And here’s that Championship round-up you’ve been waiting for, leading off on Southampton’s hopes of closing on the top three suffering a late blow. Thanks for reading and join us later for Southampton v Leeds.
Kick-off at Ewood Park beckons and you can follow Ipswich’s bid to go top of the Championship here.
And don’t forget we’ll have hot, live minute-by-minute action from Watford v Leeds in the final game of the day at 8pm. If Ipswich do go top, ex-Norwich and now Leeds boss Daniel Farke will be keen to leapfrog the Tractor Boys once more and put the men from Elland Road back in pole position.
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We’ll have a Championship round-up coming up shortly but, while you wait, here’s John Brewin’s report on Bristol City’s 1-0 win over Leicester at Ashton Gate. Are the Foxes cracking?
The Championship is quite the division. Rotherham are all but gone but there are just five points separating Millwall in 16th and second-bottom Sheffield Wednesday in 23rd.
It’s as you were in League One with leaders Portsmouth five points clear of Derby after both won. But the Rams now have a five-point advantage on Bolton, who were held 0-0 at Stevenage.
But in League Two it’s really tightened up at the top. Stockport lead the way on 74 points after winning 3-0 at bottom club Forest Green but Wrexham are now just a point behind after their 2-0 home win over Mansfield in the day’s big game. Nigel Clough’s men remain second but only on goal difference following that defeat at the Racecourse Ground.
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And now the focus in the Championship turns to Lancashire where Blackburn host third-placed Ipswich. The Tractor Boys can go two points clear at the top with victory in the 5.30pm game but Leeds would overtake them again by taking all three points at Watford in the 8pm kick-off.
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Full-time in League Two
Accrington 1-2 Morecambe
AFC Wimbledon 1-1 Harrogate
Barrow 3-1 Grimsby
Bradford 2-0 Tranmere
Colchester 2-1 Newport
Crawley 0-2 Doncaster
Forest Green 0-3 Stockport
Gillingham 0-0 Crewe
MK Dons 5-0 Walsall
Salford 1-2 Sutton
Swindon 2-1 Notts County
Wrexham 2-0 Mansfield
Full-time in League One
Barnsley 0-2 Cambridge
Derby 1-0 Blackpool
Exeter 1-1 Charlton
Fleetwood 1-2 Cheltenham
Lincoln 1-0 Leyton Orient
Peterborough 1-3 Carlisle
Port Vale 2-0 Bristol Rovers
Reading 1-0 Northampton
Shrewsbury 1-1 Oxford
Stevenage 0-0 Bolton
Wigan 1-1 Burton
Wycombe 1-3 Portsmouth
Full-time 3pms in the Championship
Cardiff 0-2 Sunderland
Huddersfield 1-3 Coventry
Hull 0-2 Stoke
Norwich 2-1 Plymouth
Preston 3-0 Rotherham
QPR 2-1 Birmingham
Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Swansea
Southampton 1-1 Middlesbrough
Goal! Huddersfield 1-3 Coventry: And there’s also a clincher at Huddersfield as Haji Wright adds a third for Coventry to make it another good day for the FA Cup semi-finalists.
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Goal! Hull 0-2 Stoke: Ki-Jana Hoever removes any doubt at Hull with a strike three minutes into added time to give Stoke three points.
Goal! QPR 2-1 Birmingham: It’s a late kick in the gut for Gary Rowett as QPR grab what will surely be an injury-time winner. Jimmy Dunne’s 20-yard strike leaves Birmingham on 39 points and only out of the relegation zone on goal difference. QPR jump to 18th, four clear of Birmingham, with that flash of the Irishman’s boot.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Middlesbrough
Drama on the south coast! Saints have had a bunch of chances to put this game to bed but they’re punished in the last minute as Latte Lath’s header finds the far corner. Southampton are now eight off the automatic promotion spots and with Leicester losing earlier, it’s a golden chance for Leeds and Ipswich to cash in later today.
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In League One, Portsmouth and Derby look to be strengthening their hopes of automatic promotion. Leaders Pompey are 3-1 up at Wycombe while Derby hold a narrow 1-0 lead over Blackpool. If it stays the same, Portsmouth would end the day on 86 points, with Derby on 81 and Bolton, who are drawing 0-0 at Stevenage, third on 75.
Goal! Huddersfield 1-2 Coventry: Another potential twist at the bottom as Huddersfield pull one back at home to Coventry through Rhys Healey as the hosts pounce on a defensive error. They’re still in an all-Yorkshire bottom three, ahead of Sheffield Wednesday and Rotherham, but could pull out of it before the afternoon is over.
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Goal! Sheffield Wednesday 1-1 Swansea: The Owls drop back into the bottom three as Jamal Lowe gives Swansea an equaliser after a calm control and finish.
Goal! Norwich 2-1 Plymouth: The Canaries have turned the game on its head in the space of seven minutes. And this one is an own goal from Ashley Phillips, again from a corner.
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Goal! Hull 0-1 Stoke: The deadlock is broken on the east coast as Josh Laurent bundles home a scrappy effort. A great couple of minutes for Joshes.
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Goal! Norwich 1-1 Plymouth: The playoff hopefuls level the scores midway through the second half as American sub Josh Sargent slots home after a corner. Go Canaries!
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Goal! Wrexham 2-0 Mansfield: The hosts double their lead from a somewhat contentious penalty. Mullen steps up and wellies an absolute thunderblaster traction engine of a strike high down the middle for his second of the game.
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Goal! QPR 1-1 Birmingham: Oh, well that didn’t last long. Steve Cook’s volley at the far post is deflected home and the hosts are level. The returning Gary Rowett will see his team back down to 22nd if his backroom staff show him a live table. The goal lifts QPR back out of the drop zone.
Goal! QPR 0-1 Birmingham: Key goal at the bottom of the Championship as Birmingham’s Juninho Bacuna scores a beauty at Loftus Road, receiving a pass on the edge of the area and firing into the top corner. The returning Gary Rowett will see his team up to 19th if his backroom staff show him a live table.
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A lack of second-half goals in the Championship so let’s here some more from Klopp ahead of the visit of Brighton.
“We want to win this game, and it has nothing to do with the other game [Man City v Arsenal]. Like all the other games as well, we want to win. Will it happen? I don’t know, but we will give it a try.
“We are in a position to fight for everything, and that’s what we want to do. If you had told me last summer after the international break in March you will be around there with Arsenal and City, I would have said yeah, give me a contract (for that), I’ll sign it now. And here we are, and nobody knows how it will end, where we will be, but we will give it a proper try and it starts on Sunday.”
Some Liverpool team news from Jürgen Klopp ahead of the home game with Brighton on Sunday.
The Reds are taking it “day by day” with Andy Robertson after the left-back came off during Scotland’s friendly against Northern Ireland. “He will not train today but it’s not as bad, so that’s fine.”
As for Alisson Becker, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Diogo Jota? “The other boys, from next week on, step by step I think they will join parts of team training, and then team training, so we will see what we do with that. They’re not too far away but not in yet. They all make their steps, so it’s positive.”
Ibrahima Konate, absent for Liverpool’s last three games, is set to be available this weekend.
False alarm at Southampton. Saints have the ball in the net again but Armstrong is ruled offside as he taps home. Still 1-0.
Thanks Alex. Looking at the live Championship table and – as it stands – Sheffield Wednesday have crept out of the relegation zone to 21st. Birmingham and Huddersfield are in the bottom three alongside doomed Rotherham.
The 3pm kick-offs are rapidly breaking into their second halves, like Augustus Gloop ploughing through a giant chocolate egg. I’ll hand over to that fine gent David Tindall. Thanks for reading.
Arsenal’s manager, Mikel Arteta, has told the media what he really makes of his former mentor, Pep Guardiola, before the match between title contenders at Manchester City in two days. He’s said Pep couldn’t manage a Sunday roast! No, he’s actually called him the best coach in the world.
“It had to change,” Arteta said of their once very close relationship. “My admiration and what I feel for him certainly hasn’t.
In my opinion he’s the best coach in the world by a mile and he’s one of the nicest people that I’ve met in football. Certainly he’s one of the ones that I’ve had the most fun and laughter working with. That’s going to stay there forever.
Probably I would prefer to do it [engage in a title battle] against someone who I don’t have those feelings for but that’s not a choice. It’s what it is. We both want to win.
Arteta also revealed that Bukayo Saka and Gabriel Martinelli could feature having missed the international break with minor injuries, while Gabriel Magalhães is also expected to be fit enough to start at the Etihad.
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Half-time 3pms in the Championship
Cardiff 0-2 Sunderland
Huddersfield 0-2 Coventry
Hull 0-0 Stoke
Norwich 0-1 Plymouth
Preston 3-0 Rotherham
QPR 0-0 Birmingham
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Swansea
Southampton 1-0 Middlesbrough
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Goal! Preston 3-0 Rotherham: Emil Riis with his second of the afternoon. You really feel for Rotherham’s loyal visiting fans at this stage. Let’s assume they’re getting a sympathetic ovation from the Preston faithful.
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Goal! Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Swansea: Bailey Cadamarteri is in the right place, at the right time, to nudge the ball home at the near post after it breaks loose in the area. A big “if”, but Wednesday will creep outside of the relegation zone if results stay as they are.
Goal! Preston: 2-0 Rotherham: No sign of an upset at Deepdale where the playoff-chasers have doubled their lead. Emil Riis finds himself in a harrowing amount of space inside the area and duly arrows the ball into the bottom corner.
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Goal! Wrexham 1-0 Mansfield: The visitors had the best of the first half hour, but Wrexham are ahead. Excellent work from Andy Cannon on the wing and while Paul Mullin didn’t make the best contact, the arch poacher finds the back of the net.
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Goal! Cardiff: 0-2 Sunderland: Jobe Bellingham, he’s not just Jude’s brother, he’s doubled the Black Cats’ lead in Wales.
Goal! Preston 1-0 Rotherham: Elementary, the midfielder Duane Holmes has put the hosts ahead against the Championship’s bottom side. A defeat likely won’t relegate Rotherham today, because Huddersfield are losing, but it’s a matter of time unfortunately for the Millers.
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Goal! Huddersfield 0-2 Coventry: Ellis Simms again: his 16th goal of the season. It’s a tap-in this time, nothing like his screamer of an opener, but he’s now set himself up for what could be his third hat-trick in his last six games. Prolific.
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Goal! Huddersfield 0-1 Coventry: The in-form Ellis Simms scores an absolute cracker. All his own doing, he bears down on goal at pace and lashes one into the top corner. Lee Nicholls in the hosts’ goal had no chance.
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Goal! Cardiff 0-1 Sunderland: Adil Aouchiche successfully converts from the spot after Dimitrios Goutas had given away an early penalty.
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GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Middlesbrough (A Armstrong 12)
Expert finish by Adam of the Armstrongs after a dire clearance by Boro. It landed right at Armstrong’s feet inside the area, he set himself, then fired home to put the hosts ahead.
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Goal! Norwich 0-1 Plymouth. Morgan Whittaker with an excellently controlled and directed header. However his markers were: AWOL.
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Fourth-placed Southampton have kicked off at Middlesbrough, who are 10th and seven points off the playoffs as things stand in the Championship. Meanwhile on TV, the Deadpool-owned Wrexham and hosting Bananaman-endorsed (possibly) Mansfield. It’s first against third in League Two!
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Full time: Millwall 1-1 West Brom. It’s the hosts who are pegged back by John Swift’s penalty after Duncan Watmore’s first-half opener. But they are picking up points after Neil Harris began his new spell in charge last month. West Brom are in fifth, nine points above Hull outside the playoffs in seventh.
An email from Jeremy Boyce, onomatopoeically titled “Oooooffff!” in reaction to Leicester’s defeat by Bristol City.
That there Championship is living up to its rep as one of the tensest tests of a team’s staying power. Leicester lose again and there’s their lead gone after we all thought they were home and dry. Leeds, Ipswich and Southampton will be doubling down in their matches later, hoping to make that defeat really count. But Monday is looking like a big day, with six of the top seven playing each other, including a tasty match-up at Portman Road: Ipswich-Saints that could decide not only their destiny but Leicester’s too. Big pressure at the King Power for the visit of playoff candidates Norwich. Bums are squeaking ...
Here’s the match report on Bristol City’s early victory over Leicester, who are having problems on and off the pitch. Points deductions could be in their future and they were unable to pick up any points today against a City side who are not out of the playoff hunt on the basis of this display.
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Before the Championship, League One and League Two 3pm kick-offs begin, do you want to hear whether Erik ten Hag thinks Kobbie Mainoo can cope with The Hype after the midfielder’s displays for England in the week? Of course you do.
Speaking before Manchester United’s visit to Brentford tomorrow, Ten Hag is confident the success will not go to the 18-year-old’s head. “It was very good, but we are not surprised,” the United manager said of Mainoo’s international performances. “We have seen what he is capable of, that he can very quickly adapt to high levels. It looks very natural.
We are very happy for him and of course a little bit proud. I would say very proud. It’s great for the academy of Manchester United that they bring up a player so young going into the national team. That is a big compliment for the whole club.
Asked if he has to manage The Hype around Mainoo, Ten Hag said:
Yes, but we have discussed this before and so far he handles it very well. If he crosses the line, of course, I as a manager, we as coaches, will interfere. But so far it’s not necessary because he enjoys football, he wants to win, he wants to give his best every day because he want to improve. For him, it’s fun to play dominant, to dictate the game and to win the game.
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Goal! West Brom 1-1 Millwall: An equaliser from the spot for West Brom who sit comfortably in the playoff places. Grady Diangana earns the penalty and John Swift slots it home.
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Full time: Bristol City 1-0 Leicester
A superb win for the hosts who’ve struggled to find a cutting edge this season but were given one, spectacularly, by Anis Mehmeti. Some great saves from Max O’Leary, too. Leicester lose for a fourth time from their last six league games. Leeds stay top and Ipswich could drop Leicester to third if they win later. That “0” is not the Easter egg the Foxes wanted.
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Bristol City 1-0 Leicester: Five minutes of stoppage time. Dewsbury-Hall, Leicester’s best player in the second half, wins a free-kick in the middle but – for now - the hosts are looking good for their 1-0 advantage.
Bristol City 1-0 Leicester: Harry Winks is trying to get something going in the middle, dictating play in the rain, but Bristol City are dangerous on the break. Nahki Wells goes down in the box after a challenge from the aforementioned Winks. The referee says it’s shoulder-to-shoulder.
Bristol City 1-0 Leicester: Leicester urgently trying to get some momentum, having scored in each of their last 21 league games. They have a corner but Abdul Fatawu heads a difficult chance over while surrounded by City players.
Bristol City 1-0 Leicester: The visitors are rocking now. That was a sublime finish from Mehmeti, even if Hamza Choudhury could have done better in closing him down, the shot was simply unstoppable. Big test for the team that were once running away with the Championship. Vardy is substituted now; a match he won’t want to remember for long.
GOAL! Bristol City 1-0 Leicester (Mehmeti)
What a strike that is from Anis Mehmeti. Takes it out from under his feet on the edge of the area and rockets it into the corner. You don’t save those.
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Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Good spell of pressure from the home side. Ross McCrorie cuts in dangerously from the right but fires a shot into the side-netting. Positive play from the substitute.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Vardy fails to take another chance to put Leicester ahead! Bristol City try passing it out from the back but make a hash of it, pinging it straight to the Foxes’ No 9 in front of goal. However O’Leary, his nemesis, pulls off another excellent save. Again, Vardy will feel he could have broken the deadlock if he’d fired off his shot just a smidgen quicker.
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Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Tommy Conway puts a shot agonisingly, narrowly past the post … but then the offside flag goes up. Both sides looking a bit more dangerous though. You sense a goal is coming (he says, inevitably condemning this to a goalless draw).
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Jamie Vardy misses a great chance to put Leicester ahead! It’s his own excellent work, via a one-two with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, that creates the opening. Vardy is through on goal but fires the ball straight at Max O’Leary, who saves. The goalkeeper does brilliantly to keep out a second attempt by Stephy Mavididi. But Vardy will know he should have done better with the initial effort.
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Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: We’re into the second half and it’s the home side who’ve started the livelier. Scott Twine has a shot blocked inside the area. No sign of a much-needed cutting edge as yet.
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Millwall 1-0 West Brom: We didn’t get a goal in the first half at Ashton Gate but there has been one in the Championship’s 1pm kick-off, Duncan Watmore putting the hosts Millwall ahead of West Brom.
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Kane fit for Borussia Dortmund clash
Bundesliga news: Harry Kane has been passed fit for Bayern Munich’s showdown with rivals Borussia Dortmund at Allianz Arena on Saturday.
Kane suffered an ankle injury in Bayern’s victory over Darmstadt earlier this month, but still joined up with the England squad for the recent international break. The England captain sat out the team’s loss to Brazil at Wembley last Saturday and returned to Germany after being released early from the squad.
After the former Spurs striker was able to resume light training with Bayern on Monday, his club manager, Thomas Tuchel, has now confirmed he will face Dortmund in this weekend’s Klassiker in Munich.
“Harry trained fully with the team yesterday, has stepped things up each day. It’s all fine, he’ll play,” Tuchel told reporters. The prognosis for Manuel Neuer is not as positive with the veteran goalkeeper still absent after he tore a muscle in his left adductor during training with Germany last week.
Tuchel did confirm Neuer is expected to return for the trip to Heidenheim on 6 April, which would raise the prospect of the 38-year-old being available for their Champions League quarter-final fixtures with Arsenal.
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Thanks David. I greet you with Liverpool, and possibly also Real Madrid, heartache: an updated story on the news mentioned earlier that Xabi Alonso will stay at Bayer Leverkusen for at least another season.
“Last week I had a meeting [with club officials] and informed them of the decision to continue being coach of Bayer Leverkusen,” Alonso said.
“After lot of talks about my future, I used the break to reflect and make my decision. I feel this is the right place to be for me as a young coach. My job at Bayer is not over. I want to help the club, help the players to develop, the board is great … it’s all fantastic here.”
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Half-time – Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: That’s half-time. An opening 45 not without incident – the Bristol City penalty claim and Vardy clipping the post – but it remains goalless. Time for me to hand over to Alex Reid.
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Here’s more from Louise Taylor on Eddie Howe’s comments over Sandro Tonali’s betting ban and the threat of further sanctions.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Leicester have gone closest to a goal but the shot count is 12-6 in favour of the hosts. The visitors have had 57% possession.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Action at both ends. Wonderful feet from Mehmeti creates room in the Leicester box but the shot is delayed and then blocked. The visitors break and Vardy fizzes another effort across goal but wide.
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Alonso says he's staying at Leverkusen
It’s official: Xabi Alonso is staying put. Liverpool and Bayern Munich must search elsewhere for their next manager.
After lot of talks about my future, I used the break to reflect and make my decision. I feel this is the right place to be for me as a young coach. My job at Bayer is not over. I want to help the club, help the players to develop, the board is great … it’s all fantastic here.”
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Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Massive chance for Vardy who darts into space and then reverses an angled shot that looks in but spins away and catches the outside of the post. Is a Leicester goal coming?
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Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Best chance for Leicester so far as Faes peels off his man at the far post and nods a Winks free-kick across the six-yard box but wide of the post. Still 0-0 as the clock ticks to 30 minutes.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Leicester are starting to grow into it a little and win their first corner of the game with 24 minutes on the clock. It’s a complete waste. Vardy then shows he still has high pest content by attempting to charge down a clearance and catching the goalkeeper.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Conway continues to cause a threat and there are vociferous appeals from the home crowd as Leicester defender Wout Faes gets in a positional muddle and pulls on the striker’s shorts in the box. No penalty though! Hmmm.
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Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: The hosts definitely having the better of this so far with 15 minutes on the clock. Tommy Conway stings Hermansen’s hands with a fierce shot and the Leicester goalkeeper beats away the follow-up effort too.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: Jamie Vardy is still knocking them in at the age of 37. The Foxes striker has seven in his last seven Championship games but hasn’t had much to go at here yet, barring a looping header when stretching that floated into the goalkeeper’s hands.
Bristol City 0-0 Leicester: The sun is shining at a sold-out Ashton Gate and the hosts have made the brighter start, winning an early corner and penning Leicester in.
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Peep! Let’s go at Ashton Gate. It’s Peter Shilton v Mark Wallington, it’s Joe Jordan v Gary Lineker, it’s Gerry Gow v Keith Weller, it’s Bristol City v Leicester City.
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Bristol City v Leicester fun Opta facts. Not long now. Time to digest these ahead of the 12.30pm kick-off.
This is Leicester City’s first league game on Good Friday since 2013, when they lost 1-0 to Millwall. The Foxes haven’t won on Good Friday since 1973, when they beat Crystal Palace.
Bristol City have lost their last three league games against Leicester City, failing to score in each match while conceding seven times.
This is the first time Leicester will travel to Bristol City for a league match since January 2013 – the Foxes won 4-0 with Chris Wood netting a hat-trick that day.
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Here’s Thursday’s Football Daily if you missed it, with Arsenal v Man City the focus. Another one of these later today.
Here’s Sarah Rendell with a piece on Arsenal’s Swedish striker Stina Blackstenius.
Arsenal have some catching up to do in the Women’s Super League.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Chelsea Women | 17 | 36 | 43 |
| 2 | Man City Women | 17 | 34 | 43 |
| 3 | Arsenal Women | 17 | 19 | 37 |
| 4 | Liverpool FC Women | 17 | 4 | 29 |
| 5 | Man Utd Women | 17 | 13 | 28 |
“I punched something”, revealed Nuno Espirito Santo after hearing of Nottingham Forest’s points deduction. An inanimate object I suspect. Definitely not in Jim McLean’s league.
Here’s how The Guardian reported McLean landing a right cross.
Rangers and Celtic agree Old Firm ticket allocation
News from Scotland where everything apart from tonight’s Ayr v Airdrie clash takes place on either Saturday or Sunday.
(Per PA Media)
Rangers and Celtic have reached an agreement to grant around five per cent of the tickets in their stadium to away supporters for the Old Firm derby matches from next season onwards. The two clubs have been at loggerheads in recent years, both chopping each other’s allocations in a tit-for-tat manner stemming from the Light Blues’ decision to reduce the number of visiting fans allowed in after Steven Gerrard’s arrival as manager in 2018.
More than 7,000 away supporters were traditionally allowed to attend Glasgow derbies, but there have been none present at recent matches between the teams, with Celtic citing safety concerns around having such a small number of fans for such a highly-charged fixture when they refused the offer of 700 tickets for Ibrox earlier this term. This situation was widely deemed as detrimental to the spectacle of what was previously viewed as one of Europe’s most historic fixtures.
A statement from the Scottish Professional Football League read: “This will be effective from Scottish Premiership season 2024/25, subject to all necessary requirements being satisfied at both Ibrox and Celtic Park. It does not affect the remaining two league matches between the clubs in season 2023/24, which will remain at a zero allocation for away supporters.”
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A bit of fixtures-based housekeeping. The ‘Big Three’ in the Championship (highlighted in bold to heighten your reading experience) are all on the tellybox so have their own kick-off times.
12.30pm - Bristol City v Leicester
1pm – Millwall v West Brom
3pm – 8 x matches
5.30pm – Blackburn v Ipswich
8pm – Watford v Leeds
All 12 games in League One and League Two kick off at 3pm GMT.
Here are the teams for that early kick-off at Ashton Gate. Bristol City can move from 14th to 12th with a win.
COME ON YOU REDS! ❤️ pic.twitter.com/O5CAOtJVX4
— Bristol City FC (@BristolCity) March 29, 2024
Our Easter XI in Bristol 🌟 #BCILEI pic.twitter.com/x7SOOhlwVG
— Leicester City (@LCFC) March 29, 2024
An hour to kick-off in today’s opening game in the Championship – Bristol City v Leicester. The Foxes can return to the top with a point or a win. Here’s the top of the table. That’s quite the gap between third and fifth.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leeds | 38 | 42 | 82 |
| 2 | Leicester | 37 | 41 | 82 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 38 | 31 | 81 |
| 4 | Southampton | 36 | 26 | 73 |
| 5 | West Brom | 38 | 23 | 66 |
Away from the helter-skelter and general madness of the Premier League, here’s a lovely piece from Daniel Harris about a YMCA club set to make their top-flight debut in Norway.
Nottingham Forest boss Nuno Espirito Santo paid tribute to Larry Lloyd in his press conference ahead of Saturday’s home match against Crystal Palace, saying: “He was one of the miracle men. Our feelings are with his family. It’s a sad moment.”
Forest are 18th in the table with nine matches to go after they were deducted four points for breaching the Premier League’s profitability and sustainability rules. They’re appealing the penalty.
They have the chance to take a big step towards safety over the next four days with back-to-back home games against Palace and Fulham (Tuesday) and Nuno wants the crowd to play their part.
Very important games, definitely. We go game by game, it starts against Palace. Good team, it’s going to be tough, we are at the City Ground, the situation that we have – big game for us. The support of the fans, the noise of the City Ground – we need them and they are going to back us up for sure.
Starting the game well, on the front foot, engaging everybody, engaging the fans, the crowd, this is our mentality. (They are) more than the 12th man – they are very important.
Sad news yesterday about the passing of Larry Lloyd, a key man in Nottingham Forest’s back-to-back European Cup wins.
I like this from Steven Pye’s 1980s sports blog on the 1980 final win over Hamburg.
The goal gave Forest something to hold on to, setting up the game as a backs-against-the-wall assignment. Centre-backs Larry Lloyd and Kenny Burns were superb. Lloyd, who passed a late fitness test on his ankle, had warned his old mate Keegan that his defensive partner Burns was after him. Burns’ tackle on Keegan that earned him a yellow card in the first half certainly confirmed his intentions.
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Quiz question: which Premier League team are on the longest winless run going into the weekend games?
The answer is Everton and boss Sean Dyche has addressed that frustrating stretch which, combined with a points deduction, sees the Toffees in 16th place and just four points above the drop zone ahead of Saturday’s visit to Bournemouth.
If we’d won five out of this run, everyone would be saying, ‘Yes, no wonder, because they’re playing well’. But you’re not winning and then they go, ‘They’re not playing that well’. That’s the difference between perception and facts. It’s my job to look at the facts.
We are doing lots of the right things, but all the right things are deemed different if you’re not winning. Whichever way you look at it, the bit that’s missing from a lot of our performances is the final moments. Can we add in the final moments to, not just be consistent in performance, but win games? We’ve got to win games. That’s the job, end of.
He’s not the first Merseyside boss to go off on one about “facts” but Opta back up much of what Dyche is saying.
Everton have scored just one goal in their last five Premier League away games, despite having 65 shots (14 on target), an xG of 4.8, and seven big chances in this run. In their last away game, they had 23 shots against Man Utd without scoring, their most without a goal in an away league match since August 2010 at Aston Villa (also 23).
Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is about up and early as ever and he’s been responding to yesterday’s news that the FA has charged Sandro Tonali with 50 alleged gambling offences relating to bets the Italy midfielder placed after swapping Milan for Tyneside in a £55m transfer last July. Tonali is partway through a 10-month worldwide suspension imposed by Italy’s football federation and there are fears he could now face further, extended sanction. Newcastle and Howe hope any further punishment from the FA would run concurrently.
The news that there was an FA charge, that illness didn’t stop when he moved from Italy to England, that illness was there and people should look at it that way, not ‘let’s throw the book at him and let’s punish him even further’ because I don’t think that gets to the root of the problem. We need to protect all our players because this is something that’s open to everybody and becoming a bigger problem in society, so this isn’t just a problem for Sandro.
I certainly hope for Sandro that there is no further consequences. He has suffered during this period, he has sought help, he’s been very honest, he has admitted he has an issue, and I think the best thing for Sandro would be to resume his career having taken his punishment and having learned a lot of lessons from this.
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Let’s set the scene for the weekend Premier League action with another edition of Ten things...
“The Argentinian will hope that the youngster can maintain his good form when Burnley visit Stamford Bridge.” Who could Jacob Steinberg be talking about? Find out below.
Alonso set to stay with Leverkusen
Let’s open with the news that the vast majority of Liverpool fans didn’t want to hear: Xabi Alonso looks set to stay at Bayer Leverkusen.
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Preamble
Perhaps in an ideal world, we’d have two or three head-to-head showdowns between the title-chasing trio of Manchester City, Liverpool and Arsenal over the last 10 games of the season. Instead we have just one. Still, Man City v Arsenal (4.30pm Sunday) offers a fascinating climax to the weekend as the Premier League kicks back in after that pesky international break.
Talking of which, we’ll also bring you news from all today’s prezzers as top-flight managers try mightily to avoid ranting about players picking up knocks while away with their countries.
And talking of managers, unless this is something very clever from the Michael Edwards playbook, it looks as if Xabi Alonso isn’t heading to Liverpool. In a timely twist, another boss tipped to be Jürgen Klopp’s successor is at Anfield on Sunday to advertise his claims. Yes, Roberto De Zerbi’s Brighton are heading north to take on Liverpool and, fun fact, the Italian is unbeaten in four games against the German.
But before all that, we also have hot, massive, full programme action in the EFL. And it starts with a bang as Leicester try to shake of potential Devon Loch claims when they travel to Bristol City for a 12.30pm kick-off. Full updates from there and regular dips into all the other Championship, League One and League Two games. Right, let’s get this thing started.
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