Thanks for joining me. Be sure to follow Barry Glendenning’s MBM coverage of Everton v Manchester United at Wembley. I’ll leave you with a selection of top-drawer match reports from today’s action. Later.
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FT: Charlton 1-3 Brighton
After about 15 minutes of injury time, Tomer Hemed nets a last-second penalty to seal a vital victory for Brighton. With two games to go, the Championship top three looks like this:
- Burnley (87 pts; GD +33)
- Middlesbrough (87 pts; GD +32)
- Brighton (87 pts; GD +30)
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York City are relegated to the National League
A 3-0 defeat to Accrington sees York consigned to non-league football after four years back in the Football League.
It was a bad day for Plymouth, who somehow lost 3-2 at home to relegated Dagenham & Redbridge. Accrington, Oxford and Bristol Rovers all took advantage in a tight automatic promotion race, while Portsmouth and Wimbledon both won, and look bound for the play-offs.
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Colchester are relegated from League One
The U’s pulled off a great escape last season, but ran out of luck, losing 3-0 to Burton to confirm their relegation. Doncaster are still alive after beating Coventry 2-0, despite Shrewsbury’s win at Gillingham, while Fleetwood drew 0-0 with Blackpool.
At the top, only an extraordinary run of results will deny Wigan automatic promotion after they beat Southend 4-1, with Burton also well set after Walsall lost 4-0 at Bradford. Millwall moved up to third with a 3-1 win at Bury.
Championship results
Blackburn 2-2 Bristol City
Cardiff 2-1 Bolton
Charlton 1-2 Brighton (L)
Fulham 1-3 Nottingham Forest
Huddersfield 1-1 Birmingham
Hull 2-2 Leeds
MK Dons 1-4 Brentford
Middlesbrough 0-0 Ipswich
QPR 1-1 Reading
Wolves 0-0 Rotherham
“Did Sutton Utd get promoted?” asks Giles Allison. Yes, Giles. Yes they did. They beat Chelmsford 2-0 at Gander Green Lane.
“If we’re doing swaps, Mito Hollyhocks beat Tokyo Verdy 3–0 for all the Japanese J League 2 fans out there”
I think we can all get behind a team with a name as fine as Mito Hollyhocks...
MK Dons are relegated
Their 4-1 defeat to Brentford renders other results irrelevant; Milton Keynes are going back down to League One, and could end up playing AFC Wimbledon in the league next season. Cardiff, meanwhile, have grabbed a late winner to set up a playoff decider against Sheffield Wednesday next week...
FT: Rayo Vallecano 2-3 Real Madrid
Gareth Bale rescues Real Madrid with two goals; Lucas Vasquez got the other after Rayo went 2-0 up inside 15 minutes. Real are top of La Liga – for now.
FT: Middlesbrough 0-0 Ipswich
No late drama for the Boro today; they stumble in the promotion race, with all three teams set to end the day on 87 points...
FT: Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea
Plenty o’ goals at the Vitality Stadium too – Eden Hazard got two of them, as Chelsea won a game that was much more competitive than the scoreline suggests.
FT: Aston Villa 2-4 Southampton
Southampton are just a point behind Liverpool after a win over relegated Villa, who at least got a couple of goals...
FT: Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle
Newcastle rally from 2-0 down at half-time to snatch a point at Anfield, moving to within a point of Norwich – and probably ending Liverpool’s faint top four hopes in the process.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-4 Southampton (Mané)
Just as a bearable afternoon beckoned for Villa fans, Sadio Mané heads in a fourth for Southampton.
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Newport equalise at Luton, making York’s result at Accrington irrelevant – they’re losing, as it happens. In the Championship, Brentford lead 4-1, and MK Dons are going down with a whimper. At the KC Stadium, Stuart Dallas has levelled for Leeds, snipping the thread holding up Hull’s automatic promotion hopes.
GOAL! Bournemouth 1-4 Chelsea (Hazard)
It took him eight months to get his first, now Eden Hazard has a second in the same game – he tucks away Matic’s cut back to put a flattering gloss on the scoreline.
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Three minutes of stoppage time at Middlesbrough, where Jordan Rhodes has just hit the post!
Plymouth have rallied against Dagenham & Redbridge, and now trail 3-2. Another 3-2 at Gillingham, where relegation-threatened Shrewsbury have retaken the lead. It’s all happening...
Here’s Simon McMahon, keeping on top of the Scottish League One relegation battle so I don’t have to:
Wow! Scenes in Scottish League One. Stenhousemuir have turned it around against Cowdenbeath and lead 3-1, and Brechin have scored late against Stranraer. That relegates Forfar and leaves Cowdenbeath in the relegation play off place on goal difference, level on points with Brechin and one behind Stenhousemuir. Should be quite a finish next week.
GOAL! Aston Villa 2-3 Southampton (Westwood)
Ashley Westwood scores his second of the day. For the fourth time in the league this season, Villa have scored two at home; they are yet to score three.
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Team news from Wembley:
Everton: Robles, Besic, Stones, Jagielka, Baines, McCarthy, Gibson, Lennon, Barkley, Cleverley, Lukaku.
Subs: Hibbert, Oviedo, Mirallas, Deulofeu, Osman, Howard, Pennington.
Man Utd: De Gea, Fosu-Mensah, Smalling, Blind, Rojo, Fellaini, Carrick, Lingard, Rooney, Martial, Rashford.
Subs: Depay, Mata, Romero, Ander Herrera, Valencia, Schneiderlin, Darmian.
Join Barry Glendenning – live!
GOAL! Rayo Vallecano 2-3 Real Madrid (Bale)
Bale completes the comeback, racing through on goal and firing low into the net. Real Madrid are going top of La Liga!
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Bradford are getting a psychological edge for the play-offs – they’re hammering Walsall 4-0, James Hanson hitting a 15-minute hat-trick. David Cotterill has given Birmingham, whose fans tried to take this along today, the lead at Huddersfield:
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Bristol City popping a few spare nails in the coffin of MK Dons – they now lead 2-1 at Ewood Park, while Nottingham Forest lead Fulham 3-1. It’s still goalless at the Riverside, but Middlesbrough have made a habit of grabbing late winners recently.
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-3 Southampton (Tadic)
Four goals in all three 3pm kick-offs now, as Tadic gets his second from Shane Long’s pass.
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GOAL! Bournemouth 1-3 Chelsea (Willian)
In a goal that was mighty similar to Pedro’s opener, Willian latches onto Fabregas’ through ball and lifts the ball over Boruc.
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GOAL! Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle (Colback)
Newcastle are level! Jack Colback with the goal, after Liverpool had a goal chalked off. Go see Bryan Graham.
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Luka Modric is on for Real Madrid against Rayo, where it remains 2-2. Speaking of 2-2...
GOAL! Charlton 1-2 Brighton (Skalak)
Brighton are woken up by the Addicks’ equaliser, and Jiri Skalak puts them back ahead just a couple of minutes later.
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Bundesliga full-times:
Koln 4-1 Darmstadt
Ingolstadt 2-2 Hannover
Hertha 0-2 Bayern Munich
Stuttgart 0-3 Dortmund
Wolfsburg 0-2 Augsburg
Hannover live to fight another day, as does the title race, with Dortmund seeing off Stuttgart to postpone Bayern Munich’s party.
Colchester are heading down today, as Burton’s Lucas Akins completes his hat-trick. The Brewers are edging towards automatic promotion, with Walsall behind at Bradford.
GOAL! Charlton 1-1 Brighton (Gudmundsson)
Charlton equalise through Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who turns in a low cross. Charlton fans barely celebrate, but that’s a big blow for Brighton.
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MK Down: Brentford lead in Milton Keynes through Lasse Vibe. Cardiff have equalised against Bolton to keep their wafer-thin playoff chances alive, while in League One, it’s Wigan 4-0 Southend, and Bradford 1-0 Walsall – the Latics are all but promoted.
Douglas Costa scores a cracker to make it 2-0 to Bayern, while Hannover aren’t going down without a fight – they’ve rallied to 2-2 at Ingolstadt.
In the Championship, our man at the Valley, Alan Smith, tells me that the game has suffered another stoppage, with balloons and toilet rolls being thrown on the pitch. Chris Wood has seen a penalty saved at Hull.
All action at Anfield, with Cissé missing a chance and both sides having penalty shouts in quick succession. Bryan Graham can fill you in.
GOAL! Rayo Vallecano 2-2 Real Madrid (Lucas)
Substitute Lucas Vasquez heads in the equaliser for Real Madrid, who still have plenty of time to find a winner.
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GOAL! Liverpool 2-1 Newcastle (Cissé)
When you need a way back into the game, you can always rely on Simon Mignolet. The Liverpool keeper comes for a cross, gets nowhere near it, and Cissé nods in his first league goal since November.
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A tip of the hat, or shake of the ruff, to Newcastle Benfield, who offered free entry to budding bards on the anniversary of Shakespeare’s death. Doesn’t sound like much of a game against Guisborough Town so far.
Here’s more on Rayo Vallecano, the local, socially concious Madrid team currently sticking it to Real:
Half-time e-mails:
“Dear Adam Lallana, thank you oh so very much for choosing today to connect cleanly with a shot for the first time this season. Yours, Shaun Wilkinson (a Newcastle fan). P.S - I also sent this letter to Shinji Okazaki a month ago.”
“That goal by Tommy Elphick is a real boon for Bournemouth’s chances” honks Chris Hughes.
In League One, Burton have taken the lead over ten-man Colchester, while Millwall lead Bury 2-1 at half-time, and Wigan are 3-0 up on Southend. It’s goalless between Bradford and Walsall, and in the Fleetwood-Blackpool derby.
In League Two, teams from 2nd to 7th are all 1-0 up, except for Plymouth, who are, er, 3-0 down to Dagenham & Redbridge. And Sutton United are going up to the National League – they lead Chelmsford 2-0.
Leeds, a goal up going into injury time, go in at half-time 2-1 down – Abel Hernandez and Tom Huddlestone with the quickfire goals. Here are all the Championship half-times:
Blackburn 1-0 Bristol City
Cardiff 0-1 Bolton
Charlton 0-1 Brighton
Fulham 0-2 Nottingham Forest
Huddersfield 0-0 Birmingham
Hull 2-1 Leeds
MK Dons 1-1 Brentford
Middlesbrough 0-0 Ipswich
QPR 1-1 Reading
Wolves 0-0 Rotherham
Half time: Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Real Madrid
Embarba and Miku put Rayo 2-0 up early on, before Gareth Bale cut the deficit. Big second half to come for the visitors...
Brighton are searching for a second goal on a tense afternoon at Charlton. They could do with having Darren Bent in the side today...
GOAL! Aston Villa 1-2 Southampton (Westwood)
Ashley Westwood smashes home after a penalty box melee, and 12 Villa fans go wild.
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Gareth Bale is running the show for Real Madrid, firing a foot wide with a shot from the edge of the area. In Berlin, Arturo Vidal has put Bayern a goal up, but it won’t be enough: Dortmund lead Stuttgart 3-0, Henrikh Mkhitaryan with the goal.
Bolton are down to ten men, Niall Maher sent off for an elbow. Elsewhere in the Championship, it’s QPR 1-1 Reading in a game that doesn’t matter much, if I’m honest.
A game that definitely does matter in League Two, where Accrington lead York 1-0. Stanley could well be heading up in the next few weeks; York are surely going down today.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-2 Southampton (Tadic)
Shane Long gets into a foot race with Joleon Lescott, with predictable results, but sees his shot blocked by Brad Guzan. Dusan Tadic is first to the rebound.
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GOAL! Rayo Vallecano 2-1 Real Madrid (Bale)
Gareth Bale halves the deficit with his eighth goal against Rayo.
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GOAL! Bournemouth 1-2 Chelsea (Elphick)
Bournemouth straight back in it, as Tommy Elphick catches Begovic out with a looping header from a corner.
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GOAL! Bournemouth 0-2 Chelsea (Hazard)
Or not, as Eden Hazard shuffles forward and fires a low shot that slips under Boruc’s arm. That’s his first Premier League goal of the season.
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Lewis Grabban tests Begovic from a tight angle, then heads a foot wide of the far post. Bournemouth keeping Chelsea on their toes there...
GOAL! Liverpool 2-0 Newcastle (Lallana)
Adam Lallana finds the top corner with a curling shot, and this one looks over after half an hour. Bryan Graham has more.
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In League One, Doncaster are stayin’ alive, having taken a 1-0 lead at home to Coventry. Not sure what’s going on at Home Park, where relegated Dagenham & Redbridge now lead 2-0. Away goals ahoy in the Championship: it’s Hull 0-1 Leeds through Chris Wood, and Fulham 0-1 Forest thanks to Robert Tesche.
Here’s Simon McMahon with an update from north of the border:
Afternoon Niall. In the absence of any meaningful top flight action in Scotland today (Dundee United and Kilmarnock both play tomorrow, though United are as good as down being 8 points behind with only 5 games left), the bottom of League One is where it’s at.
The Blue Brazil, aka Cowdenbeath, host Stenhousemuir, one place below them, looking for the win that would virtually guarantee their safety. Brechin and Forfar are also in the mix, playing Stranraer and Albion Rovers respectively. Only five points separate the bottom four sides, with two games left. It’s going to be tense.
Half time in the Bundesliga, where Dortmund are keeping the title race alive for another week – they lead 2-0 at Stuttgart. Hannover are heading down, 2-0 down at ten-man Ingolstadt. Elsewhere, it’s Hertha 0-0 Bayern, Köln 2-1 Darmstadt and Wolfsburg 0-1 Augsburg.
Wigan have doubled their lead over Southend through Will Grigg, Plymouth are behind at home to relegated Dagenham & Redbridge, and in the Championship, Bristol City – the only team MK Dons can realistically catch – are behind at Blackburn.
Bad news for Colchester, as Joe Edwards is sent off for the U’s, while Shrewsbury take the lead at Gillingham. Josh King is giving Branislav Ivanovic the runaround at Bournemouth, earning a corner from which Steve Cook fires over.
GOAL! Aston Villa 0-1 Southampton (Long)
Shane Long opens the scoring with a free header from Ryan Bertrand’s cross, and the party vibes at Villa Park are only set to increase.
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GOAL! Rayo Vallecano 2-0 Real Madrid (Miku)
Yikes. The crowd goes wild as Miku pounces from a corner to put Real Madrid right in it. Zinedine Zidane has removed his jacket.
Brentford’s Sergi Canos has burst MK Dons’ bubble, equalising with a spectacular overhead kick. Wigan are set to swap places with the plucky Dons – Chris McCann has put them 1-0 up against Southend.
Atmosphere update from Villa Park, thanks to Jeremy Smith:
“Two minutes in at Villa Park and the chants of ‘you’re not fit to wear the shirt’ and ‘Micah Richards - what a wanker’ have started. I think the fans hate the players more than they love the club at the moment...”
GOAL! Charlton 0-1 Brighton (Baldock)
With the game late to start after beach balls were thrown onto the pitch by the home fans, Brighton don’t take long to take the lead – Sam Baldock with a simple header.
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MK Dons’ survival dream is alive, Nicky Maynard putting them ahead against Brentford. Cardiff’s playoff dream is faring less well – Bolton tyro Zach Clough has put the visitors ahead.
GOAL! Rayo Vallecano 1-0 Real Madrid (Embarba)
Well then. On their first foray forward, Rayo take the lead – Adri Embarba tucking away a low cross from the left.
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League Two’s player of the year, Kemar Roofe, has opened the scoring for Oxford against Hartlepool. Elsewhere in the fourth tier, Yeovil lead champions Northampton, and play-off chasers Cambridge are a goal up at Notts County.
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Chelsea (Pedro)
As the Bournemouth back four enjoy the sunshine, Fabregas slides a through ball into Pedro’s path. Cutting in from the right, he moves onto his left foot and lifts the ball over Boruc.
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An early chance for Southampton is spurned by Shane Long, while over at Rayo Vallecano’s curious stadium, Gareth Bale has just hit the post.
GOAL! Liverpool 1-0 Newcastle (Sturridge)
Oh, Rafa. Daniel Sturridge puts Liverpool ahead after one minute, taking the ball down neatly and striking it good and early to beat Karl Darlow. Bryan Graham has more.
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A few early results: in the Premier League, Manchester City put four past Stoke, who may as well have played in Bermuda shorts. In the Championship, it finished Derby 1-1 Sheffield Weds; those two could well end up meeting again in the play-offs. In League One, it finished Sheffield Utd 0-0 Barnsley in a Bramall Lane barn-burner.
League One fixtures
Bradford v Walsall
Bury v Millwall
Colchester v Burton
Doncaster v Coventry
Fleetwood v Blackpool
Gillingham v Shrewsbury
Oldham v Crewe
Peterborough v Scunthorpe
Port Vale v Rochdale
Swindon v Chesterfield
Wigan v Southend
If Wigan win at Southend and third-placed Walsall lose at fifth-placed Bradford, the Latis will be as good as promoted. Burton, still second but in middling form, go to Colchester, who need a win to avoid the drop today. At the bottom, wins for Fleetwood and Shrewsbury would send Colchester down regardless, and Doncaster too, if they fail to beat Coventry. If Blackpool beat their local rivals, they’ll leapfrog them to climb out of the bottom four.
League Two fixtures
Accrington v York
Bristol Rovers v Exeter
Crawley v Carlisle
Luton v Newport
Mansfield v Barnet
Morecambe v Stevenage
Notts County v Cambridge
Oxford United v Hartlepool
Plymouth v Dagenham & Redbridge
Portsmouth v Wycombe
Wimbledon v Leyton Orient
Yeovil v Northampton
Northampton are poolside, sipping Bucks Fizz from the League Two trophy, but behind them, Accrington, Oxford, Plymouth and Bristol Rovers are separated by just one point. All four are at home, as are Portsmouth and Wimbledon, who can pencil themselves into the playoff spots by beating challengers Wycombe and Leyton Orient respectively. York have to beat second-placed Accrington, and hope Newport lose to Luton, to have any chance of Football League survival.
No Cristiano Ronaldo for Real Madrid today – he’s out with a thigh injury. Gareth Bale starts, while James Rodriguez, Luka Modric and Sergio Ramos are all on the bench.
Championship team news
Here are the teams for today’s crunch matches at the top of the second tier. Burnley are top with 87 points, Middlesbrough on 86, Brighton on 84. It’s tight alright.
Middlesbrough v Ipswich
Middlesbrough: Konstantopoulos, Nsue, Ayala, Gibson, De Laet, Clayton, Leadbitter, Adomah, Ramirez, Downing, Rhodes.
Subs: De Sart, Husband, Stuani, Agazzi, Kalas, Forshaw, Nugent.
Ipswich: Bialkowski, Chambers, Digby, Smith, Knudsen, Bru, Skuse, Hyam, Feeney, McGoldrick, Sears.
Subs: Gerken, Pitman, Pringle, Douglas, Bishop, Dozzell, Foley.
Charlton v Brighton
Charlton: Pope, Motta, Fanni, Teixeira, Fox, Harriott, Diarra, Cousins, Lookman, Gudmundsson, Vetokele.
Subs: Yun, Jackson, Makienok, Christoffersen, Bergdich, Sanogo, Lennon, Mitov.
Brighton: Stockdale, Saltor, Dunk, Goldson, Rosenior, Knockaert, Stephens, Kayal, Skalak, Baldock, Hemed.
Subs: Maenpaa, Greer, Bong, Murphy, Wilson, LuaLua, Sidwell.
Here are all today’s 3pm kick-offs:
Blackburn v Bristol City
Cardiff v Bolton
Charlton v Brighton
Fulham v Nottingham Forest
Huddersfield v Birmingham
Hull v Leeds
MK Dons v Brentford
Middlesbrough v Ipswich
QPR v Reading
Wolves v Rotherham
Footnote: MK Dons must beat Brentford, and need results in Blackburn, Fulham and Wolverhampton to go their way. Got it? No, me neither.
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Bundesliga fixtures
Five games are kicking off at 2.30pm – and by 4 o’clock, Bayern could be the first German club to win four straight titles. They need to beat fourth-placed Hertha, and hope Stuttgart beat Dortmund, finally putting an end to their frenzied pursuit of the league leaders. Stuttgart are in trouble, but not as deep as Hannover, who need a win to prolong their 13-year Bundesliga stay by another week.
Koln v Darmstadt
Ingolstadt v Hannover
Hertha v Bayern Munich
Stuttgart v Dortmund
Wolfsburg v Augsburg
Premier League team news
Bournemouth v Chelsea
Bournemouth: Boruc, Francis, Elphick, Cook, Daniels, Pugh, Surman, Gosling, Stanislas, Grabban, King.
Subs: Wilson, MacDonald, Afobe, Federici, Wiggins, Ritchie, O’Kane.
Chelsea: Begovic, Azpilicueta, Mikel, Ivanovic, Baba, Matic, Fabregas, Pedro, Willian, Hazard, Costa.
Subs: Falcao, Pato, Traore, Kenedy, Miazga, Amelia, Loftus-Cheek.
Aston Villa v Southampton
Aston Villa: Guzan, Hutton, Richards, Lescott, Cissokho,
Sanchez, Westwood, Gana, Bacuna, Ayew, Sinclair.
Subs: Veretout, Gil, Bunn, Lyden, Gestede, Grealish, Toner.
Southampton: Forster, Cedric, van Dijk, Fonte, Bertrand, Romeu, Wanyama, Tadic, Steven Davis, Rodriguez, Long.
Subs: Yoshida, Clasie, Mane, Martina, Ward-Prowse, Pelle, Stekelenburg.
Liverpool v Newcastle
Liverpool: Mignolet, Randall, Lovren, Toure, Moreno, Stewart, Allen, Milner, Firmino, Lallana, Sturridge.
Subs: Coutinho, Lucas, Ibe, Skrtel, Smith, Ward, Ojo.
Newcastle: Darlow, Anita, Lascelles, Mbemba, Dummett, Tiote, Colback, Townsend, Sissoko, Perez, Cisse.
Subs: Wijnaldum, De Jong, Shelvey, Aarons, Woodman, Mbabu, Mitrovic.
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Preamble
Hello. If it’s romantic nourishment you’re after, today’s top-flight 3pm games might not deliver. Bournemouth v Chelsea ought to be a fixture to fire the imagination, but improbably enough, both teams are tucked up in mid-table. At Villa Park, the world’s longest car crash continues against Southampton – with Aston Villa players excusing themselves from duty on an almost daily basis, Brian Little, Dalian Atkinson and Hercules the Lion could be in line for a start today.
Today’s other 3pm kick-off, Liverpool v Newcastle, is at least a fixture with plenty to play for. Jürgen Klopp is likely to shuffle his pack, Mamadou Sakho is sidelined after a failed drugs test and Rafa Benítez is getting Newcastle playing something close to football. It could be one to keep an eye on – remember what happened the last time Rafa went back to Anfield. Bryan Armen Graham is serving up live coverage.
True romance today can be found in the Football League, where Brighton, Burnley and Boro, three teams that have all had their brush with the abyss, fighting for two places in the promised land. Brighton go to relegated Charlton and Middlesbrough host Ipswich, looking to keep the heat on Burnley, who won last night. At the other end of the table, it’s win or bust (or possibly win and bust) for MK Dons against Brentford.
In League One, Wigan could be all but up with a win over Southend, Walsall visit Bradford and Colchester have to beat second-placed Burton to keep their survival hopes alive. Doncaster could also go down, with much riding on the Fylde Coast derby as Fleetwood host Blackpool. League Two’s big promotion battle resumes, with Accrington, Oxford, Plymouth and Bristol Rovers all at home. York need to shock Stanley to postpone an inevitable fall through the trapdoor.
Europe is very much on the agenda, with Real Madrid looking to top La Liga by seeing off city rivals Rayo, ahead of Atlético and Barcelona’s games later. The title race is less fierce in Germany; Bayern could win a fourth straight Bundesliga today, if they beat Hertha and Dortmund fall to Stuttgart.
Finally, amid all the ifs, buts and maybes, there will surely be champagne at Gander Green Lane. Sutton United need a point at home to Chelmsford to seal the National League South and party like it’s 1989.
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