Key events
Premier League: Arsenal are playing like they have the weight of the world on their shoulders. Their opponents are more fluid and pressing them back into their own half.
At Coventry, the Championship leaders nearly fashion a messy opening from a corner but the Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper falls on the ball.
League Two: MK Dons have made it 2-0 against leaders Bromley with a Ben Wiles goal. The south Londoners may have to wait another match or two to confirm their promotion.
GOAL! Arsenal 0-1 Bournemouth (Croup Jr 17)
The leaders are behind at the Emirates. Arsenal’s defence was caught asleep and failed to play Truffert offside as he surged down the left, his cross pinged off Saliba’s boot and sat up perfectly for Eli Junior Kroupi to put away at the back post.
Championship: Ipswich go ahead at Norwichthanks to a Jaden Philogene penalty, sending the goalie the wrong way.
Pretty stonewall, as Ben Slimane nearly inadvertently takes off Taylor’s head with a wild swing at the ball, going for a clearance from a free kick.
The table as things stand:
Championship: Dear me, bottom-of-the-table Sheffield Wednesday (one league win all season) nearly take a shock lead at Coventry through an absolute howler.
Goalkeeper Carl Rushworth slipped as he kicked the ball and got the ball caught under his feet. Jerry Yates nearly picked his pocket for the most straightforward goal, but somehow Rushworth recovered and got away with it.
League Two: Second-placed MK Dons are a goal up inside 34 seconds. Nathaniel Mendez-Laing charges through and slips the ball low into the net. No time wasted, just what Paul Warne would have wanted.
Their opponents, league leaders Bromley have a slim chance of securing promotion if results go their ways, but they are already on the back foot here.
Lunchtime games kick off
The whistle blows for the lunchtime games. Plenty of important matches, we’ll keep the focus on Arsenal, Coventry, the East Anglian and Devon derbies and the League Two table-top clash.
Whether at the match or watching on the telly, feel free to send me your thoughts, hopes or fears here.
How De Zerbi is aiming to keep Spurs up
After West Ham’s thumping of Wolves last night, the heat has been turned up even higher on Spurs, in the relegation zone for the first time since August 2015. How will they stay in the Premier League, then? The new manager has a cunning plan.
“I want to keep the ball,” De Zerbi said. “I want to see again the Tottenham I watched with Postecoglou because, in my second season in Brighton, there was Postecoglou here with a lot of these players and it was one of the best teams in terms of quality of play. With Pedro Porro, with [Destiny] Udogie, with [Micky] van de Ven, with [Cristian] Romero, and I would like to see it again.”
Some Spurs fans may have their heads in their hands reading that, but they and you can read more about his masterplan here:
Expat Coventry fan Dan from Perth (Australia, not Scotland) writes in: “Have just been reflecting on the 2016/17 Checkatrade final when, all alone at a casino’s sports bar, with a moon-bound spaceship’s range of screens showing all manner of local footy varietals to no one in particular, I still had to beg the bemused manager (who knew not of this competition or my team) to allocate the tiniest box in the corner so I could experience Wembley and the first real bright spot in my Cov supporting adult life (being 19 when we were relegated to the championship and then on down that slippery slide).
“Fast forward and I’ll be in front of another small screen in my study streaming the match with a significant plus one – my eight-year-old who, while not actually yet a fan (and who may, in fact, not be paying attention at all while making loom bracelets) has been here for the entire journey back.
“Can’t believe we’re finally maybe going back up; fingers crossed today is the day.”
Today’s key fixtures
My pick of the matches this fine Saturday afternoon (3pm BST unless stated). Plenty of lunchtime action and some matches pitting promotion and relegation rivals against one another in League Two:
Premier League
Championship
Coventry City (1st) v Sheffield Wednesday (24th) – 12.30pm
Norwich City (9th) v Ipswich Town (3rd) – 12.30pm
Middlesbrough (4th) v Portsmouth (21st)
Southampton (6th) v Derby (8th)
League One
Plymouth Argyle (7th) v Exeter City (21st) – 12.30pm
Cardiff City (2nd) v Bolton Wanderers (4th) – 12.30pm
Bradford City (3rd) v Stevenage (6th)
League Two
MK Dons (2nd) v Bromley (1st) – 12.30pm
Cambridge United (3rd) v Notts County (4th)
Newport County (22nd) v Harrogate Town (24th)
Scottish Premiership
Arsenal v Bournemouth team news
Seven games left for Arsenalwho are nine points up on Manchester City with a game in hand.
Piece of cake, right? Ha ha ha. More like seven chances to slip up, especially if their recent domestic form is anything to go by. After Carabao Cup final defeat and a surprise loss to Southampton in the FA Cup, Mikel Arteta will be keen to canter away to their first title in 22 years with minimal fuss and put the lid on talk of bottling it.
Three changes from the XI which beat Sporting, with Lewis-Skelly, Havertz and Martinelli coming in. Barry Glendenning has all the latest updates for us here.
Taking three points against Bournemouth will be no easy feat. They are unbeaten in 11 matches and only the top three Premier League sides have lost fewer matches than Andoni Iraola’s team. However, hampered by being draw specialists – fifteen in the Prem this year! – they are only 13th in the table.
Arsenal XI: Raya, White, Saliba, Gabriel, Lewis-Skelly, Zubimendi, Rice, Havertz, Madueke, Gyokeres, Martinelli
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Mosquera, Hincapie, Jesus, Eze, Norgaard, Trossard, Dowman, Salmon
Bournemouth XI: Petrovic, Jimenez, Hill, Truffert, Senesi, Scott, Christie, Rayan, Tavernier, Kroupi Jr, Evanilson
Subs: Mandas, Adams, Brooks, Gannon-Doak, Smith, Diakite, Adli, Unal, Toth
Preamble
To paraphrase the Titanic old ladyit feels like it’s been 84 years but after a 19-day intermission, the Premier League was back with a bang last night.
We’ll have all the reaction to West Ham’s 4-0 win over Wolves, lifting themselves out of the relegation zone and putting Tottenham Hotspur into the bottom three. Your move, Roberto De Zerbi.
At the other end of the table, Arsenal are at home to Bournemouth in today’s first kick-off (12.30pm BST), while Liverpool host Fulham this evening, last season’s winners seeking to get over their Champions League stinker and qualify for the continent’s premier club competition again.
In the Championship, leaders Coventry City could effectively ensure promotion today if they beat abject Sheffield Wednesdayin a lunchtime kick-off, and rivals Middlesbrough drop points at home to Portsmouth. After 25 years away from the top division, it is surely only a matter of time for Frank Lampard’s side, given their vastly superior goal difference.
The other choice fixture is the East Anglian derby, as Norwich City could dent Ipswich’s promotion push. Spicy.
In League One, second-placed Cardiff City could take a big step towards promotion if they can see off Bolton Wanderers. And in League Two, first plays second, with Bromley v MK Dons. The south Londoners (just about, even if it feels like Kent) could secure promotion today, and just need a win.
At the top of the Scottish Premiership, it’s all to play for. Hearts face Motherwell and if they lose, Celtic would be on the same number of points if they beat St Mirren.
As ever, please do get in touch with comments, tangents and matchday musings.
