Liverpool v Leicester, Burnley v Everton and more: clockwatch – live!

It’s a double for the Villa striker! They are all over Norwich City like a rash, or a cheap suit, or something.

In the Scottish Premiership, Ross County lead St. Johnstone 1-0, the goal coming from Joseph Chalmers after 10 minutes. The other three Scottish top-flight games are currently goalless.

Goal! Swansea 1-1 Stoke (Sam Clucas 22). Stoke back level! Clucas pounces after a Joe Allen shot is saved by Freddie Woodman, and it’s all square at the Liberty Stadium.

Goal! Plymouth 1-1 Scunthorpe (Will Ainson 20). The goals are quite literally flying in around the leagues. And there’s the latest one from League Two.

Goal! Millwall 1-0 Leeds (Jed Wallace pen 16). Gaetano Berardi gets a straight red, and 10-man Leeds immediately find themselves a goal down in south London.

A slightly scuffed finish on the turn by the Villa striker, right footed, after he controls El Ghazi’s cross from the right. Goalkeeper Michael McGovern rushed off his line but was helpless to stop the shot. It was a nice move by Villa and they open their account at Carrow Road!

Goal! Derby 1-0 Luton (Matthew Pearson OG 11) This is a real howler for the Hatters, goalie Simon Sluga missing a back pass from the right entirely. It goes down as a Pearson OG, but it’s entirely the fault of the goalkeeper.

Andre Gray has just missed an early sitter for Watford against Sheffield United, and at Anfield, Liverpool are having very much the best of it against Leicester City. All the 3pms in the Premier League still goalless.

Goal! AFC Wimbledon 1-0 Rochdale (Marcus Forss 2) In League One, AFC Wimbledon take the lead against Rochdale, while League Two leaders Exeter have gone in front at Crewe, Dean Moxey getting the goal.

Goal! Swansea 1-0 Stoke (Andre Ayew 1). Appalling start to the day for Stoke City – Ayew follows up like all good strikers do, and scores on the rebound for the Swans, after an initial shot by Yan Dhanda.

The four 3pm kick-offs in the Premier League are getting under way as I type.

Meanwhile, here is Barney Ronay’s report from Brighton’s 3-0 home win against Spurs:

Liverpool boss Jürgen Klopp talks: “If you want to be in top spot in this league, you have to deliver week-in, week-out, or in fact, every three days. That’s our job.”

“I don’t see Lovren catching Vardy,” says Paul Merson on Sky Sports, assessing Liverpool’s chances of containing a very potent Leicester City attack, with creative lynchpin James Maddison back in the Foxes side. “That’s an easy out-ball for them [Leicester] down that channel.”

Women’s international friendly: Bethany England came off the bench to score and keep things interesting for the final 10 minutes at the Riverside Stadium, but Brazil prevailed in the end.

Premier League: Things go from bad to worse for Tottenham, as they have their collective backside handed to them by a Brighton team who could have won by more.

Aaron Connolly stole the headlines, the teenager from Galway scoring two goals in his first Premier League start. Tottenham were as inept as Brighton were outstanding – they are a shambles, lurching from one bad result to the next. They have also lost their goalkeeper and captain, Hugo Lloris, to what looks like a very serious arm injury.

Back at the Amex Stadium: Brighton have been quite outstanding in all departments and lead Tottenham Hotspur 3-0 as the game moves into added time. Without wanting to take anything away from Graham Potter and his men, Tottenham have stunk the place out. AS if it were not already painfully obvious to Spurs fans, theirs is not a happy camp.

Meanwhile in Middlesbrough

England’s Lionesses are entertaining Brazil in a friendly before a packed house at Middlesbrough’s Riverside Stadium, where things are not going very well for Phil Neville’s side. They’re 2-0 down with about 20 minutes to go. Follow the action with Will Unwin …

Norwich: McGovern, Aarons, Amadou, Godfrey, Lewis, Leitner, McLean, Emi, Stiepermann, Cantwell, Pukki.

Subs: Byram, Roberts, Drmic, Srbeny, Idah, Famewo, Mair.

Aston Villa: Heaton, Guilbert, Engels, Mings, Targett, McGinn, Nakamba, Hourihane, El Ghazi, Wesley, Grealish.

Subs: Taylor, Douglas Luiz, Steer, Konsa, Trezeguet, Jota, Davis.

Referee: Andrew Madley (West Yorkshire)

Watford: Foster, Kabasele, Prodl, Cathcart, Janmaat, Doucoure, Cleverley, Holebas, Pereyra, Welbeck, Gray.

Subs: Gomes, Dawson, Deulofeu, Chalobah, Hughes, Femenia, Sarr.

Sheff Utd: Henderson, Basham, Egan, O’Connell, Baldock, Lundstram, Norwood, Fleck, Stevens, McBurnie, Robinson.

Subs: Luke Freeman, Sharp, Jagielka, Mousset, Osborn, Moore, Besic.

Referee: Andre Marriner (West Midlands)

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Gudmundsson, Hendrick, Westwood, McNeil, Wood, Barnes.

Subs: Taylor, Brady, Rodriguez, Hart, Lennon, Vydra, Long.

Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Keane, Mina, Digne, Schneiderlin, Delph, Richarlison, Sigurdsson, Iwobi, Calvert-Lewin.

Subs: Holgate, Sidibe, Bernard, Andre Gomes, Davies, Kean, Lossl.

Referee: Graham Scott (Oxfordshire)

Liverpool: Adrian, Alexander-Arnold, Lovren, van Dijk, Robertson, Milner, Fabinho, Wijnaldum, Salah, Firmino, Mane.

Subs: Keita, Gomez, Henderson, Lallana, Origi, Kelleher, Elliott.

Leicester: Schmeichel, Ricardo Pereira, Evans, Soyuncu, Chilwell, Ndidi, Praet, Maddison, Tielemans, Barnes, Vardy.

Subs: Justin, Morgan, Gray, Albrighton, Ward, Perez, Choudhury.

Referee: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire)

Aaron Connelly latches on to a long ball from deep, takes on Toby Alderweireld on the inside left, cuts inside and curls a shot around Gazzaniga and inside the far upright. Brighton have been outstanding and are piling the pain on Tottenham Hotspur. “We want seven!!!” chant the home fans, riffing on the pain inflicted on Spurs by Bayern Munich earlier this week. Follow the final 25 minutes with Rob Smyth …

This just in …

Former Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger has revealed he is considering a job offer from Fifa, but says it would not prevent him from returning to management.

The Frenchman has been out of work since May 2018, when he left Arsenal after 22 years in charge.

Speaking to beIN Sports, Wenger, 69, confirmed he is considering accepting a role at Fifa after admitting the international governing body must continue to “improve the rules of the game”.

“I just want to share what I’ve learnt and give it back to the game in a different way,” he said. “I am not sure if I would stop coaching as well because the devil is still in there. But I have to see, ‘do I like it?’ And can I be efficient?

“What would I be dealing with? Coaching efficiency, after career potential for players and to educate them so they have potential jobs after the career of a football player.

“We forget the drama of a football player is they get to the top and then at 34 years, a young man, and it is then, ‘bye bye it’s over’. I think there is enough to do there to help the players come back and help to develop football.”

Today in the Championship

Odin Bailey scored a late winner for Birmingham City as they put Middlesbrough to the sword in last night’s opening game of the weekend. This afternoon, top take on bottom as Swansea City entertain Stoke City at the Liberty Stadium.

One of the most expensively assembled squads in the Championship, Stoke are rock bottom of the table and still looking for their first win of the campaign.

Meanwhile at the Amex Stadium …

Brighton are entertaining Tottenham Hotspur on the south coast in today’s early fixture and look on course to register only their second Premier League win of the season. They lead 2-0 in the early stages of the second half, having comprehensively outplayed a lethargic Tottenham completely lacking in anything approaching urgency in the opening 45 minutes.

Hugo Lloris was at fault for the first goal inside three minutes, misjudging his position as he came to grab a high ball he was subsequently forced to drop upon realising he was about to carry it into his own net. As Neil Maupay headed the bouncing ball home from inches out, Lloris fell awkwardly and sustained a serious arm injury. Screaming with pain between gulps of oxygen, he was given morphine, stretchered off and brought to hospital.

Brighton doubled their lead courtesy of young Galway man Aaron Connolly, who fired past Tottenham’s replacement goalkeeper Paulo Gazzaniga after finding himself unmarked and on the end of a cross from Dan Burn to score on his PRemier League debut. Follow the second half with Rob Smyth …

On paper at least, Liverpool’s match against Leicester is the pick of today’s games, with Brendan Rodgers taking an exciting team that has given every indication they might break into the top four to his old stomping ground of Anfield. It’s one of just four three o’clock kick-offs this afternoon, but we’ll keep you posted on all the main talking points from the Championship and beyond. Stay tuned for team news and build-up.