Champions League quarter-finals - how it stands & route to final

Arsenal's Declan Rice and Aston Villa's Emiliano Martinez

It was a mixed week for the English teams in the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with Arsenal in a strong position to reach the semi-finals, while Aston Villa have an uphill task.

Paris St-Germain, who defeated Liverpool on penalties in the last 16, hold a 3-1 lead over Villa before the second leg at Villa Park on Tuesday, 15 April.

However, Arsenal have a 3-0 lead over Real Madrid going into the reverse fixture at the Bernabeu on Wednesday, 16 April.

In the other quarter-final ties, Inter Milan won 2-1 against Bayern Munich in Germany and Barcelona thrashed Borussia Dortmund 4-0 in Spain.

Highlights of every Champions League game are available on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

Route to the final

How are the English sides doing?

Liverpool suffered their first setback under manager Arne Slot as they were beaten 4-1 on penalties by PSG at Anfield.

The French champions looked to be heading out of the competition in the league phase before a late run of form helped them finish 15th in the standings, and now they are hitting their stride when it matters most.

PSG fell behind against 1982 European champions Aston Villa, but responded strongly with three excellent goals.

It is Villa's first European Cup or Champions League quarter-final since 1983.

Fellow English Premier League side Arsenal were effectively through into the quarter-finals after they thrashed PSV 7-1 in the first leg. The second leg ended 2-2.

But Arsenal produced an inspired performance, aided by two superb goals from Declan Rice, to stun reigning European champions Real Madrid in the first leg at Emirates Stadium.

Manchester City lost to Real in the previous round, the knockout phase play-offs.

When are the quarter-finals, semi-finals and final?

The second legs of the quarter-finals take place on 15 and 16 and April.

The semi-finals then take take place on 29 and 30 April for the first legs, with the return fixtures on 6 and 7 May. The final takes place on 31 May at the Allianz Arena in Munich.

Is a Clasico final possible?

Yes.

Barcelona and Real Madrid have never met in a Champions League final or European Cup final before.

But, being on the opposite sides of the draw, they would meet in the final if they came through their quarter-final and semi-final ties.

A repeat of last year's final between Real and Borussia Dortmund is also possible.

However, an all-English final is not possible as Aston Villa would meet Arsenal in the semi-finals if they both got there.

How do countries earn an extra Champions League spot for next season?

Each country's league earns a coefficient ranking based on how their teams perform in Uefa's three men's club competitions: the Champions League, Europa League and Conference League.

Coefficient points are earned through match results - two for a win and one for a draw.

The points earned by clubs from the same domestic league are added up and divided by the number of clubs the league has in Europe.

For example, if the Premier League had 100 points, that would be split by the number of teams playing in Europe (seven), giving England a coefficient of 14.28.

This season, bonus points are available to clubs playing in the Champions League, which is advantageous to leagues with more clubs competing in it, such as Germany and Italy.

Countries that finish in the coefficient table's top two earn an additional Champions League spot for the following season.

Those spots are awarded to the teams who finish in the first position below the standard Champions League allocation in those leagues.

Additional spots for the 2024-25 Champions League were given to Bologna and Borussia Dortmund, who finished fifth in Serie A and the Bundesliga respectively.

England secure a fifth Champions League spot

England are top of the coefficient table and Arsenal's win over Real ensured the Premier League would get an extra spot in the Champions League.

That means the top five in the Premier League will all play in next season's Champions League. However, there could be seven English teams if Villa win the competition, but finish outside the top five in the Premier League and either Manchester United or Tottenham win the Europa League.

The second additional Champions League spot is likely to go to either Italy's Serie A or Spain's La Liga, although Germany's Bundesliga still has an outside chance of getting the extra place.

What is happening in the Europa League and Conference League?

The Europa League has reached the quarter-finals and there is still the prospect of an all-British final with Tottenham in the top half of the draw and both Rangers and Manchester United in the bottom half.

Europa League quarter-finals

• Tottenham (England) v Eintracht Frankfurt (Germany)

• Bodo Glimt (Norway) v Lazio (Italy)

• Rangers (Scotland) v Athletic Club (Spain)

• Lyon (France) v Manchester United (England)

Chelsea are the clear favourites to win the Conference League and have a two-legged quarter-final against Polish side Legia Warsaw.

Conference League quarter-finals

• Real Betis (Spain) v Jagiellonia Bialystok (Poland)

• Celje (Slovenia) v Fiorentina (Italy)

• Chelsea (England) v Legia Warsaw (Poland)

• Djurgarden (Sweden) v Rapid Vienna (Austria)

First leg ties will be played on 10 April and second leg ties will be played on 17 April.

Watch highlights of every Champions League game from 22:00 on Wednesday on BBC iPlayer and the BBC Sport website and app.

There will also be a Champions League Match of the Day on BBC One on Wednesday, from 22:40 to 00:00.