That’s all from me. It’s been a delight. Bye!
This just in from Ben Fisher at St Mary’s:
Burton’s 2-0 win over Bolton can’t go unnoticed. They are now a point ahead of Bolton, level on points with Barnsley (though their goal difference is the worst in the league) and two behind Reading and Birmingham. On the last day it’s Bolton v Nottingham Forest, Preston v Burton; Derby v Barnsley; Birmingham v Fulham and Cardiff v Reading. Of those opponents only Forest aren’t in the top seven.
@Simon_Burnton how about Burton. The Great Escape is still on. The magic of that name..#Clough
— theMUSETTE_cc (@the_musette_cc) April 28, 2018
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Happiness:
Remember this moment! pic.twitter.com/GLhe4J5Wtx
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) April 28, 2018
Dominic Fifield enjoyed the Selhurst Park goal glut:
Dusan Tadic has spoken of his match-winning turn for Southampton:
I think this is one of the most important wins in history, because we are fighting for our lives. I think we showed great character and we showed we are able to win our matches when we play together like a team. I think we know we needed to win this game, doesn’t matter how, doesn’t matter how we play. We showed we are able to do that and I hope we will do that more often in these last three games.
A report of Burnley v Brighton for your delectation:
“The one glimmer of home for Northampton is that their last game is against Oldham, so all goals count double and they ‘only’ need to win by a clear 9 (and have Charlton beat Rochdale) to stay up,” notes Julian Borrill. So not totally impossible then, just very, very unlikely.
Here’s a match report from Paul Doyle at Huddersfield:
A big result from League Two: Barnet won 1-0 away at Morecambe, which means that they could still catch Morecambe and in so doing save themselves from relegation on the final day of the season. Barnet play Chesterfield – bottom of the table, and long since relegated – at home, while Morecambe head to sixth-placed Coventry. A draw would be enough to keep Morecambe safe, unless Barnet win by seven.
Walsall’s winner – scored, incidentally, in the last minute of normal time – takes them to 18th, three points clear of Rochdale (though with worse goal difference), and they now seem likely to survive.
In League One, MK Dons have lost and are down, and Northampton have lost 1-0 at Walsall which leaves them needing to win their final game, and for Oldham and Rochdale to lose their final game, and to overturn a goal differential of 17. So, in short, they are also going down, and it’s Oldham v Rochdale for the final spot.
Accrington have beaten Lincoln 1-0, and have won the League Two title!
🏆| FULL-TIME! 1-0! Stanley are champions of @SkyBetLeagueTwo!
— Accrington Stanley (@ASFCofficial) April 28, 2018
Wycombe have beaten Chesterfield 2-1, and fans stream onto the pitch – they have been promoted to League One!
WE'VE DONE IT!!! pic.twitter.com/9g321YfpsI
— Wycombe Wanderers (@wwfcofficial) April 28, 2018
Burnley and Brighton have drawn 0-0. With 37 points, Huddersfield are surely safe. Crystal Palace, on 38 points, are home and hosed.
The final whistle goes at Southampton, who have beaten Bournemouth 2-1! There is a lot of hugging going on down there!
Crystal Palace have beaten a hapless Leicester 5-0, and Huddersfield have lost 2-0 to Everton.
McCarthy dives to his left to make a fingertip save and keep Southampton’s lead intact! Bournemouth have a corner, and the goalkeeper is coming up!
West Brom have beaten Newcastle 1-0, with much of the post-match talk likely to revolve around an apparently fantastic save by Foster.
Bournemouth have three forwards running into the area and only one defender is in their way. Cedic, though, takes one of them out and they end up with only a free kick, which leads to nothing. Southampton could have scored a few more, but find themselves clinging on to a 2-1 lead with two of five added minutes played.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 5-0 Leicester (Benteke, 90 mins)
Christian Benteke slams the ball down the middle, Hamer dives obligingly out of the way, and it is five!
Crystal Palace win a penalty, and have a chance to go five up!
Lewis Grabban has scored for Aston Villa, who are now drawing with Derby – good news for the other play-off chasers. And Cardiff are now 2-0 up at Hull, and will go into the final day knowing a win would take them up.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 4-0 Leicester (Van Aanholt, 84 mins)
It’s a rout! Schlupp is played in this time, by Zaha, against his former club, and though his shot is saved the ball rebounds back to Van Aanholt on the edge of the area, and he curls it precisely inside the far post!
GOAL! Crystal Palace 3-0 Leicester (Loftus-Cheek, 82 mins)
It’s Sakho with a delicious through-ball, and Loftus-Cheek runs clean through on goal, jinks his way past the keeper and slides into the empty net!
So Huddersfield are three points ahead of Southampton, with significantly worse goal difference, and must still play Manchester City (a), Chelsea (a) and Arsenal (h). Southampton meanwhile have Everton (a), Swansea (a) and Manchester City (h). One win from those three games could do it for them.
Wycombe have taken the lead over Chesterfield, and as it stands will seal promotion today.
GOAL! Huddersfield 0-2 Everton (Gueye, 78 mins)
The ball is crossed from the right wing and runs through to Baines, on the left-hand corner of the penalty area. He taps it inside to Gueye, who has nobody anywhere near him and sends his shot arrowing inside the far post! The players go to celebrate with Niasse, whose fine work on the right wing led to the goal.
Here are the teams for the late kick-off in the Premier League:
Swansea: Fabianski, Naughton, van der Hoorn, Roberts, Mawson, Olsson, Andre Ayew, King, Ki, Clucas, Jordan Ayew. Subs: Britton, Dyer, Nordfeldt, Carroll, Routledge, Rangel, Sanches.
Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Cahill, Rudiger, Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Emerson, Bakayoko, Hazard, Giroud. Subs: Caballero, Barkley, Morata, Pedro, Zappacosta, Willian, Christensen.
Referee: Jonathan Moss.
Southampton are passing up fabulous goalscoring opportunities ever 35 seconds. Lemina steals the ball on the edge of the Bournemouth area and pokes it to Long, who instead of shooting tries to pass back to Lemina. A first-time shot might have gone in, but Lemina took a touch and the chance was lost.
“Absolute scenes at the bottom of the table clash at the Kassam Stadium, where relegation-threatened Rochdale took the lead in the 59th minute only for Oxford to equalise with a penalty a two minutes later,” writes Richard Adams. “Rochdale’s fate depends on the results for Walsall and Oldham.” It is horribly close at the bottom of League One, where as I type there are three teams tied on 49 points, one of them in the relegation zone.
Southampton nearly score a third! Austin’s shot was on its way wide but it fell to a team-mate who turned it goalwards, but Begovic saves! Moments later Bertrand is played in, and his shot is saved too!
The back-pass would probably have found its way back to Hamer, and I don’t think there was an awful lot of contact. But for a moment Albrighton definitely clutched at Zaha’s shirt, and Leicester can’t really quibble with the decision.
Red card! Leicester go down to 10 men!
Albrighton tries to turn an awkwardly bouncing ball back to his goalkeeper with Zaha on his shoulder. He mishits it, falls over and touches Zaha on his way, and the Palace forward tumbles! The referee doesn’t give anything, but his assistant does – and Albrighton is sent off!
GOAL! Southampton 2-1 Bournemouth (Tadic, 54 mins)
It’s a long clearance from the goalkeeper, which is chested down by a defender on the edge of the centre circle. But Tadic steals it off him and runs towards the box, with runners to his left and right. He ignores them both and pokes it into the far corner with his left foot from 18 yards!
Updated
“Oh the joy of being a west ham fan this weekend,” writes Ian Sargeant. “Scores today going against us. A chilled out man city sticking six past us tomorrow. Back to Wigan next season.” It’s a pessimistic reading of the situation though the Hammers may need to get something from the visit to Leicester, who haven’t won at home for three months.
Nope, wrong again. Leicester have brought on both Diabate and Silva, and taken off Gray and Choudhury.
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The games are all back under way. So far as I can see all top-flight sides are unchanged.
Another oversight that needs to be righted. It is indeed his final game for the club, and his 320th appearance for them in the league. Norwich are drawing 1-1 with Leeds, and Hoolahan scored just before half-time.
Hi @Simon_Burnton could you make an allusion to the ever-magnificent Wes Hoolahan aka the Irish Messi?
— Llæßäll Schlingel (@Equinyme) April 28, 2018
Not solely he's scored today, but isn't it his last game in his entire carreer? Am clueless but given the state of things at Norwich City this season for him and his age...
Sorry, it was a cheap shot and undeserved. He’s a fabulous player. I missed the goal when it happened and have only just seen it – smashing, in more ways than one.
@Simon_Burnton WTF is this nonsense? Zaha gets on the end of a beautiful passing move and smashes it in the top corner, and all you can do is make a crappy jibe about diving? pic.twitter.com/ySgi4jm8YX
— Gareth Main (@GarethMain) April 28, 2018
3.48pm: the half-time whistles have now been blown in all the Premier League games.
Albion lead by a single goal as the half-time whistle blows. But there could have been more for both sides.
— West Bromwich Albion (@WBA) April 28, 2018
Special mention must go to Ben Foster who produced a quite sensational stop to deny Diame from close range.
Live updates ➡️ https://t.co/tj2pGJ5qZC#NEWWBA
GOAL! Southampton 1-1 Bournemouth (King, 45+1 mins)
Now Bournemouth do score! It’s a corner on the right, which is sent into the area, nodded on to the back post and then turned in from three yards by the entirely unmarked King!
Updated
Oooh! Bournemouth toss a free-kick into the area and then keep up the pressure as it’s headed half-clear. It’s eventually passed to Aké, who beats two defenders and then shoots from six yards straight into McCarthy’s foot – had it been even six inches off the ground, it was in!
The one-sidiest game of the day is at Cheltenham, where Coventry are now 4-0 up. Marc McNulty has scored the latest.
It seems nobody wants that final promotion spot from League Two – now Wycombe are also losing, Michael Harriman’s own-goal giving Chesterfield the lead.
GOAL! Huddersfield 0-1 Everton (Tosun, 39 mins)
Sent scurrying by Theo Walcott’s through-ball, from the edge of the area, towards the right-hand corner, Tosun shoots low towards goal. It’s not tremendously powerful, but it is exceptionally accurate and Lössl can’t keep it out!
Updated
GOAL! Crystal Palace 2-0 Leicester (McArthur, 38 mins)
And an assist now for Zaha, who collects the ball in the area, slides it to McArthur and he turns and shoots low, back across goal and in at the far post! Questions to ask of the defenders, there.
Burton are now 2-0 up against Bolton, and look set to take their fight against relegation to the final day.
There’s been another big goal in the Championship, where Cardiff are 1-0 up at Hull and, as things stand, one point ahead of Fulham in the race for the second promotion spot.
Newcastle hit the post! It was Kenedy’s effort, who presented with a good chance after good work from Pérez curls it onto the outside of the woodwork.
A long way to go yet, but with Grimsby 1-0 up at home to Notts County and Exeter 2-0 down at Stevenage, Wycombe would go up if those scores remain the same and they win at already-relegated Chester. That game is still goalless, though.
Burton have scored to go 1-0 up at home to Bolton, in a massively important game at the bottom of the Championship.
GOAL! Newcastle 0-1 West Brom (Phillips, 29 mins)
Crikey, that was easy. A long goal kick is headed down and from the centre circle one first-time pass over the Newcastle defence puts Phillips in, with the nearest defender facing the wrong direction and completely flat-footed. Phillips takes a touch, runs into the area and thrashes the ball in!
There’s also been an almighty goalmouth scramble at Burnley, where Tarkowski’s backheel across goal caused panic but the ball somehow refused to cross the line.
GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Bournemouth (Tadic, 25 mins)
Bournemouth win a corner, from which Southampton break, Lemina and Tadic run into the Bournemouth half with only one defender back to deal with them, Lemina draws him and plays in his team-mate, who finishes with admirable calm!
“Matthew Farrall, a Reading supporter, died suddenly last Friday 20th, at 49 years old,” writes John Howard. “He was a wonderful bloke who really cared about the club, town and community he was actively involved in. Friends and family have hopefully arranged a minutes applause at 49 minutes into the match at the Madejski today. We’d all be grateful if you could give Matt a mention please and for anyone out there with a glass in their hand to raise it for a truly lovely guy.” It would be my pleasure. You can read a bit more here.
“As someone who has watched every West Brom game, judging by the volume of the booing Newcastle fans win the award for hating James McClean the most for not wearing a poppy during Remembrance Day Season,” writes JR. “Well done Newcastle fans! Congratulations!” I think there are a number of reasons for disliking James McClean, including – if you’re a Newcastle fan – the fact he previously played for Sunderland.
GOAL! Crystal Palace 1-0 Leicester (Zaha, 17 mins)
Crystal Palace take the lead, as Wilfried Zaha reaches the edge of the penalty area without flinging himself to the ground and powers in a low shot!
Updated
Another goalline clearance at Palace, where Ward has stopped Vardy from scoring.
Southampton have got into Bournemouth’s penalty area in threatening style a couple of times. On the last occasion Redmond’s shot was well blocked by a desperately lunging defender.
At Crawley the minimally-named Perry Ng, winner of April’s League Two goal of the month award, has put Crewe a goal up. He’s unlikely to get any prizes for this one, turning in a deflected shot from six yards.
At Crystal Palace, Tomkins’ header has been cleared off the line by Iheanacho.
I’ll be keeping a particularly close eye on the relegation-haunted teams. At Newcastle West Brom must win, but haven’t really shown any sign as yet of knowing how to achieve that; Southampton meanwhile host Bournemouth and with only Manchester City still to play at home – plus visits to Everton and Swansea – are also in quite desperate need of victory. Bournemouth however seem to have started a little brighter.
3pm: Kick-off!
Here’s Paul Wilson’s report on today’s Anfield thriller:
Wolves are playing their final home game of the season today. Looks like their players got quite the welcome:
Dover have beaten Woking 2-1, and the Cards are down.
Liverpool and Stoke have drawn 0-0. Logically Stoke must win both remaining games to give themselves a fighting chance of survival.
Dover have scored in stoppage time and lead 2-1, which looks very much like curtains for Woking.
In the National League it’s Barrow 1-2 Chester, and Woking 1-1 Dover. As it stands, Woking need a single goal in the last 10 minutes to save themselves at Barrow’s expense.
Crystal Palace v Leicester
Crystal Palace: Hennessey, Ward, Tomkins, Sakho, Van Aanholt, McArthur, Milivojevic, Cabaye, Loftus-Cheek, Townsend, Zaha. Subs: Speroni, Sorloth, Lee, Schlupp, Benteke, Wan Bissaka, Kelly.
Leicester: Hamer, Albrighton, Maguire, Morgan, Chilwell, Mahrez, Choudhury, Ndidi, Gray, Iheanacho, Vardy. Subs: Simpson, Adrien Silva, Dragovic, Jakupovic, Fuchs, Barnes, Diabate.
Referee: Mike Dean.
Burnley v Brighton
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Long, Tarkowski, Ward, Lennon, Cork, Westwood, Gudmundsson, Wood, Barnes. Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Nkoudou, Vokes, Hendrick, Wells, Bardsley.
Brighton: Ryan, Saltor, Duffy, Dunk, Bong, Gross, Kayal, Stephens, Izquierdo, Ulloa, Knockaert. Subs: Murray, Goldson, March, Schelotto, Locadia, Krul, Suttner.
Referee: Roger East.
Huddersfield v Everton
Huddersfield: Lossl, Hadergjonaj, Jorgensen, Schindler, Kongolo, Hogg, Mooy, Quaner, Pritchard, Van La Parra, Mounie. Subs: Smith, Malone, Billing, Coleman, Lowe, Depoitre, Stankovic.
Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Jagielka, Baines, Gueye, Schneiderlin, Rooney, Walcott, Tosun, Vlasic. Subs: Bolasie, Martina, Niasse, Funes Mori, Davies, Robles, Baningime.
Referee: Lee Probert.
Newcastle v West Brom
Newcastle: Dubravka, Yedlin, Lascelles, Lejeune, Dummett, Ritchie, Shelvey, Diame, Kenedy, Perez, Gayle. Subs: Clark, Murphy, Slimani, Hayden, Manquillo, Joselu, Darlow.
West Brom: Foster, Nyom, Dawson, Hegazi, Gibbs, Phillips, Livermore, Brunt, McClean, Rodriguez, Rondon. Subs: Robson-Kanu, Yacob, Evans, Myhill, Sturridge, Burke, Krychowiak.
Referee: David Coote.
New face alert! I believe this is David Coote’s first Premier League game as referee.
Southampton v Bournemouth
Southampton: McCarthy, Cedric, Yoshida, Hoedt, Bertrand, Tadic, Romeu, Lemina, Bednarek, Austin, Redmond. Subs: Ward-Prowse, Gabbiadini, Sims, Forster, Stephens, Long, Hojbjerg.
Bournemouth: Begovic, Francis, Steve Cook, Ake, Daniels, Mousset, Gosling, Lewis Cook, Fraser, Callum Wilson, King. Subs: Boruc, Surman, Pugh, Brad Smith, Mings, Ibe, Defoe.
Referee: Anthony Taylor.
Team news is starting to drip in. Hold on to your hats …
Hello world!
So, another Saturday dawns. This one, though, could be decisive for several teams across the divisions. Here, then, are today’s fixtures, and a league-by-league guide to what could be decided:
Premier League
Burnley v Brighton
Crystal Palace v Leicester
Huddersfield v Everton
Liverpool v Stoke (12.30pm)
Newcastle v West Brom
Southampton v AFC Bournemouth
Swansea v Chelsea (5.30pm)
This could be the week West Brom’s brave but belated fight against relegation comes to an end. They will be condemned to the Championship unless they beat Newcastle and Swansea drop points against Chelsea. Stoke could also be relegated this weekend, but it would take defeat to Liverpool, a Swansea win and at least a point apiece for Crystal Palace (against Leicester), Huddersfield (against Everton) and then West Ham, who face Manchester City on Sunday. With Manchester City confirmed as champions, the focus at the top end is on the Champions League places. The top four finishers all go directly into next season’s group stage and Manchester United and Liverpool can secure their places this weekend. Victory in Saturday’s early kick-off will be enough for Liverpool if fifth-placed Chelsea then drop points. United, three points better off than the Reds in second, will be in if they beat Arsenal on Sunday or Chelsea fail to win.
Championship
Aston Villa v Derby
Barnsley v Brentford
Burton Albion v Bolton
Hull v Cardiff
Middlesbrough v Millwall (5.30pm)
Norwich v Leeds
Nottm Forest v Bristol City
QPR v Birmingham
Reading v Ipswich
Sheff Utd v Preston North End
Wolverhampton v Sheff Wed.
Middlesbrough will seal a place in the play-offs if they beat seventh-placed Millwall, while Derby could also seal their place with victory over Villa combined with Millwall and Brentford dropping points. With Sunderland already relegated, Burton will follow if they lose to Bolton – a result which would also leave Barnsley needing to beat Brentford to have any hope of survival.
Sky Bet League One
Blackpool v Shrewsbury
Bradford v Southend
Bristol Rovers v Gillingham
Bury v Portsmouth
Charlton v Blackburn
Milton Keynes Dons v Scunthorpe
Oldham v Doncaster
Oxford Utd v Rochdale
Peterborough v Fleetwood Town
Plymouth v Rotherham
Walsall v Northampton
Wigan v AFC Wimbledon.
Wigan and Blackburn have wrapped up the two automatic promotion places. Wigan can clinch the title if they beat AFC Wimbledon and Rovers lose to Charlton. Bury are already relegated and MK Dons’ fate will be sealed unless they beat Scunthorpe and Oldham and Rochdale both lose, to Doncaster and Oxford respectively. If Northampton lose to Walsall, the Cobblers would also be relegated by a win for either Dale or Oldham.
Sky Bet League Two
Accrington Stanley v Lincoln City
Cheltenham v Coventry
Chesterfield v Wycombe
Colchester v Swindon
Crawley Town v Crewe
Grimsby v Notts County
Luton v Forest Green
Morecambe v Barnet
Newport County v Cambridge Utd
Port Vale v Carlisle
Stevenage v Exeter
Yeovil v Mansfield.
Accrington will be confirmed as champions unless they lose to Lincoln and also-promoted Luton beat Forest Green. Wycombe can clinch the third promotion place if they beat relegated Chesterfield, Exeter lose and Notts County drop points. The latter pair are secure in the play-offs. Lincoln will join them with a point, or if Mansfield fail to beat Yeovil. Coventry, who face Cheltenham, can clinch the final place if they better Mansfield’s result. Barnet must win at Morecambe to avoid joining Chesterfield in the National League, and would still need Grimsby to drop points against Notts County.
Also, in the National League Woking will go down unless they beat Dover and Barrow drop points to Chester. In Scotland Brechin City host Queen of the South in their final game of a miserable league season (P35 W0 D4 L31), still in search of that elusive first victory.
I’ve scoured Europe in search of other meaningful 3pm GMT kick-offs, and have found little. But Rovaniemen Palloseura, AKA RoPS, the runaway early leaders of the Finnish Veikkausliiga, take their five-point lead and 100% record (after five games) to TPS (AKA Turun Palloseura), while in Belarus BATE Borisov have their own 100% record (after four games) tested by the visiting Slutsk, who are themselves unbeaten. Try to control your excitement.
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