Chilwell’s half-volley is diverted beyond Asmir Begovic by Wes Morgan. That is the first time the Leicester skipper has scored in successive games. Meanwhile, a couple of big goals in the second tier: Tammy Abraham weighs in with his 22nd this season, as Aston Villa take the lead at home to Blackburn, while Millwall are 1-0 up Leeds! Ben Thompson has silenced Elland Road.
Sheffield United lead Bristol City in the Championship! And, who else but Billy Sharp. The Blades skipper heads home his 24th goal of the season, meeting John Fleck’s free-kick inside six minutes.
Chris Wood strikes early at Turf Moor, which is bad news for Southampton, Cardiff and co. Dwight McNeil plays a free-kick in to Wood, the striker rounds Rui Patricio and his effort comes back off the post and goes in via Conord Coady. Elsewhere, Notts County, who are bottom of the Football League, lead at Stevenage with Jim O’Brien scoring inside 30 seconds.
And we’re off around the grounds.
Huddersfield’s inevitable relegation could be confirmed today, but Fulham will almost certainly follow them through the trap door:
From Podgorica to Bournemouth to … Villa Park! Gareth Southgate is in attendance for Aston Villa’s clash with Blackburn Rovers. Is the England manager on Jack Grealish-watch, or just taking in a game at his former club? Dean Smith has named an unchanged side as they look to cement a play-off berth and earn a fifth straight win.
There is almost a full house of Championship action. Last night, West Brom got the better of rivals Birmingham in what was, as some supporters put it, “a brilliant rubbish game”:
A gentle reminder that Huddersfield Town can be relegated this afternoon, should results not go their way. “I’m not thinking about it,” said their head coach, Jan Siewert. “I have a game and I will try to win the game. I only focus on this game. I don’t care what happens on other pitches.” Defeat at Crystal Palace, the team they beat on their Premier League debut two years ago, could spell the end of the road. If they lose at Selhurst Park and both Burnley and Southampton pick up victories, Huddersfield’s relegation to the Championship will be confirmed. If that happens, Huddersfield will match Derby’s unwanted Premier League record of being relegated in March. Siewert has tickled his team selection, with Ben Hamer, Christopher Schindler and Jonathan Hogg all handed starts.
Team news news: Four changes for Solskjær’s first game as the full-time manager, with Anthony Martial replacing Romelu Lukaku and Ander Herrera and Juan Mata preferred to Diego Dalot and Fred. Phil Jones returns at centre-half in place of Victor Lindelöf. Elsewhere, Danny Ings makes his first Southampton start since 2 February, while Wolves give Raúl Jiménez, who is set to sign on a £30m permanent deal from Benfica, and Matt Doherty breather, presumably with next week in mind; they host Manchester United at Molineux on Tuesday and take on Watford in a FA Cup semi-final five days later. At Leicester, Asmir Begovic is restored to the Bournemouth starting lineup, with Artur Boruc benched.
Brighton v Southampton
Brighton: Ryan; Montoya, Duffy, Dunk, Bernardo; Pröpper, Stephens, Bissouma; Knockaert, Murray, Jahanbakhsh
Subs: Bong, Kayal, Locadia, Izquierdo, March, Button, Burn
Southampton: Gunn; Valery, Bednarek, Yoshida, Bertrand; Ward-Prowse, Romeu, Højbjerg; Armstrong, Redmond; Ings
Subs: McCarthy, Stephens, Austin, Elyounoussi, Gallagher, Targett, Sims
Referee: Michael Oliver
Burnley v Wolves
Burnley: Heaton, Bardsley, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Hendrick, Westwood, Cork, McNeil, Barnes, Wood
Subs: Lowton, Gudmundsson, Brady, Gibson, Hart, Ward, Vydra
Wolves: Rui Patricio, Saiss, Coady, Boly, Traore, Dendoncker, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny, Cavaleiro, Jota
Subs: Doherty, Jimenez, Helder Costa, Gibbs-White, Ruddy, Vinagre, Kilman
Referee: Chris Kavanagh
Crystal Palace v Huddersfield
Crystal Palace: Guaita; Wan-Bissaka, Tomkins, Dann, Van Aanholt; Meyer, Milivojevic, Schlupp; Townsend, Batshuayi, Zaha
Subs: Ward, Kouyate, Hennessey, Ayew, Benteke, McArthur, Kelly
Huddersfield: Hamer; Smith, Schindler, Kongolo, Durm; Bacuna, Hogg, Mooy; Pritchard, Löwe; Grant
Subs: Kachunga, Coleman, Williams, Stankovic, Hadergjonaj, Daly, Rowe
Referee: Lee Probert
Leicester v Bournemouth
Leicester: Schmeichel, Chilwell, Morgan, Evans, Pereira, Ndidi, Tielemans, Maddison, Barnes, Gray, Vardy
Subs: Soyuncu, Iheanacho, Ward, Okazaki, Mendy, Fuchs, Ghezzal
Bournemouth: Begovic, Clyne, Mepham, Ake, Daniels, Brooks, Lerma, Gosling, Fraser, Wilson, King
Subs: Ibe, Rico, Solanke, Simpson, Boruc, Mousset, Stanislas
Referee: Lee Mason
Manchester United v Watford
Manchester United: De Gea; Young, Jones, Smalling, Shaw; Herrera, Matic, Pogba; Mata, Rashford, Martial
Subs: Romero, Dalot, Rojo, Pereira, Fred, Lingard, Lukaku
Watford: Foster; Janmaat, Kabasele, Britos, Masina; Hughes, Doucouré, Capoue, Pereyra; Deeney, Deulofeu
Subs: Gomes, Cathcart, Femenia, Holebas, Quina, Success, Gray
Referee: Stuart Attwell
Away from the title race, there is a top-four battle to get excited about and, now Ole Gunnar Solskjær has scribbled his name all over a permanent contract at Manchester United, he is even more determined to get the job done. Looking to spoil the party at Old Trafford this afternoon are Watford, who could return seventh depending on how Wolves fare at struggling Burnley. United, meanwhile, want to get back on track after consecutive defeats. “We can’t say that we’re happy with just top four, although a top-four finish would be fantastic, but to get to the final in the FA Cup and win a trophy would be brilliant,” Solskjær said. In Sussex, Southampton take on Brighton looking to create some breathing space between them and the bottom three, while victory for Chris Hughton’s side will make them feel a lot better about themselves.
Beyond the Premier League action, there are plenty of biggies in the Championship, none more so than at Bramall Lane, where Sheffield United entertain Bristol City. Play-off chasing Aston Villa take on Blackburn, while Preston visit lowly Reading. And then, on the continent, there is the small matter of the Catalan derby between Barcelona and Espanyol. Then there is the Bundesliga, in which Dortmund host Wolfsburg and Bayern Munich – who lead the division over the former on goal difference – travel to Freiburg.
Saturday’s Premier League fixtures
Fulham v Manchester City 12.30pm (GMT)
Brighton v Southampton
Burnley v Wolves
Crystal Palace v Huddersfield
Leicester v Bournemouth
Manchester United v Watford
West Ham v Everton 5.30pm
*all 3pm kick-offs unless specified