To Manchester, then. Thanks for your company. Bye!
Full-time: Stoke City 0-3 West Ham United
Mark Hughes’s side are just a point above the relegation zone tonight. Loud boos from the remaining Potters fans.
And, Manchester City have needed only 14 minutes to ripple Hugo Lloris’s net in the evening kick-off:
GOAL! Stoke 0-3 West Ham (Sakho, 86)
Another nail in the Stoke coffin for Mark Hughes?
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Well, well, well ...
Arnautovic is subbed off after one of those world-beating displays. The home fans give him an absolute battering.
GOAL! Stoke 0-2 West Ham (Arnautovic, 75)
It had been coming ... Fifteen minutes to play at Stoke, who have just squandered a big chance. Adam whips in a great cross, Shawcross has a yard on his marker and times the jump well, but he heads off target. Head in hands stuff for Hughes.
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Up at Stoke, Arnautovic has just gone close but really should have scored against his former side.
Championship results
Birmingham 1-2 QPR
Bolton 0-1 Burton
Brentford 0-0 Barnsley
Bristol City 2-1 Nottm Forest
Derby 2-0 Aston Villa
Ipswich 2-0 Reading
Leeds 1-0 Norwich
Millwall 2-1 Middlesbrough
Preston 1-0 Sheff Utd
Sunderland 1-0 Fulham
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Full-time Premier League results
Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle
Brighton 0-0 Burnley
Chelsea 1-0 Southampton
Leicester City 0-3 Crystal Palace
Watford 1-4 Huddersfield
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Rotherham have scored a last-minute equaliser at home to Plymouth. Semi Ajayi’s got it.
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Full-time: Watford 1-4 Huddersfield
Lots of goals but it sounds like Michael Oliver had a difficult day.
Full-time: Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle
It wasn’t too glamorous but they’ve done it. To make things worse for the Toon Army, Sunderland have not only kept a clean sheet but have taken victory at home – at home – to Fulham.
Full-time: Brighton 0-0 Burnley
A stalemate in Sussex. How Glenn Murray must hope he could take that penalty again.
GOAL! Watford 1-4 Huddersfield (Mooy pen, 89 min)
Job done for David Wagner’s side. Elsewhere, Derby have sealed victory by getting as second late on at home to Aston Villa.
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Half-time: Stoke 0-1 West Ham
They’re 60 minutes behind everybody else.
Less than 45 minutes until Manchester City host Tottenham. Join Barry Glendenning for the all the buildup to that one:
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Plymouth lead 1-0 at Rotherham, Ryan Taylor’s got it. When he was at Bristol City, he was termed the Ginger Drogba. There you go. And Oldham are level at Doncaster.
“You’re getting sacked in the morning,” is the chant from the West Ham fans. To Mark Hughes, of course.
Jack Butland denies former Stoke team-mate Marko Arnautovic with a smart stop. West Ham still lead 1-0 at the bet365 stadium, where kick-off was delayed by 60 minutes.
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Sunderland. Are. Winning. At. Home. This is not a drill. Teenager Josh Maja gets it on his league debut. What a story ..
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Morata heads wide for Chelsea ... Southampton are still in it – for now at least. Charlie Austin, off the bench, has just had half a chance. In League One, leaders Wigan have doubled their lead at Wimbledon, thanks to Nick Powell.
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GOAL! Watford 1-3 Huddersfield (Doucoure, 68)
They can’t, can they?
Rangers 1-3 St Johnstone. Crikey ...
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Middlesbrough are back in with a shout after grabbing a goal at the New Den. Stewart Downing got it. Ten-man Luton are 2-0 up at Forest Green.
Jonathan Hogg sent off for Huddersfield! He picks up a second yellow card after Watford crowded the referee Michael Oliver. Both sides reduced to 10 men, after Troy Deeney was dismissed in the first half.
Inter have been uninspiring of late but it just gets worse:
GOAL! Stoke 0-1 West Ham (Noble, 18 min)
Mark Noble fires it home from 12 yards, after Erik Pieters fouled Lanzini. And crikey, Rangers are now behind at home to St Johnstone. In League One, Michael Jacobs has scored to put Wigan one-nil up at AFC Wimbledon.
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West Ham have a penalty .. Preston, unbeaten in five matches, lead against Sheffield United thanks to Jordan Hugill.
On-loan Southampton striker Sam Gallagher has dug out an equaliser for Birmingham at home to QPR. And high-flying Shrewsbury are in front against Blackpool.
A couple of Football League goals: Exeter are ahead against Stevenage thanks to Lloyd James, and Gillingham have found a fourth at home to Bristol Rovers.
GOAL! Watford 0-3 Huddersfield (Depoitre, 50)
That’s surely game over.
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Gillingham are cruising at home to Bristol Rovers, they’re 3-0 up at Priestfield. It was all looking rosy for the red half of Bristol but Kieran Dowell has just struck after the break at Ashton Gate to make it 2-1 against Nottm Forest. Game on there.
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Later than billed, Stoke v West Ham is under way.
Some half-time reading:
Half-time scores
Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle
Brighton 0-0 Burnley
Chelsea 1-0 Southampton
Stoke L-L West Ham (kick-off 4pm)
Watford 0-2 Huddersfield
GOAL! Chelsea 1-0 Southampton (Alonso, 45)
Alonso fizzes a free-kick beyond Fraser Forster. In the Championship, Bristol City are 2-0 up thanks to Joe Bryan.
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A clash of heads between Merino and Monreal ensures a little delay at the Emirates but they’re soon back up on their feet. In the Football League, Leeds lead Norwich, courtesy of a Pontus Jansson header. Luton have hit 50 league goals, with Alan Sheehan scoring against Forest Green. And Shawn McCoulsky has scored for Newport to nudge themeslves in front at Cambridge.
Middlesbrough really aren’t having it all their own way this season. They were supposed to runaway with the Championship but they’re trailing 2-0 at Millwall.
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Brighton have a penalty against Burnley ... but it is Row Z stuff from Glenn Murray, who was felled and then got back up to leather it high over the bar. Meanwhile, Bristol City are 1-0 up against Nottingham Forest, via a deflected Marlon Pack strike. In League Two, Barnet lead 2-0 at home to Morecambe while Mo Eisa has scored again to pull Cheltenham level at Coventry.
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Troy Deeney sent off! A silly tackle gives Michael Oliver a decision to make and the Watford captain is off for a rash challenge. Perhaps a little harsh. A very bad day at the office for Marco Silva and Watford so far.
In the Championship, Derby are ahead against Aston Villa. Glenn Whelan’s backpass gifts Matej Vydra the ball, before Andreas Weimann rattles it home. Elsewhere, Lloyd Dyer has put Burton 1-0 up at Bolton. And Ipswich are two goals to the good at home to Reading, thanks to Joe Garner.
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GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Newcastle (Ozil, 24)
And it’s some finish too.
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GOAL! Watford 0-2 Huddersfield (Mooy, 23)
The Watford defence were half-asleep as Aaron Mooy drives home to double their lead.
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QPR are ahead at Birmingham, where it looks to be going from bad to worse for manager Steve Cotterill. Jack Robinson has got the goal there. Elsewhere, Richarlison should have drawn Watford level at Vicarage Road while Brighton are dominating proceedings on the south coast.
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Down at the Amex, Brighton are well on top against Burnley, with Bruno going close. Sean Dyche won’t be too worried about that though. His team love a late goal. Southampton, meanwhile, have had to shuffle the pack again with Cedric forced off after being clattered by Gary Cahill. Huddersfield, too, have seen goalscorer Elias Kachunga leave the field on a stretcher with a leg injury.
Stoke City v West Ham United kick-off moved to 4pm
They will be playing after all.
Dominic Poleon has put Bradford in front at Southend, after great work by Nicky Law. And, north of the border, Rangers went ahead at home to St Johnstone through Alfredo Morelos but have been pegged back by Blair Alston, so it’s 1-1 at Ibrox.
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A couple of early chances at Stamford Bridge and the Emirates. Bellerin has had an effort blocked by a wall of Newcastle bodies while Southampton are on the front foot at Chelsea.
GOAL! Watford 0-1 Huddersfield (Kachunga, 6 min)
Marco Silva’s men are behind at Vicarage Road. In League Two, Coventry are ahead at home to Cheltenham. And Northampton are level against Walsall courtesy of Chris Long.
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Arsenal have started the better at the Emirates, with Lacazette having an early effort on goal. They’re seeing lots of the ball, as you’d expect. In the Championship, Ipswich are one-nil up against in-form Reading. Down in League One, Erhun Oztumer has scored for Walsall at Northampton.
Peeeeeeeeeeep!
And off we go.
Less than five minutes until the 3pm kick-offs get under way. Any final thoughts or worries?
Dispatches from Stoke City, where Nick Ames is the bearer of good news. “The power has come back on, to cheers in the press room,” he says. “Presumably we’ll start within the next hour or so.”
That win for Crystal Palace lifts them up to 14th, and really piles on the pressure on those now below them. You sense it could be a very long and miserable weekend for rock bottom Swansea, not in action until Monday at Everton, and Stoke, who, at this rate, have no idea if they will actually be playing today unless they can locate a first-rate electrician.
No David Luiz again in Antonio Conte’s matchday squad at Stamford Bridge this afternoon:
Stoke City v West Ham United delayed
Another update courtesy of Nick Ames. “Kick-off definitely delayed here,” he says, surrounded by darkness. “Hopefully another update just after 3 o’clock.”
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Leicester City 0-3 Crystal Palace
Read Paul Doyle’s match report:
Up at Stoke, who are meant to be playing West Ham in 40-odd minutes, there are problems. “A power surge here and kick-off possibly delayed, so we’re told,” reports colleague Nick Ames.
We may be looking at a delayed kick-off of #SCFC v @WestHamUtd at the @bet365 Stadium today due to a power outage. A power surge has affected both Club generators and the mains supply. We will keep you updated pic.twitter.com/g4dlsEKrmu
— Stoke City FC (@stokecity) December 16, 2017
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Follow the final stages of Leicester v Crystal Palace, where the Roy Hodgson revolution continues:
Team news!
At Stamford Bridge, Virgil van Dijk has been dropped for Southampton, while Gary Cahill returns for Chelsea. At the Emirates, Alexandre Lacazette starts for Arsenal.
Arsenal v Newcastle
Cech, Bellerin, Koscielny, Monreal, Maitland-Niles, Xhaka, Wilshere, Iwobi, Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette
Elliot, Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune, Manquillo, Merino, Murphy, Hayden, Atsu, Perez, Joselu
Brighton v Burnley
Ryan, Saltor, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Propper, Stephens, Knockaert, Gross, March, Murray
Pope, Bardsley, Mee, Tarkowski, Taylor, Gudmundsson, Cork, Defour, Arfield, Hendrick, Wood
Chelsea v Southampton
Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill, Moses, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso, Willian, Hazard, Pedro
Forster, Hoedt, Yoshida, Stephens, Bertrand, Romeu, Ward-Prowse, Cédric, Redmond, Hojbjerg, Gabbiadini
Stoke v West Ham United
Butland, Cameron, Shawcross, Wimmer, Pieters, Shaqiri, Fletcher, Allen, Sobhi, Diouf, Crouch
Adrián, Zabaleta, Collins, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Masuaku, Noble, Obiang, Lanzini, Antonio, Arnautovic
Watford v Huddersfield
Gomes, Janmaat, Mariappa, Prodl, Kabasele, Holebas, Carrillo, Doucoure, Capoue, Richarlison, Deeney
Lossl, Hadergjonaj, Jorgensen, Schindler, Lowe, Kachunga, van La Parra, Hogg, Mooy, Quaner, Depoitre
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Today's fixtures
Premier League
Arsenal v Newcastle United
Brighton & Hove Albion v Burnley
Chelsea v Southampton
Stoke City v West Ham United
Watford v Huddersfield Town
Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur (5.30pm)
The best of the Football League
Bristol City v Nottm Forest
Derby v Aston Villa
Leeds v Norwich City
Millwall v Middlesbrough
Sunderland v Fulham
Cardiff v Hull City (5.30pm)
Blackburn Rovers v Charlton Athletic
Portsmouth v Bury
Shrewsbury v Blackpool
Southend v Bradford City
AFC Wimbledon v Wigan Athletic
Coventry City v Cheltenham
Exeter v Stevenage
Forest Green v Luton Town
Lincoln v Accrington
Notts County v Grimsby Town
The best of the rest
Cologne v Wolfsburg (2.30pm)
Frankfurt v Schalke (2.30pm)
Stuttgart v Bayern Munich (2.30pm)
Inter v Udinese (2pm)
Rangers v St Johnstone
Rennes v Paris Saint-Germain (4pm)
Preamble
So, here we are. Another Saturday where football, and plenty of it, takes precedent over even the very thought of pounding the streets shopping for stocking fillers. Neither Everton nor Newcastle United are feeling festive, cancelling their respective Christmas bashes. The latter are in action at Arsenal, who themselves have come to a grounding halt of late. They host Newcastle looking to rediscover that feel-good feeling, and a first Premier League win in four matches.
Then there’s the small matter of Chelsea at home to Southampton, plus lowly Stoke City’s match-up with lowly West Ham United. And we’ll also be keeping an eye on Champions League-chasing Burnley, who are down on the Sussex coast at Brighton & Hove Albion. Down in the doldrums of the Football League, Derby do battle with Aston Villa while Sunderland host Fulham at the Stadium of Light.
In League One, Blackburn host Charlton while it’s (almost) top v bottom in League Two, where Forest Green entertain free-scoring Luton. In the Bundesliga, can Schalke keep the good times a-rolling at Frankfurt? And in Serie A, surely Internazionale can muster up a better showing at home to Udinese than they did against Juve last Sunday?
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