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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Simon Burnton (now), Rob Smyth and David Tindall (earlier)

Hodgson wins on Bristol City return, Alisson faces injury layoff: football news – as it happened

Football FA Cup Phil Foden World Cup EFL Liverpool Manchester City Arsenal
Bristol City’s Noah Eile celebrates after scoring what proved to be the winner against Charlton at the Valley.
Bristol City’s Noah Eile celebrates after scoring what proved to be the winner against Charlton at the Valley. Photograph: Ben Whitley/PA

And with that, it’s time to wrap it up. Much more to come tomorrow, and across the weekend. Bye!

Here’s PA Media’s Leagues One and Two roundup:

Lincoln’s promotion party is still on hold despite a dramatic and controversial 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon.

The runaway League One leaders needed to win and hope Bolton and Stockport dropped points to seal their place in the second tier for the first time since 1961. They kept their side of the bargain, but only after a Dom Jefferies cross clearly hit the arm of Ryley Towler before Ryan One applied the finish two minutes from time.

Unfortunately for the Imps, Bolton beat Plymouth 2-1 and Stockport sank Wycombe 3-0 to keep the champagne on ice for a few more days at least.

Bolton had John McAtee sent off for an elbow on Alex Mitchell before half-time but took the lead through a penalty from Celtic loanee Johnny Kenny. Ronan Curtis levelled for Argyle, but an own goal from Malachi Boateng gave the Trotters the victory.

Stockport’s win was far more straightforward thanks to goals from Odin Bailey, Isaac Olaofe and Adama Sidibeh.

Play-off hopefuls Bradford beat Northampton 1-0 thanks to an early Stephen Humphrys header and Lasse Sorensen cancelled out Lewis Wing’s penalty in added time to earn Huddersfield a 1-1 draw with Reading.

Goals from Jake Richards and Jordan Clark gave Luton a 2-1 win over Peterborough, who replied through Jimmy-Jay Morgan but saw Harry Leonard miss a penalty. Mansfield earned a 2-0 win at Doncaster, while struggling Rotherham had Daniel Gore sent off in a goalless draw with Stevenage.

Tom Bloxham fired Blackpool to a 1-0 win over Exeter, who remain in the drop zone, and David McGoldrick’s last-gasp equaliser secured a 1-1 draw for Barnsley at Burton.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Lincoln City 40 41 87
2 Cardiff 39 32 77
3 Bolton 40 17 69
4 Bradford 40 6 68
5 Stockport County 39 9 66
6 Reading 41 9 62
7 Stevenage 39 3 61
8 Wycombe 41 13 59
9 Plymouth 40 5 59
10 Huddersfield 40 8 58
11 Luton 40 4 58
12 Mansfield 38 8 52
13 Barnsley 38 -1 51
14 Peterborough 39 4 50
15 Leyton Orient 40 -7 50
16 AFC Wimbledon 40 -10 50
17 Doncaster 40 -19 50
18 Blackpool 41 -15 48
19 Burton Albion 41 -11 47
20 Wigan 40 -13 46
21 Exeter 41 -11 43
22 Rotherham 39 -23 37
23 Northampton 40 -24 35
24 Port Vale 38 -25 31

In League Two, leaders Bromley needed an equaliser 11 minutes into stoppage time to snatch a 2-2 draw at 10-man Barnet. They led through Nicke Kabamba, but Phillip Chinedu equalised before Barnet had Danny Collinge sent off. Kabongo Tshimanga’s penalty put Barnet ahead, but George Evans struck at the death to seal a point.

MK Dons, in second, drew 0-0 with lowly Barrow, while fourth-placed Notts County lost a crazy match at Salford 2-1, despite it being goalless two minutes into added time. Ryan Graydon put Salford ahead, Luke Brown equalised three minutes later, only for Matt Butcher to win it six minutes into stoppage time.

Crawley won an edgy relegation battle 2-0 at Newport thanks to two goals in three minutes from Harry McKirdy. Tranmere were dragged back into trouble after a 1-0 defeat at Shrewsbury, with Sam Stubbs scoring the only goal. They are only three points above rock-bottom Harrogate, who won 3-1 at Grimsby courtesy of goals from Tobias Brenan, Jack Evans and Bryn Morris.

Joe Quigley fired Bristol Rovers to a 1-0 win over Fleetwood, William Dickson’s goal saw Chesterfield beat Cheltenham 1-0, Oldham were 3-1 winners at Colchester, Accrington beat Crewe 2-0 and Gillingham drew 2-2 at Walsall.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Bromley 41 25 80
2 Milton Keynes Dons 41 35 75
3 Cambridge Utd 40 27 73
4 Notts County 41 24 73
5 Salford City 41 8 73
6 Swindon 41 18 71
7 Chesterfield 40 10 65
8 Oldham 40 17 64
9 Crewe 41 10 63
10 Grimsby 39 14 62
11 Walsall 41 7 62
12 Barnet 41 7 61
13 Fleetwood Town 41 1 55
14 Colchester 40 7 54
15 Accrington Stanley 40 -4 51
16 Bristol Rovers 41 -17 49
17 Gillingham 40 -14 46
18 Shrewsbury 41 -26 44
19 Cheltenham 39 -23 42
20 Crawley Town 41 -20 37
21 Tranmere 40 -22 36
22 Newport County 41 -29 34
23 Barrow 40 -26 33
24 Harrogate Town 41 -29 33

There’s a hectic Easter weekend of sport ahead, and we’ve got it all covered, across FA Cup, County Championship and, well, rowing:

A roundup of all the biggest stories from the Championship this Good Friday:

Scenes at Lincoln City, whose 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon (complete with very deliberate handball in the buildup to the goal), combined with results elsewhere, leaves them just one point away from promotion.

Hello again! Right, time to take a deep breath after a dramatic couple of hours of Football League action, and for minds to start drifting to where our next dose of football is coming from. Talking of which, it’s FA Cup quarter-final weekend and here’s Will Unwin on Port Vale, who face Chelsea tomorrow:

The Port Vale manager, Jon Brady, left Australia as a 17-year-old to chase his dream of playing in the United Kingdom. Spells at Brentford, Swansea and Wycombe did not make a first-team debut a reality. The sacrifice would not be wasted as determination to make a career in England grew stronger, becoming a non-league stalwart, but always with an eye on what came next.

Like Saturday’s FA Cup quarter-final opponent, Chelsea’s head coach Liam Rosenior, Brady plotted a route to the dugout from early on, earning his B licence at the age of 23. Twenty-eight years later, he has managed more than 500 league games, in charge of Brackley and Northampton before joining League One’s bottom club in January, and embarking on a surprising Cup run.

“I wasn’t as good a footballer as Liam Rosenior,” says Brady as he casts his eyes over the Vale Park pitch. “If I wanted to stay in the sport I love so much, that I’ve dedicated my life to by coming over from Australia at the age of 17, [I had to ask myself] what’s the only job I know? The only job I know is football.”

Much more here:

That’s all from me. Simon Burnton is back for all the post-match fun. Goodnight!

League Two results

  • Accrington Stanley 2-0 Crewe

  • Barnet 2-12Bromley

  • Bristol Rovers 1-0 Fleetwood Town

  • Chesterfield 1-0 Cheltenham

  • Colchester 1-3 Oldham

  • Grimsby 1-3 Harrogate Town

  • Milton Keynes Dons 0-0 Barrow

  • Newport County 0-2 Crawley Town

  • Salford City 2-1 Notts County

  • Shrewsbury 1-0 Tranmere

  • Walsall 2-2 Gillingham

And this is what those results have done to the league table.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Bromley 41 25 80
2 Milton Keynes Dons 41 35 75
3 Cambridge Utd 40 27 73
4 Notts County 41 24 73
5 Salford City 41 8 73
6 Swindon 41 18 71
7 Chesterfield 40 10 65
8 Oldham 40 17 64
9 Crewe 41 10 63
10 Grimsby 39 14 62
11 Walsall 41 7 62
12 Barnet 41 7 61
13 Fleetwood Town 41 1 55
14 Colchester 40 7 54
15 Accrington Stanley 40 -4 51
16 Bristol Rovers 41 -17 49
17 Gillingham 40 -14 46
18 Shrewsbury 41 -26 44
19 Cheltenham 39 -23 42
20 Crawley Town 41 -20 37
21 Tranmere 40 -22 36
22 Newport County 41 -29 34
23 Barrow 40 -26 33
24 Harrogate Town 41 -29 33

GOAL! Barnet 2-2 Bromley (Evans 90+11)

The League Two leaders Bromley have equalised in the 101st minute! George Evans has scored a vital goal to save them from back-to-back defeats.

Updated

League One results

  • Blackpool 1-0 Exeter

  • Bradford 1-0 Northampton

  • Burton Albion 1-1 Barnsley

  • Doncaster 0-2 Mansfield

  • Huddersfield 1-1 Reading

  • Lincoln City 1-0 AFC Wimbledon

  • Luton 2-1 Peterborough

  • Plymouth 1-2 Bolton

  • Rotherham 0-0 Stevenage

  • Stockport County 3-0 Wycombe

And this is what those results have done to the league table.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Lincoln City 40 41 87
2 Cardiff 39 32 77
3 Bolton 40 17 69
4 Bradford 40 6 68
5 Stockport County 39 9 66
6 Reading 41 9 62
7 Stevenage 39 3 61
8 Wycombe 41 13 59
9 Plymouth 40 5 59
10 Huddersfield 40 8 58
11 Luton 40 4 58
12 Mansfield 38 8 52
13 Barnsley 38 -1 51
14 Peterborough 39 4 50
15 Leyton Orient 40 -7 50
16 AFC Wimbledon 40 -10 50
17 Doncaster 40 -19 50
18 Blackpool 41 -15 48
19 Burton Albion 41 -11 47
20 Wigan 40 -13 46
21 Exeter 41 -11 43
22 Rotherham 39 -23 37
23 Northampton 40 -24 35
24 Port Vale 38 -25 31

Championship results

  • Birmingham 0-1 Blackburn

  • Charlton 1-2 Bristol City

  • Leicester 2-2 Preston North End

  • Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall

  • Norwich 1-1 Portsmouth

  • Oxford Utd 1-1 Hull

  • QPR 2-1 Watford

  • Sheff Utd 3-3 Swansea

  • Stoke 2-0 Sheff Wed

  • West Brom 2-2 Wrexham

And this is what those results have done to the league table.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Coventry 39 41 80
2 Millwall 40 10 72
3 Middlesbrough 40 21 71
4 Ipswich 38 28 69
5 Hull 40 5 67
6 Wrexham 40 9 64
7 Southampton 39 15 63
8 Derby 39 8 60
9 Watford 40 3 56
10 QPR 40 -5 56
11 Norwich 40 6 55
12 Stoke 40 5 54
13 Bristol City 40 0 54
14 Birmingham 40 -2 53
15 Preston North End 40 -4 53
16 Swansea 40 -5 53
17 Sheff Utd 40 0 51
18 Charlton 40 -11 48
19 Blackburn 40 -12 46
20 West Brom 40 -14 44
21 Portsmouth 39 -17 41
22 Leicester 40 -9 40
23 Oxford Utd 40 -15 40
24 Sheff Wed 40 -57 -6

Full time: Charlton 1-2 Bristol City

He’s back.

GOAL! Salford 2-1 Notts County (Butcher 90+6)

What the actual fu- ootball? Matt Butcher has restored Salford’s lead, with all three goals coming in injury-time!

Full time: Lincoln 1-0 Wimbledon

Lincoln are not officially promoted to the Championship, but it’s a done: they are 18 points and 24 goals ahead of third-placed Bolton with six games remaining.

GOAL! Salford 1-1 Notts County (Browne 90+5)

It wasn’t a late winner: Luke Browne has equalised for Notts County in the fifth minute of added time!

Full time: Oxford 1-1 Hull

A frustrating afternoon for both teams at the Kassam Stadium.

89 min: West Brom 2-2 Wrexham The Wrexham keeper Arthur Okonkwo has just made an outstanding reaction save with his legs to deny Daryl Dike (I think).

Updated

GOAL! Salford 1-0 Notts County (Graydon 90+2)

Ryan Graydon has scored a precious late winner* for Salford in the battle of the League Two promotion hopefuls.

Updated

GOAL! Norwich 1-1 Portsmouth (Poole 84)

Regan Poole has equalised for relegation-threatened Portsmouth at Carrow Road. That goal moves them above Leicester and out of the bottom three.

Confused? That’s okay. Now all I need are the three digits on the back of the card.

GOAL! Lincoln 1-0 Wimbledon (One 89)

Lincoln have nine toes in the Championship after a strange late winner at Sincil Bank. A cross from the left was blatantly handballed by the unsighted Ryler Towler; the ball looped up and was headed in from close range by Ryan One.

One-nil indeed.

Jermain Defoe’s Woking have come from 3-1 down to draw level against Eastleigh – and Swansea have done likewise against Sheffield United at Bramall Lane.

Updated

GOAL! Leicester 2-2 Preston (Daka 81)

Patson Daka has scored a superb equaliser for Leicester. A Preston defender, not sure who, screwed the ball back towards his own goal; Daka was on it in a flash and finished first-time from 20 yards. It’s his second of the day, and a goal that takes Leicester out of the bottom three… for now.

Championship latest

  • Birmingham 0-1 Blackburn

  • Charlton 1-2 Bristol City

  • Leicester 1-2 Preston North End

  • Norwich 1-0 Portsmouth

  • Oxford Utd 1-1 Hull

  • QPR 2-0 Watford

  • Sheff Utd 3-2 Swansea

  • Stoke 2-0 Sheff Wed

  • West Brom 2-2 Wrexham

Updated

GOAL! Barnet 2-1 Bromley (Tshimanga 76 pen)

After a 20-match unbeaten run in League Two, the leaders Bromley could be facing back-to-back defeats. A penalty from Kabongo Tshimanga has put 10-man Barnet in front at The Hive.

Updated

Championship Todd Cantwell has put Blackburn ahead away to Birmingham. As things stand Blackburn are six points clear of the relegation places after that goal.

Updated

Alisson to miss Man City and PSG games

Liverpool manager Arne Slot has confirmed that their Brazilian goalkeeper Alisson will miss tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final against Manchester City and both legs of the Champions League quarter-final against Paris Saint-Germain.

Alisson was injured against Galatasaray in the previous round of the Champions League and no date has been set for his return.

“He will not be part of the Paris Saint-Germain games as well,” said Slot. “He will be out for a bit longer. Towards the end of the season we expect him to be fit again.”

League Two latest

  • Accrington Stanley 2-0 Crewe

  • Barnet 1-1 Bromley

  • Bristol Rovers 0-0 Fleetwood Town

  • Chesterfield 1-0 Cheltenham

  • Colchester 1-1 Oldham

  • Grimsby 1-2 Harrogate Town

  • Milton Keynes Dons 0-0 Barrow

  • Newport County 0-2 Crawley Town

  • Salford City 0-0 Notts County

  • Shrewsbury 1-0 Tranmere

  • Walsall 1-2 Gillingham

League One latest

  • Blackpool 1-0 Exeter

  • Bradford 1-0 Northampton

  • Burton Albion 1-0 Barnsley

  • Huddersfield 0-1 Reading

  • Lincoln City 0-0 AFC Wimbledon

  • Luton 2-0 Peterborough

  • Plymouth 1-1 Bolton

  • Rotherham 0-0 Stevenage

  • Stockport County 2-0 Wycombe

GOAL! West Brom 2-2 Wrexham (O'Brien/Dobson 62)

All change at the Hawthorns, where Lewis O’Brien’s speculative flick has sneaked into the corner to bring Wrexham level. George Dobson is claiming it, though it’s not clear where he got a touch or not.

Updated

GOAL! Newport 0-2 Crawley (McKirdy 59)

Two goals in three minutes for Harry McKirdy! The first was finished crisply from a cutback, the second headed in from a few yards.

Charlton 1-2 Bristol City That Bristol City game came from a bit of a howler by the Charlton keeper Will Mannion, who twice spilled Scott Twine’s deflected free-kick and then couldn’t keep out Noah Eile’s follow-up.

GOAL! Newport 0-1 Crawley (McKirdy 57)

A big goal at the bottom of League Two: Harry McKirdy has put Crawley in front at Rodney Parade.

Updated

GOAL! Charlton 1-2 Bristol City (Eile 55)

Roy Hodgson’s boys are back in front at the Valley thanks to Noah Eile.

Updated

Championship latest

  • Birmingham 0-0 Blackburn

  • Charlton 1-1 Bristol City

  • Leicester 1-2 Preston North End

  • Norwich 1-0 Portsmouth

  • Oxford Utd 1-1 Hull

  • QPR 1-0 Watford

  • Sheff Utd 2-1 Swansea

  • Stoke 2-0 Sheff Wed

  • West Brom 2-1 Wrexham

Championship In-form Norwich, who have won 10 of their last 13 league games, are 1-0 up at home to Portsmouth. They’ve probably left it too late to reach the playoffs, but it’s not beyond the realms. This is how the table looks as things stand at 4.16pm on 3 April 2026.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Coventry 39 41 80
2 Millwall 40 10 72
3 Middlesbrough 40 21 71
4 Ipswich 38 28 69
5 Hull 40 5 67
6 Southampton 39 15 63
7 Wrexham 40 8 63
8 Derby 39 8 60
9 Norwich 40 7 57
10 Watford 40 3 56
11 QPR 40 -5 56
12 Preston North End 40 -3 55
13 Stoke 40 4 54
14 Birmingham 40 -1 54
15 Sheff Utd 40 1 53
16 Bristol City 40 -1 52
17 Swansea 40 -6 52
18 Charlton 40 -10 49
19 West Brom 40 -13 46
20 Blackburn 40 -13 44
21 Oxford Utd 40 -15 40
22 Portsmouth 39 -18 40
23 Leicester 40 -10 39
24 Sheff Wed 40 -56 -6

In the National League, Jermain Defoe’s Woking™ took an early lead at home to Eastleigh but now trail 2-1.

On this day in 1996… Stan Collymore closed in.

Charlton 1-1 Bristol City “A deft finish from Lyndon Dykes?” sniffs Simon McMahon. “Given Scotland didn’t manage a single goal in our two matches during the recent international break, I’m hoping the big man has got another one of those up his sleeve in June, and that it’s not just a consolation against Haiti.”

GOAL! West Brom 2-1 Wrexham (Windass 47)

Wrexham are back in it at the Hawthorns, where Josh Windass has ripped a curler into the far corner frrom 20 yards. Lovely goal.

Peep peep! The second halves are (mostly) under way in our bumper EFL programme.

Half-time quizzing

League Two half-time scores

  • Accrington Stanley 0-0 Crewe

  • Barnet 1-1 Bromley

  • Bristol Rovers 0-0 Fleetwood Town

  • Chesterfield 1-0 Cheltenham

  • Colchester 0-1 Oldham

  • Grimsby 1-2 Harrogate Town

  • Milton Keynes Dons 0-0 Barrow

  • Newport County 0-0 Crawley Town

  • Salford City 0-0 Notts County

  • Shrewsbury 0-0 Tranmere

  • Walsall 1-0 Gillingham

League One half-time scores

  • Blackpool 1-0 Exeter

  • Bradford 1-0 Northampton

  • Burton Albion 0-0 Barnsley

  • Huddersfield 0-1 Reading

  • Lincoln City 0-0 AFC Wimbledon

  • Luton 1-0 Peterborough

  • Plymouth 0-0 Bolton

  • Rotherham 0-0 Stevenage

  • Stockport County 2-0 Wycombe

Championship half-time scores

  • Birmingham 0-0 Blackburn

  • Charlton 1-1 Bristol City

  • Leicester 1-2 Preston North End

  • Norwich 1-0 Portsmouth

  • Oxford Utd 1-1 Hull

  • QPR 1-0 Watford

  • Sheff Utd 1-1 Swansea

  • Stoke 1-0 Sheff Wed

  • West Brom 2-0 Wrexham

GOAL! Leicester 1-2 Preston (Whiteman 45)

A huge blow for Leicester on the stroke at half-time: Ben Whiteman has put Preston ahead with a clever looping header from a corner. The defending was, a-hem, sub-optimal.

GOAL! West Brom 2-0 Wrexham (Maja 38 pen)

Josh Maja slams a penalty into the side netting to double West Brom’s lead at the Hawthorns.

GOAL! Leicester 1-1 Preston (Moran 38)

Another twist at the bottom of the Championship: the young Irish midfielder Andrew Moran has equalised for Preston. His shot hit the underside of the bar, bounced down and was this far over the line. The replay suggests it was a matter of millimetres.

Updated

Championship match report: Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall

A reminder of today’s early game in the Championship, where Millwall came from behind to win at Middlesbrough and move into the automatic promotion places.

Championship latest

  • Birmingham 0-0 Blackburn

  • Charlton 1-1 Bristol City

  • Leicester 1-0 Preston North End

  • Norwich 1-0 Portsmouth

  • Oxford Utd 1-1 Hull

  • QPR 1-0 Watford

  • Sheff Utd 1-1 Swansea

  • Stoke 1-0 Sheff Wed

  • West Brom 1-0 Wrexham

GOAL! Charlton 1-1 Bristol City (Dykes 30)

A teeny tiny bit of controversy at the Valley, where Lyndon Dykes has equalised for the home side with a deft finish. But Roy Hodgson’s Bristol City thought the throw-in that ultimately led to the goal should have gone their way.

Updated

League Two latest

  • Accrington Stanley 0-0 Crewe

  • Barnet 1-1 Bromley

  • Bristol Rovers 0-0 Fleetwood Town

  • Chesterfield 1-0 Cheltenham

  • Colchester 0-1 Oldham

  • Grimsby 0-2 Harrogate Town

  • Milton Keynes Dons 0-0 Barrow

  • Newport County 0-0 Crawley Town

  • Salford City 0-0 Notts County

  • Shrewsbury 0-0 Tranmere

  • Walsall 1-0 Gillingham

Updated

GOAL! West Brom 1-0 Wrexham (Dobson og 26)

A deserved lead for West Brom in a significant game at the top and bottom of the Championship. Isaac Price’s low free-kick was diverted into his own net by the stretching George Dobson.

Updated

League One latest

  • Blackpool 0-0 Exeter

  • Bradford 1-0 Northampton

  • Burton Albion 0-0 Barnsley

  • Huddersfield 0-0 Reading

  • Lincoln City 0-0 AFC Wimbledon

  • Luton 1-0 Peterborough

  • Plymouth 0-0 Bolton

  • Rotherham 0-0 Stevenage

  • Stockport County 1-0 Wycombe

GOAL! Barnet 1-1 Bromley (Chinedu 18)

Phillip Chinedu has equalised for Barnet against the League Two leaders Bromley, who would have preferred a stress-free afternoon after their 20-match unbeaten run was ended by Barrow last weekend.

Updated

Championship latest scores

  • Birmingham 0-0 Blackburn

  • Charlton 0-1 Bristol City

  • Leicester 1-0 Preston North End

  • Norwich 0-0 Portsmouth

  • Oxford Utd 1-1 Hull

  • QPR 0-0 Watford

  • Sheff Utd 0-0 Swansea

  • Stoke 0-0 Sheff Wed

  • West Brom 0-0 Wrexham

GOAL! Barnet 0-1 Bromley (Kabamba 12)

The League Two leaders are in front at Barnet.

GOAL! Oxford 1-1 Hull (Brannagan 13 pen)

A confident penalty from the Oxford captain Cameron Brannagan has brought them level against Hull.

Updated

GOAL! Charlton 0-1 Bristol City (Twine 11)

Guess who’s back, back again. Scott Twine has finished emphatically to give Roy Hodgson’s Bristol City a deserved lead at the Valley.

Updated

Fernandes named player of the month

Bruno Fernandes has been named the Premier League player of the month for the sixth time, which equals Cristiano Ronaldo’s Manchester United record and puts him one short of the overall record held jointly by Sergio Aguero, Harry Kane and Mo Salah.

Fernandes scored two goals and made four in March, including a majestic through pass for Matheus Cunha’s vital goal against Aston Villa.

5 min: Charlton 0-0 Bristol City Emil Riis has missed an early one-on-one for Roy Hodgson’s Bristol City™. What a chance!

You’re thinking about that Hodgson gif, aren’t you?

GOALS! Oxford 0-1 Hull (Belloumi 4); Leicester 1-0 Preston (Daka 4)

Thanks Dave, hello everyone. We’ve already had two important goals in the Championship. Mohamed Belloumi has put promotion-chasing Hull in front at Oxford with a well-taken goal; Patson Daka has taken advantage of some mildly farcical defending to Leicester – one of Oxford’s relegation rivals – the lead at home to Preston.

Time to hand over to Rob Smyth for hot, live action. Enjoy!

We have our Middlesbrough v Millwall match report in. Louise Taylor was at the Riverside to see a dramatic twist in the Championship promotion race.

Lots of peep peeps coming up. We have nine games kicking off at 3pm in the Championship, nine in League One and 11 in League Two.

Updated

Arsenal team news. Arteta has also given a few injury updates on his squad after all those international withdrawals.

The Gunners boss says Noni Madueke’s knee injury isn’t as bad as first feared and he should be out for days rather than weeks. ”It looked really bad, and Noni was really worried especially after what happened to him in his other knee a few weeks ago and he was out for six weeks. But no, he’s nowhere near that injury, so that was really good news.”

Arteta says Jurrien Timber and Martin Ødegaard are in contention to be in the squad but Piero Hincapié and Eberechi Ezi are out.

More from Mikel Arteta. He’s in impudent mood it seems.

… asked if the goalkeeper at Southampton tomorrow will be Spanish and have a name that ends in A (that’s Kepa Arrizabalaga who didn’t exactly cover himself in glory in the Carabao Cup final loss):

I think tomorrow the goalkeeper is going to be European, he’s under 32, right-footed and speaks at least two languages.

David Raya is 30 and Kepa Arrizabalaga 31. He’s thought this through.

… on if there are any players who are not available after international duty:

You will see, I will continue the speculation so you can do it and you can judge it afterwards, if what I say was right or you have to maybe change and delete and write something else.

Here’s Millwall’s run-in. Each opponent’s current league position is listed.

Norwich (h) – 10th
West Brom (a) – 20th
QPR (h) – 12th
Stoke (a) – 15th
Leicester (a) – 22nd
Oxford (h) – 23rd

It’s a weird league but what a chance for Millwall to get the required points. Middlesbrough still have to go to third-placed Ipswich and seventh-placed Wrexham (final day).

Middlesbrough had 32 shots apparently. They’ve now taken just three points from their last five home games (three draws and two defeats). Next up, a trip to Swansea.

Full-time: Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall

Millwall are into the automatic promotion places! They leapfrog Middlesbrough with a dramatic 2-1 victory at the Riverside and go second. Two goals for Josh Coburn against his former club put Alex Neil’s side in dreamland. Middlesbrough were top in mid-February but now they’ve slipped to third. Take a look at this table Millwall fans!

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Coventry 39 41 80
2 Millwall 40 10 72
3 Middlesbrough 40 21 71
4 Ipswich 38 28 69
5 Hull 39 5 66

Five minutes of added time at Middlesbrough. We’re into the first of those. As it stands Millwall are going second. Lots of disgruntled home fans heading for the exit. They’ve seen this movie before.

GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-2 Millwall (Coburn, 86 mins)

Crikey. It’s another for Coburn. Millwall have been much better in this second half and Coburn fires a superb finish into the bottom corner to put the visitors ahead.

Updated

Still Middlesbrough 1-1 Millwall. Just eight minutes to go. The hosts are winning the xG count 2.33 to 0.72 but, as it stands, this is all working out very well for Coventry. And Ipswich. Here’s the live table which takes into account the Middlesbrough game.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Coventry 39 41 80
2 Middlesbrough 40 22 72
3 Millwall 40 9 70
4 Ipswich 38 28 69
5 Hull 39 5 66

Updated

Championship fixtures

Simon has gone off to forage for food so you’ve got me, Dave Tindall, for a little while. Let’s start with a look at the rest of today’s Championship fixture. All these are 3pms apart from leaders Coventry.

  • Birmingham v Blackburn

  • Charlton v Bristol City

  • Leicester v Preston

  • Norwich v Portsmouth

  • Oxford v Hull

  • QPR v Watford

  • Sheffield United v Swansea

  • Stoke v Sheffield Wednesday

  • West Brom v Wrexham

  • Coventry v Derby (8pm)

Mikel Arteta has held his press conference, ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup quarter-final against Southampton. “We’re going to make the strongest lineups we possibly can to win every competition,” he says. “We’re two or three games away in the FA Cup and we know how important that competition is to us.”

GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-1 Millwall (Coburn, 58 mins)

Josh Coburn equalises for Millwall, turning the ball in from close range after a corner is headed into the six-yard box!

Updated

Lunchtime brain workout latest: Here’s the sports quiz of the week!

Here’s Reuters’ report on Gattuso’s departure, which adds a statement from the man himself:

Italy parted ways with Gennaro Gattuso on Friday, the country’s football federation (FIGC) said, after the national team’s failure to qualify for the World Cup. Italy lost Tuesday’s playoff final in Bosnia on penalties and the four-time champions have now missed out on three consecutive World Cups.

Gattuso’s departure as head coach came a day after the FIGC’s president, Gabriele Gravina, resigned, with the national team delegation head, Gianluigi Buffon, also stepping down from his role.

“With a heavy heart, having failed to achieve the goal we had set ourselves, I consider my time in charge of the national team to be over,” Gattuso said in a statement. “The Azzurri shirt is the most precious asset in football, which is why it is right to facilitate future technical assessments with immediate effect. It has been an honour to lead the national team, and to do so with a group of lads who have shown commitment and loyalty to the shirt.”

Gattuso was appointed in June on a one-year contract, replacing Luciano Spalletti, who was sacked following Italy’s 3-0 defeat by Norway in their opening group game, although he remained in place for the 2-0 win over Moldova the next day.

Italy won their next five group games under Gattuso but, given Norway’s far superior goal difference, they were consigned to another World Cup playoff before the final group game, which Norway won 4-1 at San Siro.

Italy had lost at the playoff stage of the last two World Cups but looked on course to make it this time after a 2-0 win over Northern Ireland in their semi-final, before it all fell apart in Bosnia. Gattuso’s 10-man team let slip a 1-0 lead after having a player sent off and crumbled in the penalty shootout.

Updated

The FIGC, Italy’s football association, have confirmed that Gennaro Gattuso has left his post as coach of the men’s national team by mutual consent, after their failure to qualify for the World Cup. Italy lost Tuesday’s playoff final in Bosnia on penalties and the four-times champions have now missed out on three consecutive World Cups.

Updated

GOAL! Middlesbrough 1-0 Millwall (Fry, 26 mins)

Middlesbrough take the lead against Millwall! And it’s their captain, Dael Fry, who missed an absolute sitter just five minutes into the game, who makes the breakthrough, heading in at the far post after a corner was cleared and re-centred.

Updated

Gennaro Gattuso departs as Italy coach

Gennaro Gattuso has stepped down as coach of Italy following their failure to qualify for this year’s World Cup, with Reuters reporting a mutual agreement with the Italian FA. More to follow on this. Here’s Nick Ames on the chaos engulfing the Italian football association:

Updated

No repercussions for Rodri for Real Madrid talk

Like Enzo Fernández, Rodri also spoke during the international break about the possibility of moving to Real Madrid: “For me, you can’t turn down the best clubs in the world,” he said. But unlike Fernández, he hasn’t got in trouble for it. Pep Guardiola has just held his pre-match press conference, ahead of tomorrow’s FA Cup tie against Liverpool, and made it clear there would be no repercussions. This is what Pep said about Liverpool:

So many times, Liverpool have been the biggest rival. They made an incredible investment to be there for many, many years. We have to perform to the level we did against Arsenal to reach the next step.

And this is what he thought about Mo Salah:

One of the greatest. The numbers, the consistency. What a player. An incredible human being. An absolute legend, of course for Liverpool but for the Premier League, for all he has done. I think it’s a good moment to say goodbye to him tomorrow. He deserves incredible recognition for what he has given to world football, and especially in this country.

Updated

A bit more here on Enzo Fernández’s two-match suspension:

Chelsea have dropped their vice-captain Enzo Fernández for the next two games after he appeared to flirt with Real Madrid during the international break.

The midfielder, who has been linked with a move to Real, offered his thoughts on the Spanish capital while on international duty with Argentina. He said: “I’d like to live in Madrid. It’s a beautiful city, reminds me of Buenos Aires.”

The Chelsea head coach, Liam Rosenior, said the comments had “crossed a line” and he had informed the 25-year-old of the ban on Friday morning.

Much more here:

Updated

We’ve already reported on Liam Rosenior’s reaction to Enzo Fernandes’s comments about Chelsea’s squad. But he also spoke about Marc Cucurella:

I had a fantastic conversation with Marc yesterday, half an hour in my office. I’ve told the players from day one that if they have any issues on how we do things, speak to me or sporting directors. My disappointment in Marc’s interview was where it went to. I think he should’ve spoken to us first about how he was feeling. I want players to know they can speak openly and honestly for the benefit of the football club. As a football club, we know we need to improve. We know what we’re going to do in the summer to achieve those objectives.

A reminder of what Cucurella had to say about his teammates and the club’s transfer policy:

You are fighting and training every day only to realise, at the very end, that when games matter, we are still a bit away from the top level. I understand this is part of the club’s policy, and that they want to take this direction - signing young players and looking to the future. But for all of us who are still here and want to win big things, moments like this [being thrashed by PSG] make you feel discouraged.

We have a good core of players. The foundations are there. But to fight for major trophies such as the Premier League or the Champions League, you need more. Signing young players might only complicate achieving those goals. Against PSG, we lacked players that had gone through situations like that. You need time as well, and I know the young players are the ones that will have the experience in the future. But you need to find the balance between both worlds.

Arne Slot has held his pre-match press conference. He says Alexander Isak is back in training – he took part in his second training session today – and could return to first-team consideration soon, but it’ll be a while before he’s ready to start. Elsewhere, he’s asked about the reaction to the announcement that Mo Salah will be leaving at the end of the season:

What has happened is what he completely deserved. Everyone who was asked about his legacy said the words that needed to be said. The impact on this club. Winning the trophies. I can only hope that he can add two extra trophies to it towards the end of the season.

For Mo, it doesn’t matter if he’s going to leave or if he’s going to stay. He’s always available in his best possible state and that doesn’t change. Mo has always given everything he’s got for this club. I would hope he could give maybe even more but that’s not realistic, because he’s always given everything. If we have a Mo in the form he’s had for so many years it will be beneficial for us.

And on the next few weeks, which Liverpool start with an FA Cup tie against Manchester City tomorrow and a Champions League quarter-final first leg at PSG next Wednesday.

It’s up to us to show that we are ready for this tough fixture lists. Tough in the opponents, and tough in the sense that it’s a lot of games with hardly any rest in between. But I think more players are ready for this schedule than they were for large parts of the first half of the season.

Who’s going to be in the USA’s World Cup squad, I hear you ask? We’ve had a go at trying to work out some answers:

A full 24 matches into the Mauricio Pochettino era, we have arrived at the moment of truth. The US men’s national team’s 2026 World Cup roster will be named on 26 May, and the team’s two recent friendlies have given Pochettino plenty to think about as he makes his selection.

We here at the Guardian have made our picks as well – based a little on our own preference, but still within the realm of what Pochettino may do. Separately three of our writers made our 26-man rosters. Any player who all three agreed on got the “on the squad” designation. Anyone they differed on is listed as “up for debate”, with other notable exclusions listed as “out of the picture”.

This is what we got:

Hello everybody! Coming up, then: Middlesbrough v Millwall, second against fourth in the Championship, has a 12.30pm kick-off after being picked for television coverage. Also starting at 12.30pm, for less obvious reasons, is the League One game between Doncaster Rovers and Mansfield Town, a battle between sides currently 16th and 17th. “The Good Friday contest was originally scheduled to kick-off at 3pm but has now been brought forward after both clubs agreed to an earlier kick-off time,” Mansfield kind-of-explained.

Updated

With that dollop of team news, I’m going to hand over to Simon Burnton for coverage of the lunchtime games. Ta-ra.

Middlesbrough v Millwall team news

Middlesbrough (3-4-2-1) Brynn; Ayling, Fry, Malanda; Brittain, McGree, Morris, Targett; Browne, Conway; Strelec.

Subs: Wildsmith, Gilbert, Munroe, Kaly Sene, Bangura, Edmundson, McCabe, Ibeh, Sarmiento.

Millwall (4-2-3-1) Patterson; Crama, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge, De Norre, Mitchell; Azeez, Ivanovic, Neghli; Coburn.

Subs: Crocombe, McNamara, Ballo, Langstaff, Watson, Bryan, Cundle, Mazou-Sacko, Bannan.

Referee Anthony Backhouse (Cumbria).

Fernández dropped by Chelsea after 'crossing a line'

Chelsea vice-captain Enzo Fernández will be unavailable for their next two games against Port Vale and Manchester City after his much-publicised comments about the departure of Enzo Maresca from the club. Maresca’s replacement Liam Rosenior announced the decision at his morning press conference.

I spoke with Enzo about an hour ago. As a football club, with me as part of the decision, he won’t be available for tomorrow’s game or Manchester City next Sunday.

It’s disappointing for Enzo to speak that way. I have got no bad words to say about him but a line was crossed in terms of our culture and what we want to build.

Updated

The legendary Romanian coach Mircea Lucescu is in a stable condition after reportedly suffering a heart attack in hospital. Lucescu, 80, coached Romania on their European Championship debut in 1984 and returned to the job in 2024. His side just missed out on qualification, losing to Turkey in the playoffs, and he was taken to hospital last Sunday after falling ill.

In an interview last week, he spoke about his health problems and his determination to take Romania to the World Cup.

Thirty years ago tonight, Liverpool and Newcastle produced a game for the ages at Anfield. Why not relive it with Scott Murray’s retro MBM report?

League Two

The biggest game of the day is probably at the Peninsula Stadium, where Salford City host Notts County. Both clubs are in the playoff places and still have every chance of automatic promotion.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Bromley 40 25 79
2 Milton Keynes Dons 40 35 74
3 Cambridge Utd 40 27 73
4 Notts County 40 25 73
5 Swindon 41 18 71
6 Salford City 40 7 70
7 Crewe 40 12 63
8 Grimsby 38 16 62
9 Chesterfield 39 9 62
10 Oldham 39 15 61
11 Walsall 40 7 61
12 Barnet 40 7 60
13 Fleetwood Town 40 2 55
14 Colchester 39 9 54
15 Accrington Stanley 39 -6 48
16 Bristol Rovers 40 -18 46
17 Gillingham 39 -14 45
18 Cheltenham 38 -22 42
19 Shrewsbury 40 -27 41
20 Tranmere 39 -21 36
21 Crawley Town 40 -22 34
22 Newport County 40 -27 34
23 Barrow 39 -26 32
24 Harrogate Town 40 -31 30

Women's Football Weekly

And in our women’s football podcast, Faye Carruthers is joined by Suzy Wrack, Freddie Cardy and Emma Sanders to discuss the Champions League and Sarina Wiegman’s latest England squad.

Updated

League One

The runaway leaders Lincoln City will move closer to automatic promotion if they win at home to Wimbledon this afternoon. Second-placed Cardiff, who have an 11-point cushion with seven games remaining, are not in action until Monday: they were due to meet FA Cup quarter-finalists Port Vale.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Lincoln City 39 40 84
2 Cardiff 39 32 77
3 Bolton 39 16 66
4 Bradford 39 5 65
5 Stockport County 38 6 63
6 Reading 40 9 61
7 Stevenage 38 3 60
8 Wycombe 40 16 59
9 Plymouth 39 6 59
10 Huddersfield 39 8 57
11 Luton 39 3 55
12 Peterborough 38 5 50
13 Barnsley 37 -1 50
14 Leyton Orient 40 -7 50
15 AFC Wimbledon 39 -9 50
16 Doncaster 39 -17 50
17 Mansfield 37 6 49
18 Burton Albion 40 -11 46
19 Wigan 40 -13 46
20 Blackpool 40 -16 45
21 Exeter 40 -10 43
22 Rotherham 38 -23 36
23 Northampton 39 -23 35
24 Port Vale 38 -25 31

Football Weekly

In the latest edition of our flagship podcast, Max Rushden is joined by Barry Glendenning, Nick Ames and Jordan Jarrett-Bryan to preview the weekend’s action.

“Nick Ames’ piece on shenanigans at the top of the Italian football Federation is indeed a great read – and by nice coincidence, there’s a connection with a football book I’m reading, The Miracle of Castel di Sangro, a tale of a village team reaching the heights of Serie B,” writes Charles Antaki.

“Lo and behold, Gabriele Gravina, who just resigned as head of the Italian Football Federation, was a top official in that village club all those years ago - and allegedly a fairly dodgy one at that.

“Among other things he was reported to have done was organise a showpiece trial for a Leicester City striker, who proceeded to make a fool of himself, and everyone else, before revealing that he was part of a troop of actors hired as a publicity stunt.

“There’s also a tale about a consignment of, ahem, masculinity-enhancing drugs. And much much more, of a less entertaining kind. A terrific book, maybe one of the best football books ever.”

Friday quiz

The nerdier match-goers among you are going to love this week’s quiz.

It’s just not football…

The county cricket season begins at 11am sharp. You can follow all the action with the brilliant Tanya Aldred.

Kane doubtful for Real Madrid clash

The Champions League quarter-finals begin next week, with Bayern Munich v Real Madrid the pick of a cracking line-up. There’s some worrying news for Bayern, with Harry Kane a doubt for Tuesday’s first leg in Madrid.

“Harry trained well until Sunday, then he felt something in his ankle while with the national team,” said their head coach Vincent Kompany. “That will have an impact on tomorrow’s game [against Freiburg] – he won’t be available. Nevertheless, I’m positive about Tuesday. It’s not great, I’d like him to play against Freiburg, but as things stand today that won’t be possible.”

Kane has scored 53 goals in 45 games for Bayern this season, including 10 in the Champions League.

Updated

The Premier League XI

Women’s football

Chelsea’s Sam Kerr, one of the greatest players in WSL history, has been strongly linked with a move to the US club Denver Summit when her Chelsea contract expires in the summer.

Japan won last month’s Women’s Asian Cup in emphatic style: six wins out of six, 29 goals scored, one conceded. But yesterday they effectively sacked Nils Nielsen, the Greenlander who coached them to glory. Vanilla Ice was wrong: in football, it seems, sometimes even the best is a felony.

Nielsen’s contract expired at the end of the tournament and the Japan Football Assocation decided not to offer him a new one. Norio Sasaki, the women’s national team director, said Japan could not win next year’s World Cup if Nielsen remained in charge, describing his coaching as “a little too lax, a little too soft”.

FA Cup: Chelsea v Port Vale (Saturday, 5.15pm)

All things being equal, Chelsea will reach the FA Cup semi-finals this weekend. But a storm is brewing in west London.

Spurs, who were knocked out of the FA Cup in the third round by Aston Villa, have no game this weekend. That means time on the training ground for their new manager Roberto De Zerbi, who was appointed on Tuesday. De Zerbi has apologised for previous comments about Mason Greenwood when he was the manager of Marseille.

We mentioned the latest Italian football crisis at the top of the show/bottom of the page, but it’s worth another plug for this piece from Nick Ames. It includes a warning from the Uefa president Aleksander Ceferin that Italy could lose the right to host the European Championship in six years’ time.

Euro 2032 is scheduled and will take place, of that there is no doubt. I just hope that the infrastructure [in Italy] will be ready. If that’s not the case, the tournament will not be held in Italy. Maybe Italy’s politicians should ask themselves why the football infrastructure is among the worst in Europe.

FA Cup: Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)

Eleven Arsenal players withdrew from their respective international squads. How many will be in action at St Mary’s tomorrow?

Women’s Champions League

Arsenal will face OL Lyonnes in the semi-finals for the second season in a row. OL Lyonnes overcame a 1-0 first-leg deficit to beat Wolfsburg 4-0 after extra-time in France.

Last season, OL were strong favourites to go through after winning 2-1 at the Emirates, only for Arsenal to run riot in France.

There’s a full EFL programme today, starting with Middlesbrough v Millwall and Doncaster v Walsall at 12.30pm. I won’t type all the fixtures because that would be an arthritic mistake when I can just direct you to our live scores page. But there are some big games, with Boro v Millwall probably the pick.

The race for the second automatic promotion spot in the Championship is spandex-tight. Fifth-placed Hull go to Oxford, while third-placed Ipswich have the day off. They were due to meet Southampton, who are otherwise engaged in the FA Cup.

Pos Team P GD Pts
1 Coventry 39 41 80
2 Middlesbrough 39 22 71
3 Ipswich 38 28 69
4 Millwall 39 9 69
5 Hull 39 5 66

In other Championship news, Roy Hodgson, 78, begins his second spell as Bristol City manager with a trip to Charlton.

Updated

The FA Cup quarter-finals

  • Manchester City v Liverpool (Saturday, 12.45pm)

  • Chelsea v Port Vale (Saturday, 5.15pm)

  • Southampton v Arsenal (Saturday, 8pm)

  • West Ham v Leeds (Sunday, 4.30pm)

Phil Foden made two starts for England over the international break as Thomas Tuchel experimented with how the Manchester City attacking midfielder could be used at the World Cup. He played in a couple of positions but was ineffective in two collectively subpar performances from the Three Lions. It means he has one assist and no goals in his past 22 appearances for club and country in what has been an underwhelming campaign for the 25-year-old. He has dropped below Rayan Cherki in Pep Guardiola’s pecking order and has not completed a full 90 minutes since January. In the Carabao Cup final, Foden was permitted a late cameo, and it feels like this is the time when he should be making a difference in the final stages of the season.

There are still trophies to be played for, even if winning the Premier League title would involve a huge turnaround against Arsenal. This means the FA Cup is the most promising prospect and Foden should be desperate to start and remind everyone of the world-class player he could be, especially against a Liverpool side who often struggle against smart No 10s. The next six weeks could be make or break for Foden’s City and international career, so he must seize every opportunity.

Updated

Preamble

Hello, good morning, good Good Friday and welcome to our rolling football news blog. Our attention will soon turn to the weekend’s action, including the FA Cup quarter-finals and a full EFL programme today, but first let’s have a recap of the week in international football.

Updated

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