Football news live: Premier League and FA Cup latest scores, updates and more

Chelsea Women produced a memorable performance at Estadi Olimpic Lluis Companys to beat Barcelona in the first leg of their Women's Champions League semi-final.

Captain Erin Cuthbert's 40th-minute strike proved decisive as Emma Hayes' side became the first team since 2019 to beat Barcelona on their own patch.

Alexia Putellas had a golden opportunity to level the tie in the closing stages of the game but sliced her effort wide.

Eight-time winners Olympique Lyonnais host Paris St Germain in the other semi-final first leg later on Saturday.

Holders Barcelona — who have reached the final in four of the past five seasons — will travel to west London for the second leg at Stamford Bridge on Saturday April 27.

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola says Cole Palmer had been asking to leave the club for two years before last summer’s move to Chelsea as he prepares to face his former player in Saturday’s FA Cup semi-final.

City had wanted to keep Palmer in the summer, particularly following the sale of Riyad Mahrez to Al Ahli in July, but the academy product wished to move on in search of regular minutes and joined Chelsea in a £42.5million ($52.8m) deal on deadline day.

The 21-year-old has scored 20 goals in 25 Premier League appearances for Chelsea and his four goals against Everton on Monday evening took him level with Erling Haaland at the top of the division’s goal scoring charts.

Asked if he had any regrets over Palmer, Guardiola replied: “I don’t know. He’s an exceptional player when he was here. I said many times, I didn’t give the minutes that maybe he deserved and now he has at Chelsea. I understand completely.

Full story below

Leicester City defender Conor Coady has heaped praise on teammate Hamza Choudhury after his side's 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion.

Goals from Wilfred Ndidi and Jamie Vardy ensured a vital victory for Leicester opening up a four-point gap between them at the top of the Championship and third-placed Leeds United.

Choudhury, 26, was awarded the player of the match award for an impressive defensible display which saw him complete three goal-line clearances at King Power Stadium.

Coady told Sky Sports: "We need people like that. He was outstanding all over the pitch. The goalline clearances speak for themselves but that's what we need in this team at the minute.

"We need to get over the line in different ways and having people like him on the pitch like he was today was outstanding. He was phenomenal."

Choudhury highlighted the importance of the victory, saying: "We've been through a tough couple of months since the turn of the year. We know what we are like as a team. Everyone loves each other and we are so close.

"We want to do it (earn promotion) so much for ourselves, our families, and our fans. To get over the line today shows that we can dig deep and hang on when we need to."

Leicester, who have three games left in the season, are next in action against Southampton on Tuesday.

Manchester City face Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final later today.

Man of the moment Cole Palmer will face his former side again, looking to continue his fine form of late.

Will the 21-year-old midfielder haunt his former side again?

We discuss Palmer's return on The Athletic Football Podcast here

Ivan Toney has not been included in Brentford’s squad for their match against Luton Town.

The 28-year-old has been struggling with a hip injury and was an unused substitute in their 2-0 victory over Sheffield United last Saturday.

The forward sustained the issue during the warm-up before Brentford’s 0-0 draw with Brighton & Hove Albion on April 3 but played the full 90 minutes.

He was on the bench when they faced Aston Villa three days later and only came on for 10 minutes.

Thomas Frank told the media on Friday that Toney was “progressing” and “desperate to start” at Kenilworth Road but they will have to cope without him in a crucial clash.

Brentford are seven points ahead of Luton ahead of this afternoon’s encounter.

Toney has scored four times in 13 appearances this season since he returned from an eight-month ban for breaching betting rules.

Full Luton XI: Kaminski, Kabore, Burke, Mengi, Osho, Doughty, Lokonga, Barkley, Clark, Chong, Morris.

Full Brentford XI: Flekken, Ajer, Collins, Pinnock, Reguilon, Janelt, Damsgaard, Mbeumo, Lewis-Potter, Wissa.

Xavi says Barcelona have a chance to get “back into La Liga” with a victory over Real Madrid tomorrow.

The 44-year-old’s side were knocked out of the Champions League on Tuesday after falling to a 4-1 defeat at home to Paris Saint-Germain, but an El Clasico victory for Barcelona, who are eight points behind league leaders Real, could reignite a title charge.

Xavi, who was sent off during the defeat to PSG earlier this week, has called on his side to use the anger from their Champions League exit to fuel their performance at the Santiago Bernabeu on Sunday.

Full story below

Leicester City have a chance to extend their lead at the top of the Championship with a victory over West Bromwich Albion.

They are 1-0 up at half-time thanks to a goal from Wilfred Ndidi.

It could have been two had Jamie Vardy not hit his 44th-minute penalty off the post.

Can West Brom, who have had their moments in the first-half, get back into the game at the King Power Stadium?

Carlo Ancelotti says he is “not surprised” by criticism of Real Madrid’s tactics in the second leg of their Champions League quarter-final against Manchester City.

Hosts City dominated possession and registered four times more shots than the visitors but failed to translate that superiority into goals as the tie ended 4-4 on aggregate after normal time.

Real Madrid — 13-time winners of the competition — eventually prevailed 4-3 on penalties after Mateo Kovacic and Bernardo Silva missed their spot kicks for City. Madrid will now face Bayern Munich in the last four for a place in the final at Wembley.

Jurgen Klopp says having Diogo Jota and Trent Alexander-Arnold fit and available for selection gives Liverpool "a chance" in the Premier League title race.

Alexander-Arnold, 25, and Jota, 27, have returned to action from lengthy injury lay-offs with Liverpool's season hanging in the balance.

Klopp's side were eliminated from the Europa League on Thursday — Alexander-Arnold's first start since mid-February — four days after defeat to Crystal Palace left them third in the table, two points back from leaders Manchester City.

Jota, meanwhile, made his first appearance for six games in the Palace loss as a second-half substitute. The Merseyside club return to action on Sunday against Fulham and Klopp is optimistic his side can overhaul the points deficit at the top with six games in the season remaining.

"We need Trent Alexander-Arnold, of course, but we need him in a really good shape and form and that's what he has to get up to," said Klopp ahead of the trip to west London.

"It's not about him and it's not his fault if he wouldn't be, it's just the situation. So how quick can we get him rolling if you want - the same for Diogo

"We have to find a way to help the boys in the best way, to bring them as quick as possible into their best form or shape and from there we have to go.

"Without them we wouldn't have a chance. With them we have a chance, with them in a really good football moment the chance gets bigger and bigger."

Chelsea have been boosted ahead of their Champions League semi-final with Barcelona with the news that Lauren James and Millie Bright are both available for selection.

Club captain Bright has been absent since November with a knee issue while James missed the win over Aston Villa on Tuesday with an unspecified injury.

Emma Hayes, however, confirmed that both England internationals have travelled to Spain and are in contention for Saturday's first-leg.

“Yep they are (available). Millie Bright and Lauren James," Hayes said. "If they didn’t travel they are not available."

Barcelona are defending champions and barring defeat to Lyon in the 2022 final have been the dominant force in the women's game for a number of years.

Hayes is well aware of the challenge facing her side but is looking forward to it.

“I think it’s fair to say bar Lyon defeating Barcelona, they have been a top team in Europe in recent years. Their results suggested that," Hayes said. "They (Spain) are world champions on international level, European champions at club level.

"They are deserving of all the accolades they have achieved but it’s a football match. There are two legs. All our job has been is to get ourselves in a position to come here in the competition. You have to be in it to compete for it.

"We always knew we would have to face Barcelona at some stage. We’re happy for it to be our turn in the semi-finals. We understand the team and the opponent. They are world class with unbelievable players but I’m not thinking about fairy tales."

Chelsea head coach Mauricio Pochettino insists he will let Enzo Fernandez have the final say on whether he has surgery on a hernia injury at the end of the season.

Fernandez, who is back in the squad to face Manchester City in the FA Cup semi final on Saturday, picked up the problem earlier in the campaign.

The Argentina international’s form has been affected because of it but Pochettino insists the decision over what happens next has to be his.

He said: “We are going to do what is the best for him. We (as a coaching staff) have experience of managing this situation.

“First of all, the most important thing is him as a person, not as a player. It’s about how he feels and if he is comfortable with the situation or not.

“We will all support his decision (if he feels he needs surgery). We are not going to force him to do something. We are here to help and advise him of our assessment and experience.

“We are managing the situation in conversation with the coaching (probably means medical) staff. Of course, yes, it is true that in the past he suffered some problems there but he is dealing really well with the situation.

“We always assess him day by day. We need to protect him because he is a young guy and the present is important but so is the future.”

Mikel Arteta has urged the Premier League to follow in the footsteps of most European teams in regards to recovery around Champions League fixtures, while also calling the scrapping of FA Cup replays a “very good possibility.”

These comments come after all three title challengers were knocked out of their respective European competitions. In the Champions League, Arsenal were knocked out by Bayern Munich, Manchester City by Real Madrid and Liverpool by Atalanta in the Europa League.

“When you look at the schedule Bayern had and we had, the amount of games they had and them resting 10 players nine days ago and again three days ago, it’s different,” Arteta said.

“In these leagues, they cancel the games or bring them forward to have more rest for the Champions League. We (the Premier League) are not doing that and are putting even more pressure on ourselves. It’s not an excuse, it’s the reality.

“If you want to compete in the same condition, we should be able to have the same amount of recovery between games. That, at least, is something we can do.”

Since returning from March’s international break, Bayern Munich have played just one more game than Arsenal’s six. What makes the discussion more nuanced, however, is that they had an extra day to recover ahead of the second leg.

Similar efforts have been made by European leagues to help their teams progress in the Champions League, notably when the Eredivisie rescheduled an entire weekend of matches in preparation for their semi-finals against Tottenham Hotspur in the 2018-19 season.

Asked for his thoughts on the potential of FA Cup replays being scrapped, he added: “We can’t look at that in an isolated way, but with the calendar that we have in the next few seasons, we have to take the game out for the players. I think it’s a very good possibility.

“I understand every point of view. Ours and mine is to protect our players. When I looked at how many minutes and games they’ve played in the last two years with no breaks, how many they’re going to have to play in the next two years that’s not healthy for sure. Somehow, somewhere we have to reduce the calendar. That’s for sure.

“We have to find a solution to that and I think the players have to be listened to much more, because I think that they are the protagonists.”

Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner is facing an injury crisis before Sunday’s game against West Ham United after Jefferson Lerma sustained a hamstring injury during the 1-0 win over Liverpool last weekend.

Joel Ward, meanwhile, has a groin problem and Will Hughes may also miss out through injury, with Chris Richards also uncertain to return to action after only training on Friday.

“It’s his hamstring,” Glasner said of Lerma’s injury. It was a bit unlucky — a sprint against (Mohammed) Salah, one of the 30 he (Lerma) had. He made a long step and then he felt it. He wanted to be substituted but we couldn't do it as it was at the end of the game. He finished the game with us and could feel it afterwards.

“Hughes was knocked down by Adam Wharton in yesterday's training session. Adam is working in the gym every day and I said: 'now you're able to knock Will Hughes down', so it’s progress.”

Cheick Doucoure is “completely out” for the rest of the season with the Achilles problem sustained in Palace’s 2-1 defeat by Luton Town in October, and Matheus Franca will not return before the end of the campaign either after undergoing surgery on a groin issue.

Centre-back Rob Holding will return to the squad after four months out following surgery on his ankle but Glasner says he is not ready to start despite limited options in defence.

“We have a big responsibility for the health of our players. It’s not fair to say play 90 minutes because the others are injured. It’s good to have him back with his experience and physicality. Maybe he can have 15-20 minutes if we need him.”

Nottingham Forest has acknowledged an allegation of racial abuse aimed at midfielder Morgan Gibbs-White by a Wolverhampton Wanderers fan.

The incident reportedly occurred when the two sides drew 2-2 at the City Ground on Saturday, April 13.

Forest said in a statement they "strongly condemn racism and all other forms of discrimination".

They added: "We will continue to work with the authorities on the matter and won’t be commenting further whilst the investigation is ongoing."

A Premier League statement read: "We stand alongside Morgan Gibbs-White and Nottingham Forest in condemning racist abuse.

"Discrimination in any form will not be tolerated by the Premier League and our clubs and we continue to encourage supporters to report it both at stadiums and online."

Gibbs-White, who joined Forest from Wolves in the summer of 2022, levelled the score for his team after Matheus Cunha had put the visitors ahead.