It’s that time again! Saturday afternoon sees three Premier League matches, with Sheffield United back in Manchester and hoping to spring another surprise against City, knowing if they win they might not be bottom of the table by team-time, and West Brom hosting Fulham in a ding-dong relegation six-pointer.
Meanwhile in the Football League it’s not a classic day in the Championship, but thankfully there’s plenty of intrigue elsewhere. Doncaster are fourth in League One but have at least two games in hand on every other top-six side would top the table if they won them both. Today they visit the league leaders, Lincoln, in a match that could throw them right into the automatic promotion mix. Bottom club Burton Albion, whose recent record of one win in 10 league games is at least better than the record of one win in 12 that preceded it, have a Covid-enforced weekend off. Wigan are 23rd but could feasibly be out of the relegation places this evening if they beat 20th-placed Northampton. Oxford are 11th, and play 14th-placed Fleetwood in a superficially well-matched encounter. But Oxford have won every one of their last six games and Fleetwood haven’t won any of theirs; at the start of December Oxford were 19th and Fleetwood seventh; now Oxford are six points ahead with two games in hand. It is close at the top in League Two, where second-placed Forest Green host Cheltenham, two places behind them, while Tranmere in eighth travel to third-placed Morecambe knowing they will overtake their opponents if they win. There’s also a big match at the bottom, where 23rd-placed Grimsby host 22nd-placed Stevenage.
Beyond these shores Real Madrid play Levante in a 3.15pm GMT kick-off, and, um, it’s second against third in South Africa’s PSL as Swallows head to SuperSport United!
Here, then, is your big list of Saturday fixtures, all 3pm GMT kick-offs unless stated:
Premier League
Arsenal v Manchester United (5.30pm)
Crystal Palace v Wolverhampton
Everton v Newcastle (12.30pm)
Manchester City v Sheff Utd
Southampton v Aston Villa (8pm)
West Brom v Fulham
Championship
Birmingham v Coventry
Blackburn v Luton
Brentford v Wycombe
Cardiff v Millwall
Derby v Bristol City
Huddersfield v Stoke
Norwich v Middlesbrough (12.30pm)
Nottingham Forest v Barnsley
Rotherham v Swansea
Sheff Wed v Preston North End
League One
AFC Wimbledon v Milton Keynes Dons
Blackpool v Burton Albion (postponed because of a Covid outbreak at Burton)
Bristol Rovers v Rochdale
Charlton v Portsmouth
Crewe v Ipswich
Hull v Swindon
Lincoln City v Doncaster
Northampton v Wigan
Oxford Utd v Fleetwood Town
Plymouth v Accrington Stanley
Shrewsbury v Peterborough
Sunderland v Gillingham (1pm)
League Two
Bolton v Leyton Orient
Bradford v Barrow
Cambridge Utd v Crawley Town
Carlisle v Exeter (1pm)
Forest Green v Cheltenham
Grimsby v Stevenage
Harrogate Town v Newport County
Morecambe v Tranmere
Oldham v Salford City
Port Vale v Southend
Walsall v Mansfield (postponed because of a waterlogged pitch)
The Scottish Premiership
Celtic v St Mirren
Dundee Utd v Hibernian
Kilmarnock v St Johnstone
Livingston v Aberdeen