Leeds United v Norwich City: Championship – live!

There’ll be more goals in this, I’ll be bound. Don’t go anywhere!

45 min: Roofe is fouled by Trybull, out on the right wing. Alioski scoops the free kick into the mixer. Krul flaps, and the ball drops to Ayling, who dinks it back over the keeper and into the net! But it won’t count, because Jansson was in the thick of it, shoving Vrancic to the floor.

43 min: Roberts ghosts in from the left and is then shoved lightly in the back by Trybull. He wants a penalty, but he’s not getting it. It would have been soft, but Trybull made contact there, and will feel fortunate to have gotten away with that one.

42 min: Pukki is brought to ground by Cooper as he dances his way down the inside-right channel. Leeds are all over the shop here. This is a free kick in a dangerous position. Vrancic tries to repeat his early heroics, but in looking for the top right again, sends the set piece sailing wide.

40 min: The corner leads to nothing. But Norwich regain possession soon enough, Stiepermann flicking Lewis into acres down the left. Lewis flashes the ball hard across the face of goal; it deflects back to Buendia, who leans back and welts over, Leeds breathing again.

38 min: But that second goal has taken the wind out of the Leeds sails. It was met with almost disbelieving silence. Onel Hernandez shoots from the edge of the Leeds D, and the ball balloons out for a corner on the right.

36 min: Straight from kick-off, Roofe embarks on a mesmeric dribble down the inside-left channel, making it into the area. But another goal for the ages is denied us, his eventual shot blocked. This is some game!

Well this is farcical. Buendia nicks the ball off a dithering Forshaw. He sets up Vrancic, who shoots low and hard towards the bottom right. But the ball takes a big deflection off Jansson; the sting off the ball, it pings wide right of the stranded Casilla, gifting Pukki the simple task of rolling into the empty net! Leeds had been applying almost relentless pressure in search of an equaliser, and now look!

33 min: Buendia embarks on a Bestian left-to-right dribble across the face of the Leeds box. It’s a hell of a run, but the Leeds back line, sliding around in the slapstick style, does just enough to deny the Norwich trickster space for a shot. For a second, we were promised a goal for the ages.

32 min: Leeds continue to press Norwich back, to little effect. A little frustration made vocal by the home fans.

30 min: Space for Klich out on the right. He wedges diagonally into the Norwich box, dropping the ball on Roofe’s head. Roofe tries to guide a header into the top right from just inside the area; it’s ambitious and wide right.

28 min: The resulting free kick doesn’t come to much. Forshaw sends a shot flying harmlessly off target.

26 min: Fernandez knocks a bouncing ball down the inside-left channel. Roberts looks to be in, but Krul races out of his area to get in the road. Roberts loops the ball over him but sends it wide left of the target. However he’s then clattered by Krul. It’s not exactly Schumacher-Battiston at Espana 82, but it’s a yellow card nonetheless. And a free kick in a dangerous position.

25 min: Jansson’s arm catches Stiepermann under his hipster chin. The Norwich man goes down, looking for a free kick and perhaps the issue of a yellow card, but he’s not getting it. Then it’s Jansson’s turn to have a claim turned down, as he goes to ground easily while challenging for a high ball in the Norwich area with Zimmermann. No penalty.

23 min: Norwich can’t get out of their half. Pukki is on his own and unable to hold the ball up, constantly swarmed by white shirts. Bielsa’s team are playing at trademark full pelt.

21 min: Harrison drives down the right and very nearly makes it into the area, but he can’t quite make himself space to shoot. Norwich clear, though the pressure on them is ramping up: exactly half of the match so far has been played in their final third.

19 min: Corner for Leeds out on the right. Alioski takes. Jansson flicks the ball on towards Roofe, but the striker can’t connect with a lunge at the far post. Goal kick. But here’s a wild prediction: this match won’t end 0-1.

17 min: This is simply wonderful high-octane nonsense. Stiepermann dribbles down the inside-left and looks to have been upended by Roberts to the left of the D. But his fall is theatrical and he diddles himself out of the free kick. Up the other end, Forshaw and Pablo Hernandez take turns to batter long-distance shots off target.

15 min: Space for Alioski out on the left. He hooks into the middle, and Hernandez slices a dreadful clearance straight at Forshaw. Zimmermann is forced to nip in and blooter out for a corner. But Hernandez makes up for his mistake with some determined pressing as Leeds play the set piece towards Klich, and the pressure puts an end to the Leeds attack.

13 min: This was nearly a sensational goal! Harrison reaches the byline out on the right wing. He hoicks a cross back into the area. Alioski, coming in deep from the left, meets the dropping ball first time, and flashes an unstoppable low drive towards the bottom right. But it’s inches wide of the post. Krul was nowhere.

12 min: So anyway, the corner. Nothing to write home about, Hernandez sending one high into the stand.

10 min: A corner for Norwich out on the right. Stiepermann prepares to take. Before he does, Pukki ends up on the floor, Alioski pushing him in the face. Pukki had shoved him first, mind, and doesn’t make a big deal of it when he gets up. Still, had the referee seen that, the Leeds defender would surely have been walking. Lucky that Pukki clearly just saw it as a bit of rough and tumble, the pair embracing before the referee arrived on the scene.

8 min: Roberts responds with a shimmy and shake down the inside-right channel, but his eventual shot doesn’t have much power in it, and Krul swallows it up.

7 min: Buendia dribbles in from the right and sets up Hernandez for a shot from the edge of the box. But Hernandez hesitates, and the chance is quickly gone. Leeds seem a bit shocked at the early goal; they’ll need to wake up smartish because they were almost opened up there.

Buendia pretends to shoot. But Vrancic takes it instead. And curls it delightfully over the wall, into the top right! Casilla had no chance! The ball brushed Forshaw’s back as it went past the wall, in fact, but it didn’t really change the path of the free kick, which was beautifully delivered.

4 min: Hernandez launches Norwich’s first attack, dribbling directly towards the Leeds area. He panics Jansson into a clumsy clip, and that’s a free kick in a central position, just outside the box.

3 min: Roberts picks up a loose ball in the middle of the park and drives forward. He slips a pass wide right for Harrison, who shifts it back inside and shoots low and hard. Krul gathers. Leeds have flown out of the blocks.

2 min: Alioski takes a finger in the eye from Buendia. Accidental, but a free kick out on the left and a chance to load the Norwich box. Cooper launches it forward, Ayling cushions it down for Klich, and the Leeds midfielder sends a wild shot into the stand behind. That’s warmed the crowd up even further, though.

Here we go, then! Norwich get the ball rolling … after a false start, Roofe sprinting into their half before the whistle. A second kick-off gets the game underway.

The teams are out! Leeds United play in the famous snow-white shirts favoured by the Don, while Norwich are in their first-choice canary yellow. A rare old atmosphere at Elland Road. We’ll be off in a minute. Incidentally, it’s worth pointing out that, after the completion of this afternoon’s 3pm kick-offs, Norwich have dropped to third. They’re now behind Sheffield United, who beat Bolton Wanderers 2-0 today, on goal difference. So a draw will take Norwich back into second; a two-goal win would send them top.

Daniel Farke talks! “It is a spotlight game with lots of attention. But just three points. OK, if we win this game we will be top but it’s not like we’ll have won the title. And if we lose it’s not as though we need to be concerned about relegation. We don’t have to put too much on this game. We face a difficult task and have full respect, but we will be competitive as well.”

Then it’s the turn of Marcelo Bielsa, who cuts straight to the chase. “In the first game we played, we were very efficient but Norwich were not that efficient.”

Pre-match entertainment. A treat for us all, but especially for Onel Hernandez.

Leeds make two changes to the team that won 2-1 at Rotherham United last week. Pontus Jansson and Tyler Roberts take the places of Kalvin Phillips and Jack Clarke. Barry Douglas and Patrick Bamford return from injury and take up places on the bench. Norwich meanwhile name the same XI sent out for the 2-2 draw with Sheffield United.

Leeds United: Casilla, Ayling, Jansson, Cooper, Alioski, Forshaw, Hernandez, Roberts, Klich, Harrison, Roofe.
Subs: Peacock-Farrell, Douglas, Bamford, Phillips, Shackleton, Clarke, Gotts.

Norwich City: Krul, Aarons, Zimmermann, Godfrey, Lewis, Vrancic, Trybull, Emi, Stiepermann, Hernandez, Pukki.
Subs: Rhodes, McLean, Tettey, Hanley, Srbeny, McGovern, Cantwell.

Referee: Stuart Attwell (Warwickshire).

First versus second. Yes, yes, these top-of-the-table clashes sometimes fail to live up to expectations. But this one has all the makings of a doozy.

We already know the team Marcelo Bielsa is going to send out. He named it three days ago, as is often his wont. Casilla, Ayling, Jansson, Cooper, Alioski, Forshaw, Harrison, Klich, Roberts, Hernandez, Roofe. Signs of a man confident in his charges. And no wonder: Leeds are three points clear at the top of the Championship table and looking good for a return to the top flight for the first time since 2004, despite a recent blip in which they’ve lost three from five.

But second-placed Norwich are going great guns as well. They’ve won ten and drawn six of their last 17 league matches, and are unquestionably the entertainers of the division. This season they’ve been involved in a 3-3, a 3-2, a 4-1, a 4-0 and no less than four 4-3s. And in their last match, they drew 2-2 with Sheffield United in another top-of-the-table fixture. More, please!

Leeds will be confident enough, having beaten Norwich 3-0 at Carrow Road earlier this season. The Canaries have won just one of their last nine games at Elland Road. Their man Pablo Hernandez is the division leader in assists. But Norwich will take heart from their recent form on the road: they’re unbeaten in a dozen matches away from their Norfolk nest. And Teemu Pukki is in a rich vein of form, having scored 12 times in the last 14 matches, and setting up another four goals for good measure.

Here’s to some prime-time Saturday night light entertainment, then. Who needs Pointless Celebrities or Dermot’s Small Fortune? Not us. Because it’s on! Kick off’s at 5.30pm GMT.