Saturday Soccer Clockwatch: Liverpool versus Brighton, The Blues vs The Toffees and Further Action
Current Fixture Updates
Good afternoon here in London, a place where the sun is actually beaming, although by the time we're at the interval, darkness will be descending. Talking of which, can there be a positive farewell for Mohamed Salah? And, that does not have to be one permanently, of course. The player, like many others will be traveling to the Africa Cup of Nations, regardless of what happens. We are waiting for the starting lineups from Liverpool's game with the south coast side.
Listed below are today's 3pm British time fixtures.
- Chelsea v Everton
- Liverpool v Brighton
There is also a complete schedule of English Football League action, too.
Confirmed Team Elevens
Stamford Bridge v The Merseyside Blues
Chelsea Starting XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, James, Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Palmer, Garnacho, Joao Pedro.
Chelsea Substitutes: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Hato, Acheampong, Guiu, Estevao.
Everton Starting XI: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Garner, Gueye, Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Barry.
Everton Bench: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Beto, Dibling, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam, Campbell.
Game Referee: Thomas Bramall.
Anfield versus Brighton
Liverpool Starting XI: Alisson, Gomez, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Ekitike.
Liverpool Bench: Mamardashvili, Isak, Salah, Chiesa, Robertson, Ramsay, Ngumoha, Lucky.
Brighton Lineup: Verbruggen, Wieffer, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Gruda, Gomez, Rutter.
Brighton Substitutes: Steele, Welbeck, Kostoulas, Milner, Boscagli, Mitoma, Ayari, De Cuyper, Veltman.
Match Official: Craig Pawson.
The Egyptian forward starting from the bench for the Reds. So is Alexander Isak. Further selection details to follow but it appears like Florian Wirtz supporting Ekitike in the forward line.
Afternoon EFL Roundup
Big result in League Two, where it's a local derby of Bristol Rovers v Swindon; relatively local. Swindon are leading 3-0.
In the second tier, three afternoon starts at the break:
- Norwich 0-0 Southampton
- Oxford 0-1 Preston
- Stoke 1-0 Swansea
League One Updates:
- Huddersfield 1-0 Wigan
- Wimbledon 0-0 Mansfield
League Two Scores:
- Bristol Rovers 0-3 Swindon
- Salford 1-1 Colchester
Later Goals have done in, and it's now Huddersfield 1-1 Wigan, Oxford 1-2 Preston, Salford 1-2 Colchester, Norwich 1-1 Southampton. At Norwich, whose equaliser came from Jovon Makama, Southampton missed a first-half penalty and have now equalised through Ryan Manning.
Norwich are back in front, the decisive strike coming from Jovon Makama, his second.
Other Football Updates
News from La Liga, where Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Kylian Mbappe is available to play on Sunday against Alaves. Mbappe missed the European defeat by Manchester City. Alonso confirmed, "We've got Kylian back, he's ready to play, and tomorrow we'll see and decide on his involvement." Real Madrid are without several sidelined players including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga.
Regarding the local derby, one fan reported: "Hi. Bristol Rovers 0 Swindon 3 doesn't tell the half of it. Ten League defeats in a row incoming, which is one club record. Five home losses in a row is another club record... It's not much fun being a Gashead these days." For Swindon, Aaron Drinan has followed Rovers' Kacper Lopata in being shown a red card.
Complete 3pm Fixture List
EFL Second Division 3pm kick-offs
- Birmingham v. Charlton
- Coventry v. Bristol City
- Leicester v. Ipswich
- Middlesbrough v. QPR
- Millwall v. Hull
- Portsmouth v. Blackburn
- Wrexham v. Watford
Third Division 15:00 kick-offs
- Barnsley v. Leyton Orient
- Blackpool v. Lincoln City
- Bolton v. Exeter
- Bradford v. Reading
- Burton Albion v. Wycombe
- Cardiff v. Doncaster
- Luton v. Port Vale
- Peterborough v. Northampton
- Plymouth v. Rotherham
- Stockport County v. Stevenage
Fourth Division 3pm fixtures
- Accrington Stanley v. Bromley
- Cheltenham v. Harrogate Town
- Chesterfield v. Barnet
- Crawley Town v. Oldham
- Gillingham v. Barrow
- Grimsby v. Notts County
- Milton Keynes Dons v. Cambridge Utd
- Newport County v. Fleetwood Town
- Tranmere v. Crewe
- Walsall v. Shrewsbury
Only two matches in the Scottish Premiership, too.
- Dundee Utd v. Motherwell
- Livingston v. Dundee
