The reports are in, so off you click. Thanks for reading this Clockwatch. Nighty night!
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... so this is what the Premier League looks like after tonight’s eventful card. Manchester City are now 12 clear at the top, though they’ve played two games more than second-placed Liverpool, who host Leicester City tomorrow night. Meanwhile down the bottom, Norwich earn a precious point to stay within striking distance of Everton and Newcastle, while Leeds inch a little bit further away from bother. And Saints come from behind to stun Spurs, who lose ground in the race for fourth.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 24 | 43 | 60 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 22 | 39 | 48 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 24 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | West Ham | 24 | 11 | 40 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 23 | 6 | 39 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 21 | 8 | 36 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 21 | 1 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | 21 | 3 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| 10 | Southampton | 23 | -7 | 28 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 22 | -4 | 27 |
| 12 | Leicester | 20 | -3 | 26 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 23 | -3 | 25 |
| 14 | Brentford | 24 | -14 | 23 |
| 15 | Leeds | 22 | -16 | 23 |
| 16 | Everton | 21 | -13 | 19 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 22 | -20 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich | 23 | -32 | 17 |
| 19 | Watford | 22 | -18 | 15 |
| 20 | Burnley | 20 | -11 | 14 |
FULL TIME: Aston Villa 3-3 Leeds United
Leeds mop up, and Bielsa and Gerrard shake hands on a draw. Both sides will feel they did enough to win, but neither side deserved to lose. Great game.
90 min +8: A free kick in the centre circle for Villa, and one last chance to hoick the ball into the Leeds box. Time for the Hail Mary. Luiz launches long. The ball is headed out for a throw. Cash to fling in long from the right.
90 min +6: Raphinha takes a wild swing at a loose ball, connecting with nothing other than fresh air. He’s lucky he didn’t connect with the nearby Young, because he’d have taken his head clean off! The act of a tired rather than spiteful man, to be fair.
90 min +4: Raphinha nearly latches onto a long pass down the right, but can’t stop it flying out for a goal kick. Ten-man Villa aren’t exactly hanging on, but the away side are having the better of this added time.
90 min +2: In the second of eight added minutes at Villa Park, McGinn is forced to send a diving header out for a corner, under serious pressure from Raphinha.
A little bit on Dundee United’s 2-0 win over Motherwell, courtesy of our old pal Simon McMahon. “As widely predicted, Tony Watt scored his first Dundee United goal against his former club Motherwell at Tannadice tonight, putting United 2-0 up after Dylan Levitt’s first half screamer. A mention too for Kevin McDonald, who started his first game for United since joining the club just last week, and less than a year after undergoing a kidney transplant. The win sees United go fourth in the table.”
90 min: Cash slides in on Rodrigo, a needlessly aggressive challenge on the halfway line. He’s booked. Raphinha considers throwing hands, but is talked out of it by Mings. A testy end to an amazing match.
89 min: On comes Calum Chambers to fill the gap at the back left by Konsa, and make his Villa debut.
RED CARD! Konsa (Aston Villa)
87 min: Villa force a corner down the right. Digne to take, in front of the Holte End. It’s an easy catch for Meslier, who looks to throw quickly upfield. He’s stopped in his tracks by Konsa’s swinging arm, and it’s a second yellow for the defender, who had already been booked for a foul on James. What a daft thing to do.
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The final few minutes at Villa Park, then. With five minutes of regulation time to go, Aston Villa and Leeds United are drawing 3-3. Can anyone find a goal that would surely win this astonishing to-and-fro match?
Scottish Championship full times
- Arbroath 2-2 Hamilton
- Inverness CT 3-3 Partick Thistle
- Kilmarnock 1-2 Ayr United
The surprise leaders extend their advantage at the top to five points, thanks to a last-gasp penalty.
Championship full times
- Blackburn 0-2 Nottingham Forest
- Bournemouth 3-1 Birmingham
- Bristol City 2-1 Reading
- Cardiff 4-0 Peterborough
- Preston 0-0 Huddersfield
- QPR 2-2 Middlesbrough
- Sheffield United 2-0 West Brom
Bournemouth leapfrog Blackburn to get back into the top two, while Forest make the top six for the first time this season.
Scottish Premiership full times
- Aberdeen 2-3 Celtic
- Dundee United 2-0 Motherwell
- Hearts 1-2 Dundee
- Rangers 2-0 Hibernian
- Ross County 1-1 Livingston
- St Mirren 2-1 St Johnstone
Leaders Celtic survive an Aberdeen comeback, Rangers stay on their tail, and Dundee leapfrog St Johnstone at the bottom.
Premier League full times
- Aston Villa 3-3 Leeds United (L)
- Manchester City 2-0 Brentford
- Norwich 1-1 Crystal Palace
- Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Southampton
A routine win for the leaders, a precious point for Norwich, and a spectacular comeback win for Saints, who put a dent in Tottenham’s top-four hopes.
A last-gasp equaliser for Inverness Caley Thistle! Kirk Broadfoot the home hero. It’s the final act of the match, and Partick Thistle have been pegged back three times. Elsewhere in the Scottish Championship, Arbroath’s Michael McKenna scores an injury-time penalty to salvage a point for the leaders against the Accies. What drama in the Scottish second tier.
Nottingham Forest have sealed the deal at Blackburn. Brennan Johnson makes it 2-0 with a 90th-minute penalty. Meanwhile at Spurs, Steven Bergwijn puts the ball in the Southampton net, but the flag goes up correctly for offside. It’s still 3-2 to Saints.
Relief at Villa Park. After a lengthy on-field session with the physio, Coutinho is up and running again.
Peterborough look every inch a relegation outfit tonight. They’re now 4-0 down at Cardiff, Uche Ikpeazu with the latest on 85 minutes. League One ahoy!
Worrying scenes at Villa Park. Philippe Coutinho nearly scores with a 30-yard curler, the ball sailing just wide right of the top corner. He then goes down clutching his knee. He remains down and this could be a serious problem, he looks in plenty of pain. Fingers crossed this looks more dramatic than it actually is.
Updated
Ten-man West Brom had been hanging on at Sheffield United ... but Billy Sharp has just scored his second. A miserable first game in charge for Baggies boss Steve Bruce on his old stomping ground.
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-3 Leeds United (Llorente 63)
Leeds complete the comeback from 3-1 down, Mings failing to clear Struijk’s weak header with an even weaker clearance, teeing up Llorente to slam home from close range.
Updated
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-3 Southampton (Adams 82)
Two headers in three minutes, and Saints snatch the lead at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium! What a collapse by Spurs, and what a dent this could be in their hopes of a top-four finish.
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Patrick Reading gives Ayr an 80th-minute lead at Kilmarnock, and now all of the top three in the Scottish Championship are losing this evening. Meanwhile Daniel Mullen has given Premiership bottom club Dundee the lead at Hearts; they’re 2-1 up.
GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-2 Southampton (Elyounoussi 79)
Saints deservedly draw level with a header by Mohamed Elyounoussi. Antonio Conte is not a picture of serene contentment.
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Worried Bournemouth fans can simmer down. Jaidon Anthony has restored their two-goal lead, finishing at the end of a long dribble on 76 minutes. Meanwhile relegation-haunted Reading halve their deficit at Bristol City; a John Swift penalty makes it 2-1.
Partick take the lead for the third time in the battle of the Thistles in Inverness. Brian Graham has completed his hat-trick. Scottish Championship leaders Arbroath are still trailing the Accies with 20 minutes to play.
Birmingham have halved the deficit against ten-man Bournemouth almost immediately. Hernandez with a deflected drive; it’s 2-1. Cherries fans of a superstitious bent will shudder at the memory of Lerma’s last red card, picked up midway through the second half against Coventry with his team 2-0 up. The final score that day: 2-2.
GOAL! Manchester City 2-0 Brentford (De Bruyne 69)
Brentford had been hanging on, but they come a cropper after making a mistake while playing out from the back. De Bruyne pounces.
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GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 2-1 Southampton (Son 70)
Saints have been the better side for the majority of the match, yet they’ve fallen behind for the second time. Kane and Moura combine down the right, the latter whipping the ball into the mixer, where Son slots.
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Bournemouth are still 2-0 up at home against Birmingham. They are however down to ten men, Lerma having scythed Hernandez from behind. An awful challenge.
A few bottles have been thrown onto the pitch in the match between Blackburn and Nottingham Forest at Ewood Park. This 70s-style trend is getting out of hand now.
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... and Palace should be leading. Mitchell is upended by Aarons, and the referee points to the spot. Zaha steps up to take ... and slips, John Terry style. Oh dear. It’s still 1-1 at Carrow Road, and that’s a huge let-off for Norwich.
Updated
GOAL! Norwich City 1-1 Crystal Palace (Zaha 60)
Palace had been piling on the pressure, and Wilfried Zaha rewards them for their efforts.
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GOAL! Aberdeen 2-3 Celtic (Jota 62). Aberdeen were on terms for less than a minute. The leaders back on top!
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GOAL! Aberdeen 2-2 Celtic (Ferguson 61). ... Lewis Ferguson meets a free kick from the right, sending a downward header past Joe Hart.
GOAL! Rangers 2-0 Hibernian (Morelos 57). Alfredo Morelos has doubled the champions’ lead at Ibrox, and meanwhile ...
Blackburn’s chances of turning things around against Forest at Ewood have lessened considerably. Darragh Lenihan has been sent off for a second bookable offence. Rovers still trail 1-0.
GOAL! Aberdeen 1-2 Celtic (Ramirez 56). The Dons, who came back to force a home draw against Rangers a few weeks back, make a game of it at Pittodrie.
So yes, Philippe Coutinho’s assist for Jacob Ramsey’s first. You’ll not see a better assist all season, I said. “Them’s fightin’ words!” says Marie Meyer, who posts up this ...
Chris Willock has restored QPR’s lead over Middlesbrough within 15 seconds of the restart. Lumley in the Boro goal teeing that one up with an awful clearance; it’s 2-1. Bristol City are quickly back into the Championship groove as well, forcing Reading’s Michael Morrison to put through his own goal. It’s 2-0 at Ashton Gate.
It’s now half time at Villa Park ... and it really should be 4-2, Lucas Digne flashing wide from ten yards after Tyrone Mings, of all people, sashays down the left and pulls back from the touchline. But 3-2 will have to do. What a game!
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-2 Leeds United (James 45+2)
What a game at Villa Park! This is another stunning goal. Klich is found in the Villa box, down the inside-left channel. He checks back, then backheels to release Rodrigo, who reaches the byline and dinks to the far stick, where the diminutive James wins a header he’s got no right to win, and nods home from a couple of yards!
Updated
GOAL! Aston Villa 3-1 Leeds United (Ramsey 40)
It’s Coutinho-Ramsey again! Leeds win a corner. Raphinha hits it flat, failing to beat the first man. Villa romp up the other end, Coutinho racing down the left, drawing two men, then slipping infield to set Ramsey clear. Ramsey opens his body and absolutely lashes into the top right. What a goal!
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Scottish Championship half-times.
- Arbroath 1-2 Hamilton Academical
- Inverness Caledonian Thistle 2-2 Partick Thistle
- Kilmarnock 1-1 Ayr United
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-1 Leeds United (Ramsey 38)
Coutinho, his back to goal in the centre circle, spins into space then immediately slips Ramsey clear with a sliderule pass down the middle. Ramsey dispatches into the bottom right, and you’ll not see a better assist all season.
Updated
Scottish Premiership half-times.
- Aberdeen 0-2 Celtic
- Dundee United 1-0 Motherwell
- Hearts 1-0 Dundee
- Rangers 1-0 Hibernian
- Ross County 0-0 Livingston
- St Mirren 1-1 St Johnstone
Championship half-times.
- Blackburn Rovers 0-1 Nottingham Forest
- Bournemouth 2-0 Birmingham City
- Bristol City 1-0 Reading
- Cardiff City 2-0 Peterborough United
- Preston North End 0-0 Huddersfield Town
- QPR 1-1 Middlesbrough
- Sheffield United 1-0 West Bromwich Albion
Updated
Premier League half-times.
- Aston Villa 1-1 Leeds United (L)
- Manchester City 1-0 Brentford
- Norwich City 1-0 Crystal Palace
- Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Southampton
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-1 Leeds United (Coutinho 30)
A second goal in a Villa shirt for Philippe Coutinho.
Updated
Nicky Law has levelled for Scottish Championship leaders Arbroath against the Accies from the penalty spot, while Shane Sutherland pulls Caley Thistle level again against Partick Thistle. In the English version, Aden Flint has doubled Cardiff’s lead against relegation-threatened Peterborough, Antoine Semenyo gives Bristol City the lead over Reading, and Jake Livermore has been sent off for West Brom at Sheffield United for an overly aggressive slide tackle.
GOAL! Manchester City 1-0 Brentford (Mahrez 40 pen)
Penalty for Manchester City! Sterling skedaddles into the Brentford box down the inside-left channel. He’s going nowhere but Roerslev slides in needlessly and upends his man. Mahrez whips the spot kick into the top left, and City lead with their first shot on target!
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... and to further illustrate City’s dominance, they’ve made 64 passes in Brentford’s final third. Brentford have made four in City’s.
Still goalless between Manchester City and Brentford, by the way. Most of the play is taking place in the Bees box, where Raheem Sterling has just spectacularly shinned over from 12 yards. It would have been a hell of a strike had he connected properly.
A couple more Championship goals. QPR’s Ilias Chair takes a touch 25 yards out to tee himself up, then steers a delicious effort into the bottom right of the Middlesbrough net. Meanwhile Bournemouth double their lead over Birmingham, Dominic Solanke with a 31st-minute drive into the bottom left.
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In Scotland’s top flight ... Ellis Sims puts Hearts ahead against Dundee, a Callum Hendry penalty gives St Johnstone the lead at St Mirren, and Dundee United lead Motherwell through Dylan Levitt’s 29th-minute strike.
Scottish Championship leaders Arbroath are trailing at home to Hamilton Accies, Daniel O’Reilly with the goal on 25 minutes. Meanwhile Billy McKay levels for third-placed Inverness Caledonian Thistle against Partick Thistle, only for Brian Graham to score his second to reclaim the lead for the visitors. It’s 2-1 to Thistle.
A couple of goals in the Championship. Sheffield United take the lead over West Brom through a deflected Billy Sharp shot on 22 minutes, while James Garner puts in-form Nottingham Forest ahead against Blackburn at Ewood Park.
Updated
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Leeds United (James 8)
Leeds take the lead in the 8pm kick off, Dan James scoring his third goal for his new club.
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GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Southampton (Broja 23)
A crisp, unstoppable volley from Broja, on loan from World Club Cup finalists Chelsea, and a proper player.
GOAL! Aberdeen 0-2 Celtic (O’Riley 20). A first goal in green and white hoops for O’Riley, a deflected effort that puts the leaders in control at Pittodrie.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-0 Birmingham (Christie 17). Christie nearly scores with a spectacular curler from the right-hand edge of the D. The ball twangs off the crossbar and away. Solanke recycles possession and eventually Christie is found on the penalty spot, where he slams home, just rewards for the earlier effort.
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GOAL! Tottenham Hotspur 1-0 Southampton (Bednarek 18 og)
Hojbjerg crosses from the right. Son slides in with a view to bundling home, but his marker Bednarek gets in first to put through his own net.
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GOAL! Aberdeen 0-1 Celtic (Jota 17). A mix-up in the Aberdonian defence gifts Jota with a close-range tap-in.
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Some good news for everyone’s new favourite team Arbroath. Ayr have equalised against second-placed Killie at Rugby Park, James Maxwell with the goal after 14 minutes. Arbroath’s four-point cushion at the top back intact.
Romero has the ball in the net for Tottenham against Southampton. A crashing header to meet Son’s right-wing free kick. But it won’t count, the flag popping up for offside. Still goalless.
A couple of big early goals in the Scottish Championship. Second-placed Kilmarnock have taken the lead against Ayr, Fraser Murray on seven minutes, while third-placed Inverness Caley Thistle are behind at home to Partick Thistle, Brian Graham opening the scoring after eight.
GOAL! Cardiff City 1-0 Peterborough United (Ralls 4). Joe Ralls meets a low right-wing cross to slot into the bottom left from the edge of the box. Not ideal for 22nd-placed Posh.
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GOAL! Rangers 1-0 Hibernian (Tavernier 5 pen). Ryan Kent is upended as he dribbles infield from the left, and James Tavernier slots the penalty to give the champions, recently deposed at the top of the table by Celtic, an early lead.
GOAL! Norwich City 1-0 Crystal Palace (Pukki 1)
What a start for relegation-haunted Norwich! Idah tees up Pukki on the edge of the box, and as things stand, will leapfrog Newcastle into 17th place, just one point behind Everton.
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Teams take to the field all across the land. Whistles are blown. We’re off!
There are also seven matches in the Championship this evening, the pick perhaps upwardly trending Nottingham Forest’s visit to second-placed Blackburn Rovers. A full card of Scottish Premiership fixtures sees leaders Celtic go to Aberdeen while champions Rangers host Hibernian, and in the Scottish Championship, Arbroath’s delightfully absurd bid for promotion to the top flight continues with the visit of Hamilton Accies. There will be goals. Hope. Heartbreak. Not long now.
This is how the Premier League table looks before tonight’s matches. City can extend their lead to 12 points. Norwich can push Newcastle back into the bottom three. Villa, Palace and Southampton can all leapfrog tenth-placed Leicester. Expect movement.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Man City | 23 | 41 | 57 |
| 2 | Liverpool | 22 | 39 | 48 |
| 3 | Chelsea | 24 | 30 | 47 |
| 4 | West Ham | 24 | 11 | 40 |
| 5 | Man Utd | 23 | 6 | 39 |
| 6 | Arsenal | 21 | 8 | 36 |
| 7 | Tottenham Hotspur | 20 | 2 | 36 |
| 8 | Wolverhampton | 21 | 3 | 34 |
| 9 | Brighton | 22 | 0 | 30 |
| 10 | Leicester | 20 | -3 | 26 |
| 11 | Aston Villa | 21 | -4 | 26 |
| 12 | Southampton | 22 | -8 | 25 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 22 | -3 | 24 |
| 14 | Brentford | 23 | -12 | 23 |
| 15 | Leeds | 21 | -16 | 22 |
| 16 | Everton | 21 | -13 | 19 |
| 17 | Newcastle | 22 | -20 | 18 |
| 18 | Norwich | 22 | -32 | 16 |
| 19 | Watford | 22 | -18 | 15 |
| 20 | Burnley | 20 | -11 | 14 |
Aston Villa and Leeds are both unchanged. Their last matches came in the Premier League, both having been cashiered from the FA Cup in the third round and therefore sitting it out last weekend. Villa are coming off the back of a hard-fought win at Everton, while Leeds lost at home to Newcastle.
Team news from the 8pm at Villa Park
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey, Buendia, Watkins, Coutinho.
Subs: Sanson, Chambers, Young, Ings, Olsen, Hause, Chukwuemeka, Iroegbunam, Chrisene.
Leeds United: Meslier, Ayling, Llorente, Struijk, Dallas, Koch, Klich, Raphinha, Rodrigo, Harrison, James.
Subs: Forshaw, Roberts, Klaesson, Bate, Gelhardt, Hjelde, McKinstry, Shackleton, Kenneh.
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Manchester City, fresh after an easy win over Fulham in the FA Cup, make five changes to their starting XI. Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte, Rodri, Bernardo Silva and Raheem Sterling are in; Kyle Walker, Nathan Ake, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan and Jack Grealish drop out. Brentford, who were well beaten at Everton in the cup, make three changes. Ethan Pinnock, Frank Onyeka and Saman Ghoddos come in for Mads Bech, Vitaly Janelt and Ivan Toney.
Norwich City make three changes to the side that scraped past Wolves in the FA Cup. Angus Gunn replaces Michael McGovern in goal, while Max Aarons and Teemu Pukki take the places of Sam Byram and Billy Gilmour. Crystal Palace, who saw off Hartlepool in the cup, welcome back Vicente Guaita, Wilfried Zaha, Joachim Andersen and Will Hughes.
Tottenham Hotspur name exactly the same 11 players that beat Brighton in the FA Cup on Saturday evening. Their opponents Southampton take pretty much the opposite approach, making ten changes to the FA Cup side that defeated Coventry in extra time. James Ward-Prowse is the only man to keep his place.
Teams for the 7.45pms
Manchester City: Ederson, Joao Cancelo, Dias, Stones, Laporte, Bernardo Silva, Rodri, De Bruyne, Sterling, Mahrez, Foden.
Subs: Walker, Ake, Gundogan, Grealish, Zinchenko, Steffen, Fernandinho, Delap, McAtee.
Brentford: Raya, Roerslev, Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock, Canos, Jensen, Norgaard, Onyeka, Henry, Ghoddos.
Subs: Da Silva, Wissa, Mbeumo, Baptiste, Sorensen, Stevens, Fernandez, Lossl.
Norwich City: Gunn, Aarons, Hanley, Gibson, Williams, Placheta, Lees-Melou, McLean, Rashica, Idah, Pukki.
Subs: Byram, Zimmermann, Gilmour, Dowell, Normann, Tzolis, Giannoulis, McGovern, Rowe.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Gallagher, Hughes, Schlupp, Olise, Mateta, Zaha.
Subs: Butland, Milivojevic, Tomkins, Ayew, Eze, Clyne, McArthur, Benteke, Edouard.
Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Sanchez, Romero, Davies, Emerson, Winks, Hojbjerg, Reguilon, Lucas Moura, Son, Kane.
Subs: Doherty, Rodon, Sessegnon, Kulusevski, Gollini, Bergwijn, Bentancur, White, Scarlett.
Southampton: Forster, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Salisu, Perraud, Elyounoussi, Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Stuart Armstrong, Broja, Adams.
Subs: Stephens, Long, Adam Armstrong, Caballero, Djenepo, Smallbone, Diallo, Walcott, Valery.
Preamble
There are four big games in the Premier League tonight. Three of them kick off at 7.45pm ...
- Manchester City v Brentford
- Norwich City v Crystal Palace
- Tottenham Hotspur v Southampton
... and one kicks off at 8pm ...
- Aston Villa v Leeds United
... and all of the goals will be reported here. It’s an evening when Manchester City can open up a 12-point lead at the top, and Norwich could extricate themselves from the relegation places. It’s on!
