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The Guardian - UK
The Guardian - UK
Sport
Simon Burnton

Manchester United 1-0 Leicester, Wolves 2-5 Chelsea: clockwatch – as it happened

Tammy Abraham scores Chelsea’s third goal past Rui Patricio of Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Tammy Abraham scores Chelsea’s third goal past Rui Patricio of Wolverhampton Wanderers. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

With action under way at Carrow Road, I’m going to be on my bike. But don’t go away! You can follow Norwich v Manchester City here. Bye!

Tammy Abraham is happy:

It’s been an amazing day. To come here, it’s never easy. I’m glad to get a hat-trick, delighted. The boys create a lot of chances and for me it’s just about being in the right place at the right time. The three of us were last off the pitch. We couldn’t believe we’ve all scored in the same game for Chelsea. We’ve dreamt of it since we were small boys and we’ve made it happen. We were disappointed with our last result, we came here for three points and thankfully we got it.

Finally, here’s a report on Burnley’s smash-and-grab point-theft at Brighton:

A late equaliser from Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick earned his side a 1-1 draw as Brighton’s winless streak at the Amex Stadium continued. After a goalless first half Neal Maupay broke the deadlock, striking a superb volley from the edge of the box.

The Seagulls looked to be heading towards victory before the ball fell to Hendrick outside the box and he sent a powerful drive past the outstretched Mathew Ryan and into the bottom corner.

More here:

After his hat-trick today, Tammy Abraham has taken the lead in the race for the golden boot. Check out the runners and riders here:

Ed Aarons was at the Valley to see Jude Bellingham claim the points for Birmingham:

As the son of one of the most prolific strikers to have graced the non-league game, Jude Bellingham should have learned a thing or two about scoring goals.

The 16-year-old, whose father Mark racked up more than 700 in his career while also serving as a sergeant for West Midlands Police, inflicted Charlton’s first defeat of the season with a superb strike just after half-time as Pep Clotet’s side played party poopers on the 100th anniversary of the first match played at this ground.

Much more here:

Paul Doyle was at Molineux for today’s bumper goal feast:

This was supposed to be a day of celebration for Wolves, as they marked the 130th anniversary of their first match at Molineux. Instead a new Chelsea goalscoring hero stole the show, as Tammy Abraham struck his first hat-trick for the club after Fikayo Tomori started the rout by opening his own account with a wonderful strike from long-range. Late goals for Romain Saïss and Patrick Cutrone gave the hosts a little cheer and took away some of Chelsea’s satisfaction. Mason Mount restored some it by making the score 5-2 in stoppage time.

Dear old Molineux had been a fortress for Wolves for most of this year, with the home side unbeaten in any competition here since January, but by half-time that was all irrelevant history. They were 3-0 down and in danger of an even worse mauling.

Much more here:

Jacob Steinberg was at White Hart Lane:

When was the last time Tottenham produced a performance this complete in a league game? You’d probably have to go back to last season’s Boxing Day victory over Bournemouth to find one, which goes to show how long it has been since Mauricio Pochettino’s side played with this much energy, class and craft.

In that context this thrashing of Crystal Palace could end up being remembered as one of the most important victories of the Pochettino era. After a spluttering start to the season, not to mention all the angst caused by the uncertainty over Christian Eriksen’s future during the summer, Spurs demonstrated that there is plenty of life left in them yet by devouring a ragged Palace side during a first half in which Son Heung-min stole the show with two goals of the highest quality.

Much more here:

Daniel Taylor has filed his match report from Old Trafford:

The good news for Manchester United is that they have rediscovered their winning habit. They won this game despite missing a number of key players with injury and, for that alone, Ole Gunnar Solskjær can probably accept the fact their performance never got any higher than six out of ten – lots of huffing and puffing, but none of the old panache.

Leicester certainly had enough of the ball to believe they ought to have extended United’s winless sequence to four matches. Ultimately, though, Solskjær and his players can reflect on a decent afternoon’s work bearing in mind Leicester have ambitions of their own to break into the Premier League’s top four this season.

Much more here:

Rochdale finished with 64% of possession, which they managed to translate into absolutely no shots on target and a 6-0 defeat at Peterborough. Are the stats wrong, or was this the most hapless performance in the entire history of football?

The match reports are starting to drop. To kick things off, here’s Paul Wilson at Bramall Lane:

Being billed as the new Sadio Mané gives 21-year-old Moussa Djenepo a lot to live up to, though in his brief appearances since a £15m move from Standard Liege the Malian winger has proved he can score spectacular goals.

This was his first start in Saints colours, and he decorated it with a memorable solo strike that deserved to take all three points.

Much more here:

Conscious though I am that Manchester United have had a few penalties of late, I remain astonished by this:

You can find all today’s scores here.

Final score: Sheffield United 0-1 Southampton

After Southampton took the lead Sheffield United huffed and puffed, but blew their chance when Billy Sharp got harshly sent off.

Final score: Man Utd 1-0 Leicester

Marcus Rashford’s early penalty is the only goal of the game as Manchester United snaffle victory over Leicester.

Final score: Wolves 2-5 Chelsea

And that is the last meaningful action at Molineux! It’s been an absolute goal feast, at the end of which Chelsea pocket the points.

Grab the sandbags, there's a goal flood in Wolverhampton!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-5 Chelsea (Mount, 90+6 mins) Mason Mount gets the ball on the left, just outside the area, and dances into the box, feints this way and that, then cuts onto his right foot and curls a nonchalant finish past Rui Patricio!

Chelsea’s Mason Mount scores their fifth goal.
Mason Mount puts the cherry on top of Chelsea’s victory cake. Photograph: Carl Recine/Action Images via Reuters

Updated

Final score: Tottenham 4-0 Crystal Palace

I don’t know what Spurs were playing at in the second half, in which they completely and miserably failed to score. No matter, they won at a canter.

“How’s it going at Old Trafford?” asks Julian Smith. Quietly, though Leicester have been prodding, poking and vaguely threatening for much of the second half, to no avail.

Final score: Brighton 1-1 Burnley

And now it’s all over at the Amex. That’s going to smart.

Painful statistic department: That was Burnley’s first shot on target.

GOAL! Burnley equalise with a super strike!

GOAL! Brighton 1-1 Burnley (Hendrick, 90+1 mins) A lovely backheel lay-off from Vydra is followed by a beautiful shot, pinged low from 23 yards (or so) right into the right-hand corner of goal! That is delicious!

Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick gets the visitors back on level terms.
Burnley’s Jeff Hendrick gets the visitors back on level terms. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters
Jeff Hendrick of Burnley celebrates with teammates after scoring his team’s equaliser.
Hendrick celebrates with his teammates. Photograph: Dan Istitene/Getty Images

Updated

Chelsea have let in 11 goals in five league games, all while basically being quite impressive.

GOAL! Wolves' fightback continues!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 2-4 Chelsea (Cutrone, 85 mins) Cutrone bundles in from the closest possible range after Kepa saved, er, someone else’s shot!

Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Patrick Cutrone scores their second goal.
Wolverhampton Wanderers’ Patrick Cutrone scores their second goal. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Updated

RED CARD! Sheffield United go down to 10 men!

Billy Sharp is off, and Sheffield United’s chance of rescuing a point at home to Southampton surely goes with him. That looked very harsh – he threw out a leg, realised he wouldn’t get near the ball and pulled it back again before any contact was made with his opponent, Stuart Armstrong.

Updated

Here are the teams for the Premier League’s late kick-off. Norwich have two goalkeepers on the bench, and could probably do with having both of them on the pitch:

Norwich: Krul, Byram, Amadou, Godfrey, Lewis, McLean, Tettey, Emi, Stiepermann, Cantwell, Pukki. Subs: Hanley, Heise, Drmic, Fahrmann, Srbeny, McGovern, Idah.
Man City:
Ederson, Walker, Stones, Otamendi, Zinchenko, Gundogan, Rodri, Silva, Bernardo Silva, Aguero, Sterling. Subs: Bravo, Gabriel Jesus, De Bruyne, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Joao Cancelo, Foden.
Referee: Kevin Friend.

Scott Murray is all over the build-up to this one:

Now confirmed by official decision-making types. Abraham will do no further scoring, as he’s just gone off to be replaced by Batchuayi.

Apparently Rochdale have had 69% of possession at Peterborough, which is quite impressive and must make it really very galling that they’re now 6-0 down.

Apparently that Wolves goal might, like three of Chelsea’s, have been scored by Tammy Abraham.

GOAL! Wolves snaffle a consolation!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 1-4 Chelsea (Saiss, 69 mins) A corner from the left is headed behind, and the ensuing corner from the right is headed pretty much straight at Kepa, but firmly enough to get past him anyway!

Updated

GOAL! Southampton take the lead in Sheffield!

GOAL! Sheffield United 0-1 Southampton (Djenepo, 66 mins) Oooh, hello! The Blades idiotically give the ball away in their own half, but when Djenepo gets it, 50 yards from goal, there is no obvious danger. But he turns, holds off a first challenge, heads towards the box, dances past a couple of very half-hearted attempts to close him down, and then it in nicely!

Southampton’s Moussa Djenepo opens the scoring.
Southampton’s Moussa Djenepo opens the scoring. Photograph: Jon Super/Reuters

Updated

A little over an hour ago I mentioned that Bolton had just scored their first goal in 11 league matches to take the lead at Rotherham. Bolton’s good times didn’t last long: Carlton Morris has just put Rotherham 5-1 up.

Ding ding! All about the Chelsea goal train!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-4 Chelsea (Abraham, 56 mins) This is superb goalmanship. The ball is tossed forward to Abraham, who has Coady sticking to him like so much velcro, but the Chelsea forward turns back away from goal, spins round again, tricks his way into space and then slaps the ball inside the far post from 15 yards!

Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham sticks the ball in the net for his hat-trick.
Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham shoots ... Photograph: Geoff Caddick/AFP/Getty Images
Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham sticks the ball in the net for his hat-trick.
And scores his hat-trick. Photograph: Clive Howes/Chelsea FC via Getty Images

Updated

Jude Bellingham has just put Birmingham City 1-0 at high-flying Charlton. He was born in 2003. It’s his second goal of the season.

Disallowed goal! Sheffield United 0-0 Southampton! A free-kick from the right is sent into the area and bounces through to McBurnie, who nods in at the far post! The Blades celebrate, but then notice the referee has his finger in his ear and is busy chatting to VAR HQ. Turns out half the United team was offside when the ball was played in. As you were.

GOAL! Brighton take the lead against Burnley!

GOAL! Brighton 1-0 Burnley (Maupay, 51 mins) The goalkeeper bowls the ball out to the right, where Burn picks it up and carries it forward with menace. Then he lays it off, Brighton mess about on the right, seem to have wasted their opportunity, and then dink in a cross that Maupay stylishly converts with a scissor kick!

Brighton and Hove Albion’s Neal Maupay scores their first goal with a stylish finish.
Brighton and Hove Albion’s Neal Maupay scores their first goal with a stylish finish. Photograph: Toby Melville/Reuters

Updated

Tottenham nearly score 28 seconds into the second half, with a low shot from the edge of the area, but this time Guaita saves.

Two substitutions at Molineux, where the home side bring on Patrick Cutrone for Leander Dendoncker, and Chelsea take off Anthony Rudiger, who appeared to twang something just before half-time, for Kurt Zouma.

How has it taken me this long to learn the word “anpfiff”? Anyway, we’re back under way!

If you’re casting about in search of an opinion to have about something, here are a couple of decent ones that you can have for free:

Peep peeep!

It’s half-time, and here are the scores on the doors:

Premier League

Brighton 0-0 Burnley
Manchester United 1-0 Leicester
Sheffield United 0-0 Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Crystal Palace
Wolverhampton 0-3 Chelsea

Championship

Blackburn 1-0 Millwall
Charlton 0-0 Birmingham
Hull 2-1 Wigan
Middlesbrough 0-0 Reading
Preston North End 1-0 Brentford
QPR 3-1 Luton
Stoke 1-0 Bristol City
Swansea 0-0 Nottingham Forest

League One

Wimbledon 1-0 Shrewsbury
Accrington Stanley 1-3 Sunderland
Blackpool 0-1 Milton Keynes Dons
Burton Albion 0-0 Coventry
Gillingham 0-0 Wycombe
Ipswich 0-0 Doncaster
Lincoln City 0-0 Bristol Rovers
Oxford Utd 1-0 Tranmere
Peterborough 3-0 Rochdale
Rotherham 3-1 Bolton
Southend 1-2 Fleetwood Town

League Two

Crawley Town 0-0 Mansfield
Crewe 0-1 Cambridge Utd
Exeter 1-1 Leyton Orient
Forest Green 1-0 Colchester
Northampton 1-0 Newport County
Oldham 1-0 Grimsby
Port Vale 0-0 Plymouth
Salford City 0-1 Cheltenham
Scunthorpe 3-0 Morecambe
Stevenage 1-1 Carlisle
Swindon 2-0 Macclesfield
Walsall 0-0 Bradford

GOAL! Tottenham ride the combine harvester to a bumper goal crop!

GOAL! Tottenham 4-0 Crystal Palace (Lamela, 42 mins) I’m not sure what’s going on, defensively speaking, down Palace’s left flank, but the answer appears to be nothing whatsoever. This time Son pokes through to Kane, peeling right from a central position, who from just outside the penalty area crosses to Lamela, who slides in to shoot in off the keeper!

GOAL! Chelsea tuck in to the goal banquet!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-3 Chelsea (Abraham, 41 mins) Chelsea break at pace. Willian runs down the right, but when his cross is cleared it seems the danger has passed. Instead it’s re-centred, headed limply away again, re-re-centred, and this time Abraham heads it in from the six-yard line!

Tammy Abraham heads in his second goal, and Chelsea’s third.
Tammy Abraham heads in his second goal, and Chelsea’s third. Photograph: Laurence Griffiths/Getty Images

Updated

“Vardy isn’t pretty. Leicester plays a conservative style. But goals are goals. He hustles, he’s grity, and he is always a threat. That’s great in my mind,” insists Mary Waltz. But there’s a difference between being great, and being a great, isn’t there?

GOAL! Another one for Chelsea!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-2 Chelsea (Abraham, 34 mins) Two in three minutes for Chelsea! Wolves try to play the ball out from the back and don’t manage it, the ball being pilfered in the left-back position. It’s played across the field and Tomori is involved again, carrying it forward from the centre circle to the edge of the area. He passes to Mount, who goes down very easily indeed in search of a penalty, but before the referee gets a chance to blow his whistle the ball breaks to Abraham, who in an instant spins and scores!

Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham scores their second goal.
Chelsea’s Tammy Abraham doubles the visitors’ lead. Photograph: Hannah McKay/Reuters

Updated

GOAL! Chelsea go ahead at Molineux with a belter!

GOAL! Wolverhampton Wanderers 0-1 Chelsea (Tomori, 31 mins) A corner is played short on the right. Chelsea faff about with it for a while and eventually a defender manages to get a toe on the ball, sending it rolling harmlessly infield. But then, from nowhere, Fikayo Tomori runs onto it and, from 30 yards or so, hits a first-time curling beauty that gives Rui Patricio no chance whatsoever!

Fikayo Tomori of Chelsea opens the scoring with a nice curling effort.
Fikayo Tomori of Chelsea opens the scoring with a nice curling effort. Photograph: Paul Currie/BPI/Shutterstock

Updated

Back to Jamie Vardy, then. “I doubt Vardy would get more respect if he was foreign born,” sniffs Hubert O’Hearn. “I really like him, but I’d put him on a par with Olivier Giroud (albeit different styles). One is beloved, one is ‘never quite good enough’. I don’t think I need to define which is which.”

GOAL! Tottenham one-and-a-half-time their lead!

GOAL! Tottenham 3-0 Crystal Palace (Son Heung-Min, 23 mins) Cowabunga! Tottenham are hitting jackpot in the goal machine today! The ball is played wide to Aurier again. This time he hits a high cross that curls beyond the far post, where Son has been left handily clear to smash a volley into the onion bag with his left peg!

Son Heung-min celebrates scoring his second, and Spurs’ third goal of the game.
Son Heung-min celebrates scoring his second, and Spurs’ third goal of the game. Photograph: Tony O’Brien/Action Images via Reuters

Updated

GOAL! Tottenham double their lead!

GOAL! Tottenham 2-0 Crystal Palace (Van Aanholt OG, 20 mins) More defensive mishaps at White Hart Lane, where the ball is played to Aurier on the right and his low cross flicks off Van Aanholt and bobbles in at the near post!

“Any insight into what that Chelsea line-up is supposed to be?” asks Oliver Pattenden. “Looks like it was selected by an Ouija Board.” I believe that Chelsea are playing three at the back, mirroring Wolves’ formation.

“Can you please explain VAR to me?” pleads JR. “The goal Son just scored came directly after a long Alderweireld pass hit him in the arm and the ball fell to his feet. (And don’t get me started on Lascelles taking Matip down by the neck in the early game today).”

Of course I can explain VAR. It’s a system that checks that the match officials haven’t failed to spot a variety of misdemeanours, or have erroneously spotted non-existent ones. I must say I didn’t see that handball, but then I am watching five games simultaneously, which essentially means that I’m not watching any matches at all. If it happened, after that Newcastle goal against Watford recently, it would be an inexplicable humiliation.

Good and bad news in Stoke’s search for a first win of the season. Sam Clucas put them ahead in the fourth minute, but in the 12th Joe Allen has been sent off!

GOAL! Tottenham take the lead against Palace!

GOAL! Tottenham 1-0 Crystal Palace (Son Heung-min, 10 mins) Palace very nearly take the lead from a left-wing free-kick, eventually hacked clear, and then suddenly Son is bursting into the box from the right onto a long ball, bobbles the ball towards the penalty spot, and then wrongfoots the keeper! That was a one-man demonstration of the art of hopeless defending from Mamadou Sakho, who lost the ball in the air and then bumbled uselessly along in Son’s wake, making no difference to anything.

Son Heung-Min of Tottenham Hotspur scores his team’s first goal.
Son Heung-Min shoots ... Photograph: Tottenham Hotspur FC via Getty Images
Son Heung-Min of Tottenham Hotspur scores his team’s first goal.
And scores. Photograph: Yui Mok/PA

Updated

Manchester United score a penalty!

GOAL! Manchester United 1-0 Leicester (Rashford, 8 mins) Coolly converted by Rashford, who sends Schmeichel to his left and the ball to his right!

Rashford gets in front of Soyuncu and goes over his leg! It’s not very clear on first viewing who got to the ball first, but if it was Rashford then it’s probably a foul.

Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford is fouled in the penalty area by Leicester City’s Caglar Soyuncu.
Manchester United’s Marcus Rashford is fouled in the penalty area by Leicester City’s Caglar Soyuncu. Photograph: Martin Rickett/PA

Updated

PENALTY! Manchester United have yet another spot kick (subject to VAR confirmation)

“Controversial opinion ahoy: should United have sold De Gea in the summer?” wonders Chris Faherty. “He’s been in bad form for nearly a year, his goalkeeping style may be in question as he ages (he’s nearly thirty now) and he looks to be getting the package Sanchez was on so no savings for us natch. Of the three players that were linked away from us most prominently this summer (Lukaku, Pogba and De Gea) he was the most expendable for my money.” Hmmmm. He may no longer be the best goalkeeper in the country, but he’d be hard to replace. And as I type that he saves excellently from Maddison!

GOAL! Rotherham 0-1 Bolton Thibaud Verlinden has scored Bolton’s first goal in 11 league games!

Bolton Wanderers’ Thibaud Verlinden opens the scoring.
Bolton Wanderers’ Thibaud Verlinden opens the scoring. Photograph: Andrew Kearns/CameraSport via Getty Images

Updated

SAVE! James cuts inside from the left and is taken down right on the corner of the penalty area. Andreas Pereira takes the free kick and a very fine one it is too, heading to the near top corner before Schmeichel pushed it away.

BONG! It’s football o’clock!

The players are out and it’s very nearly action time!

Unlikely football league fan dept: Popular comic actor Will Ferrell, who went to watch Portsmouth v Tranmere last month, was at Fulham v West Brom today.

Actor Will Ferrell in the stands at Craven Cottage watching Fulham take on West Bromwich Albion.
Actor Will Ferrell in the stands at Craven Cottage watching Fulham take on West Bromwich Albion. Photograph: Kieran McManus/BPI/Shutterstock

Updated

“Looking through those line-ups (and now Eden Hazard is gone) Jamie Vardy looks like the player most important to his club,” writes Gary Naylor. “I suspect, were he called Jaime Vardé, he’d be rated a PL great without equivocation. Of course, Jaime Vardé is ridiculous in every sense.”

He’s a great player, but I think his journey to this point – when he is indeed a brilliant Premier League match-winner – is too much a part of who he is for him to be “just” a PL great. If we’re restricting our judgement to the Premier League, he’s the joint 44th highest scorer in the Premier League (one goal behind Cristiano Ronaldo), which for a pure goalscorer isn’t high enough to make the greatness grade. There are players well ahead of him in the goalscoring chart – Yakubu Aiyegbeni, say, or Mark Viduka – who aren’t there either.

More blue skies, this time in Florence, where Fiorentina are 25 minutes into their home game against Juventus. It’s currently goalless, the home side buoyed by this lovely lilac display:

Fiorentina's stadium, the Stadio Artemio Franchi
The Stadio Artemio Franchi before Fiorentina v Juventus. Photograph: Alberto Lingria/Reuters

“Afternoon Simon,” writes occasional volunteer north-of-the-border correspondent Simon McMahon. “In Scotland, Championship leaders Dundee United travel to Somerset Park to face second place Ayr. Elsewhere, nothing matters.” That sounds very much like a matter of opinion to me.

All the Premier League teams

The team news is filtering through, and these are the starting line-ups of all this afternoon’s Premier League games:

Brighton v Burnley

Brighton: Ryan, Webster, Duffy, Dunk, Burn, Gross, Stephens, Propper, Maupay, Murray, March. Subs: Bong, Bissouma, Mooy, Button, Baluta, Connolly, Alzate.
Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Lennon, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood. Subs: Brady, Hendrick, Gibson, Rodriguez, Hart, Bardsley, Vydra.
Referee: Michael Oliver.

Manchester United v Leicester City

Man Utd: De Gea, Wan Bissaka, Lindelof, Maguire, Young, McTominay, Matic, Andreas Pereira, Mata, James, Rashford. Subs: Jones, Fred, Romero, Greenwood, Gomes, Tuanzebe, Chong.
Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Ndidi, Gray, Tielemans, Choudhury, Maddison, Vardy. Subs: Justin, Morgan, Albrighton, Ward, Barnes, Perez, Praet.
Referee: Martin Atkinson.

Sheffield United v Southampton

Sheff Utd: Henderson, Basham, Egan, O’Connell, Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens, McGoldrick, McBurnie. Subs: Luke Freeman, Sharp, Robinson, Mousset, Osborn, Moore, Besic.
Southampton: Gunn, Yoshida, Vestergaard, Bednarek, Cedric, Romeu, Hojbjerg, Djenepo, Ward-Prowse, Boufal, Adams. Subs: McCarthy, Stephens, Long, Ings, Armstrong, Bertrand, Valery.
Referee: Lee Mason.

Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen, Rose, Sissoko, Winks, Lamela, Eriksen, Son, Kane. Subs: Wanyama, Dier, Alli, Gazzaniga, Lucas Moura, Ndombele, Davies.
Crystal Palace: Guaita, Ward, Cahill, Sakho, van Aanholt, Townsend, Milivojevic, Kouyate, Schlupp, Zaha, Ayew. Subs: Tomkins, Meyer, Hennessey, Benteke, McCarthy, Victor Camarasa, Riedewald.
Referee: Craig Pawson.

Wolverhampton v Chelsea

Wolverhampton: Rui Patricio, Traore, Vallejo, Coady, Dendoncker, Jonny, Joao Moutinho, Neves, Saiss, Jota, Jimenez. Subs: Doherty, Pedro Neto, Cutrone, Gibbs-White, Ruddy, Ruben Vinagre, Kilman.
Chelsea: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Rudiger, Tomori, Azpilicueta, Mount, Jorginho, Kovacic, Alonso, Willian, Abraham. Subs: Barkley, Pedro, Caballero, Zouma, Giroud, Pulisic, Batshuayi.
Referee: Graham Scott.

Updated

Liverpool have just gone 3-1 up against Newcastle with 20 minutes remaining. Here’s a super if not exactly complementary photo of Andy Robertson:

Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson
Liverpool’s Andrew Robertson in action against Newcastle United. Photograph: Jason Cairnduff/Action Images via Reuters

It’s an absolutely gorgeous day in London, and I hope wherever you are. Here is some blue sky in Wolverhampton:

Wolverhampton Wanderers' Molineux
A general view of Molineux the stadium prior to the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and Chelsea. Photograph: Clive Mason/Getty Images

Hello world!

Well, this looks intriguing. A crackerjack bounty of fixtures including two top-flight matches between members of Ye Olde Big Six and teams who fancy their chances of catching them. “There are teams that quite rightly will be competing and have ambitions to get in there, so that’s challenging for all of us,” says Frank Lampard, whose Chelsea side visit Wolves. Damn straight.

The Football League will no doubt be full of fun, but it lacks a standout bingo fixture. Championship leaders Swansea host Nottingham Forest. With Huddersfield playing Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow, Stoke know they will clamber off the bottom, temporarily at least, if they get something out of their home game against sixth-placed Bristol City. Down in League Two Stevenage, who finished last season with five wins in six unbeaten games, have just dumped their manager after four defeats in seven winless matches and will hope to get back on the point bike against Carlisle.

Anyway, it’s about time you had a full run-down of this afternoon’s fixtures in the English Football League and the Scottish Premiership, and that is one dream I can very much make come true. All kick-offs 3pm BST unless stated:

Premier League

Brighton v Burnley
Liverpool v Newcastle (12.30pm)
Manchester United v Leicester
Norwich v Manchester City (5.30pm)
Sheffield United v Southampton
Tottenham Hotspur v Crystal Palace
Wolverhampton v Chelsea

Championship

Blackburn v Millwall
Charlton v Birmingham
Fulham v West Brom (12.30pm)
Hull v Wigan
Middlesbrough v Reading
Preston North End v Brentford
QPR v Luton
Stoke v Bristol City
Swansea v Nottingham Forest

League One

Wimbledon v Shrewsbury
Accrington Stanley v Sunderland
Blackpool v Milton Keynes Dons
Burton Albion v Coventry
Gillingham v Wycombe
Ipswich v Doncaster
Lincoln City v Bristol Rovers
Oxford Utd v Tranmere
Peterborough v Rochdale
Rotherham v Bolton
Southend v Fleetwood Town

League Two

Crawley Town v Mansfield
Crewe v Cambridge Utd
Exeter v Leyton Orient
Forest Green v Colchester
Northampton v Newport County
Oldham v Grimsby
Port Vale v Plymouth
Salford City v Cheltenham
Scunthorpe v Morecambe
Stevenage v Carlisle
Swindon v Macclesfield
Walsall v Bradford

Scottish Premiership

Aberdeen v St Johnstone
Hamilton v Celtic (12noon)
Hearts v Motherwell
Kilmarnock v Hibernian
Rangers v Livingston
Ross County v St Mirren

Updated

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