Key events
League One
Plymouth lead bottom side Forest Green thanks to James Bolton. The Pilgrims can close Sheffield Wednesday’s lead to a single point with a win. Ipswich are ahead at Shrewsbury, George Hirst with that one. In the relegation scrap between Accrington and MK Dons, Sullay Kaikai has put Mark Jackson’s side 1-0 up.
Championship
Just two goals so far. Birmingham lead at struggling QPR, while Cardiff have struck first at Rotherham.
At St Mary’s both sides have now been forced into making early changes. Armel Bella-Kotchap was forced off with what looked like a shoulder injury to be replaced by Mohammed Salisu.
Goal! Aston Villa 1-0 Bournemouth (Douglas Luiz)
Leon Bailey squares the ball to Douglas Luiz who taps in the opener. The picture at the bottom of the table is going to be in constant flux this afternoon. As it stands Leeds are up to 14th.
Goal! Wolves 0-1 Leeds (Harrison 6mins)
Wilfried Gnonto gets to the byline on the right-hand side and cuts back into a dangerous area. Jack Harrison is alive to the chance whips the ball home from the penalty box and gets a clattering for his troubles. He will not care. Great finish, big goal.
4min: Big blow for Spurs as Richarlison goes off in tears with an injury. Dejan Kulusevski is coming on for the Brazilian, who picked something up in the warmup.
Peep peep! It’s Saturday. It’s 3pm. It’s time for football.
EFL updates.
There were no early games in the top two tiers, but in League One Peterborough have moved up to seventh with a 3-0 win at Lincoln. Joe Ward, Jack Taylor and Jonson Clarke-Harris all finding the net.
At Valley Parade, Hartlepool missed a chance to move further clear of the League Two relegation. Goals Callum Cooke and Daniel Kemp had the Pools ahead twice but Andy Cook was twice able to level for Bradford
Crystal Palace play tomorrow with Paddy McCarthy temporarily at the helm, but former manager Roy Hodgson has been approached by the club about making a surprise return to Selhurst Park until the end of the season, Ed Aarons reports. The former England manager, who is 75, is understood to be interested in taking over from Vieira.
Others linked with the job include Paulo Fonseca, who is currently managing the French side Lille and came close to being appointed Tottenham manager in 2021. Former Southampton manager Ralph Hasenhüttl, Burnley’s Vincent Kompany and Michael Carrick of Middlesbrough are all said to be on Palace’s shortlist.
Looking across the continent…
…not a lot is happening today unless you are really into the battle for third-place in the Bundesliga (Bochum host RB Leipzig, for the die-hards). It is all quite mid-table otherwise.
Wolves v Leeds team news
Brentford v Leicester team news
Aston Villa v Bournemouth team news
Southampton v Tottenham team news
Preamble
Alexander Isak’s late penalty last night means there is a bit of mustard on Spurs’ trip to Southampton. With no Champions League to focus on, the fabled ‘fourth place trophy’ is all Antonio Conte can achieve in his last few months at Tottenham the last few months of the season.
In my head Spurs have a really good record at St Mary’s, but the facts say otherwise. The 5-2 thrashing at the start of the 2020/21 season was the only time in their last five meetings on the south coast that Spurs left victorius, with Saints winning two and a pair of 1-1 draws completing the set.
Elsewhere, intrigue comes at the Gtech (is that a thing?), where Brentford can jump back into the European spots if they beat Leicester. Wolves and Leeds are split by five teams but just four points in what is shaping up as the widest relegation battle ever. While Aston Villa, arguably the only truly mid-table team in the Premier League currently, will be looking to place a stiff arm on a Bournemouth side for whom mid-March mediocrity is an aspiration. Longing for a three-bed semi in the suburbs with a driveaway and a nice car to put in it, if you will.
These are all the 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League:
Guiding you gently through Everton’s visit to Chelsea in the 5.30pm kick-off will be Daniel Gallan, while Scott Murray is on hand for minute-by-minute updates from the first FA Cup quarter-final of the weekend, which sees Manchester City welcome back Vincent Kompany and his Burnley side. That one gets unerway at 5.45pm.
