to first-team training with his Newcastle United team-mates as the England striker aims to return before the end of the month.

The 32-year-old underwent surgery in February on a pectoral injury which he suffered when grappling with a defender in the final minute of Newcastle’s 3-2 victory at Nottingham Forest on February 10.

Wilson left the pitch at the City Ground using his shirt as a makeshift sling and was initially ruled out for 12 weeks after requiring surgery.

He has missed Newcastle’s last 10 matches in all competitions but has a chance of making the squad for the trip to Crystal Palace next Wednesday (April 24).

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Former Brazil and Barcelona forward Romario has officially registered himself as a player for Rio de Janeiro second-division side America-RJ, where he also serves as the club president.

The 58-year-old confirmed on social media that he will be playing and participating in future matches. Romario’s plans regarding his return to America-RJ’s line-up remain uncertain.

While he clarified that he won’t participate in league matches, he expressed a strong desire to share the pitch with his son, Romarinho, who also plays for the club.

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Atalanta manager Gian Piero Gasperini has called his side’s Europa League quarter-final second leg against Liverpool on Thursday “one of the most important games” in the club’s history.

The Italian side enter the second leg with a commanding lead after beating Liverpool 3-0 at Anfield in the first leg last Thursday.

However, despite the lead his side will take into the game at the Gewiss Stadium on Thursday, the 66-year-old is aware that Atalanta will have to be at their best to eliminate Jurgen Klopp’s side from the competition.

Gasperini said: "We are happy to play a match of this value in front of our fans, finally with the stadium taking shape.

"We know that it will be one of the most important games in our history, if not the most important, but these are things that are said on the eve of the game, then comes the moment when we will have to know how to isolate ourselves.

"We know the difficulty, for us they are still the same team, despite us winning the first leg. Tomorrow we start from 0-0, our ability will have to be not thinking about the result of the first leg, that has to be our goal.

"I expect the best Liverpool possible, with a team that will come here to play all its chances, we will have to play a great game to get a result."

Newcastle United co-owner Amanda Staveley was last month been ordered to pay £3.4million ($4.3m) to a Greek shipping magnate by April 22 — or he could petition the court for a bankruptcy order.

Staveley — who helped orchestrate the Saudi Arabia Public Investment Fund (PIF)-backed consortium that purchased Newcastle United for £300m in 2021 — had applied to the High Court to throw out the application made by Victor Restis.

However, in a two-hour ruling, judge Daniel Schaffer rejected her bid on every count and said she must pay back the money in full by next Monday.

Staveley did not attend court in person. Immediately after the judgement, the 50-year-old said she intended to appeal the decision. That appeal was confirmed when she filed documents at the UK High Court seeking an appeal yesterday and, if granted, that will likely be heard later this year.

Tom Burrows and Jacob Whitehead explain the case

Ilkay Gundogan questioned Ronald Araujo's decision-making after Barcelona were eliminated from the quarter-finals of the Champions League on Tuesday night.

Araujo, 25, was shown a straight red card in the 29th minute of Barcelona's 4-1 second-leg defeat to PSG for a professional foul on winger Bradley Barcola just outside his own box.

The Uruguay defender was subsequently dismissed by Romanian referee Istvan Kovacs, 17 minutes after Raphinha opened the scoring on the night to give Barca a 4-2 aggregate lead.

The moment proved a turning point in the tie, with PSG going on to score four unanswered goals — through Ousmane Dembele, Vitinha and a Kylian Mbappe brace — to prevail 6-4 on aggregate and book their place in the last four at Barca's expense.

Asked for his reaction to the incident, Gundogan — who won the competition with Manchester City last season — said Araujo should have avoided making contact with Barcola.

"If he fouled him I guess it's a red card. I haven't seen the replay," said Gundogan.

"But in these kind of crucial moments, you need to be sure to get the ball and if you can't get it — again, I'm not sure if he got the ball or not — you have to stay away.

"I (would) prefer to concede the goal there or give the striker a one-on-one: give him the opportunity, let our goalkeeper save us or even concede a goal, because to be one man down with a red card so early in the game, it kills you."

Barcelona manager Xavi was shown a red card in the second half for kicking out on the side of the pitch.

"We were in such a good position — not just after the first leg but also after the first goal we scored," Gundogan added. "Everything was in our hands and we just gave it away."

PSG will now play Borussia Dortmund — who overturned a 2-1 first-leg deficit to beat Atletico 5-4 on aggregate — for a place in the final at Wembley.

French president Emmanuel Macron says “we are going to do everything” to ensure that European clubs, including Real Madrid, allow players to be available for the Paris Olympics this summer.

France are keen to put on “a great show” when they host the football tournament at the Games and are hopeful of having a number of high-profile players, including Kylian Mbappe, Aurelien Tchouameni and Eduardo Camavinga, involved.

That will require their clubs playing ball, however, with the competition starting on July 24 and running to August 9 — a period where many teams’ pre-season programmes will already be underway.

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Nottingham Forest have increased season ticket prices by an average of 24 per cent for the 2024-25 season.

The Premier League side announced the decision to put prices up on Tuesday with five games of the season to go, even if the club are relegated from the top flight this campaign.

The most expensive adult season ticket will be on sale for £850 — up from £660 for 2023-24, while the cheapest ticket has gone up from £465 to £550.

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Former Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita has been suspended by Werder Bremen until the end of the season.

Bremen sporting director Clemens Fritz alleged on Saturday that the 29-year-old refused to travel for the club’s Bundesliga clash with Bayer Leverkusen after discovering he had been omitted from the starting line-up.

Keita refuted the accusation in a response on Instagram, claiming Fritz was attempting to “tarnish his image”.

Manchester United have won the Under-18 Premier League North division title with two matches remaining after beating Wolves 2-1.

Tuesday’s win moved United 16 points clear of Manchester City at the top of the Premier League Group North, with their neighbours having just five league matches left to play.

Adam Lawrence’s side have played three matches more than City but have an unassailable lead at the top of the standings, having lost just one of their 22 league matches to date this term.

Read our full story below.

Mikel Arteta says beating Bayern Munich to qualify for the Champions League semi-final would be an “unbelievable” step for the club — with a potentially transformational impact on what remains of their season.

On the eve of their Champions League quarter-final second leg against Bayern Munich, Arteta sought to put Sunday’s defeat to Aston Villa behind him and issued a rallying cry to his team.

Read what Arteta said ahead of tonight's game right here.