Key events
On this day in 2000… West Ham take the lead at Old Trafford.
The latest scores in our featured games
Premier League
Scottish Premiership
Championship
GOAL! Bournemouth 0-1 Fulham (Andreas 16)
Andreas Pereira has finished off a good move to give Fulham the lead at Bournemouth. They will right in the mix for a European place if they win today.
Arsenal 0-0 Leeds Another returning player, Gabriel Jesus, has just missed an excellent chance for Arsenal, heading Granit Xhaka’s cross over the bar.
GOAL! Brighton 0-1 Brentford (Jansson 11)
The Brenford captain Pontus Jansson has scored on his return! It was a cracking header, too, flashed past Jason Steele from Mathias Jensen’s cross. As things stand, Brentford are sixth in the Premier League.
Championship roundup
Here’s a bit more on the two early games in the Championship, which included another excellent win for Luton.
Crystal Palace 0-0 Leicester It sounds Palace have dominated the first 10 minutes at Selhurst Park. The Leicester keeper Daniel Iversen has made a good save from Cheick Doucoure.
Brighton 0-0 Brentford Brighton have started really well, it says here, and Ethan Pinnock has just made a terrific tackle to deny Kaoru Mitoma.
Man City 4-1 Liverpool “Looking through the chicken entrails after City’s win – it could be that they now become hopelessly complacent and come a cropper in the next few games, leaving the door wide open for Arsenal to process to the title,” says Charles Antaki. “Alternatively, they get a huge boost of confidence, only to be fatally unbalanced by the return of Haaland, leaving the door wide open for Arsenal to process to the title. A third alternative is neither of these things and, hey ho, they do not leave the door wide open for Arsenal etc etc.”
On this day in 1978… Liam Brady’s left foot takes care of business.
Arsenal 0-0 Leeds Blimey, Leeds also copied Bournemouth by scoring inside 10 seconds at the Emirates. Rasmus Kristensen forced a brilliant save from Aaron Ramsdale, according to Paul Merson on Sky.
Peep peep! Let’s get this party started.
“FiveThirtyEight now have City winning the title on goal difference,” writes my colleague Tim de Lisle. “This morning they were giving it to Arsenal, by two points.”
City could win every game from here – the only really tough fixtures are Arsenal at home plus Brighton and Brentford away. But Arsenal know that all they have to do (!) is avoid defeat at the Etihad. If they manage that, it should be theirs.
We’re seeing lots of live footage of men standing in tunnels looking serious. It means only one thing: the 3pm games are about to begin.
On this day in 1998… Juventus rout Monaco in the Champions League semi-final.
“I need to get back to the changing rooms and see how many days off we’ve got!! 😂
Player of the Match Jack Grealish is looking forward to a mini-break after that performance against Liverpool! 🙌
🎙️ @TheDesKelly pic.twitter.com/YafseP9vA6
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) April 1, 2023
On this day in 2001… Charlton’s Shaun Bartlett scores the goal of the season.
Premier League match report: Man City 4-1 Liverpool
On this day in 1972… Brian Clough’s Derby go top of the table after a huge win against title rivals Leeds.
WSL match report: Brighton 0-4 Man Utd
Arsenal v Leeds Apparently Bukayo Saka was unwell and didn’t train yesterday, which is why he’s only on the bench.
Championship
Luton’s push for automatic promotion continues – they have beaten Watford 2-0 at Kenilworth Road. The other early game finished Preston 3-1 Blackpool.
Full time: Man City 4-1 Liverpool
City, who are peaking at the perfect time, came from behind to overwhelm Liverpool in the second half. They were fantastic.
On this day in 1995… Nottingham Forest score seven at Hillsborough.
The updated Premier League table
Liverpool’s defeat means that one of Brighton or Brentford will be in sixth place (which guarantees European football, though seventh might be enough) tonight.
Nottm Forest v Wolves team news
Five changes apiece. Crucially, Brennan Johnson is fit to start for Forest.
Brighton v Brentford team news
Evan Ferguson has a knock, so Danny Welbeck starts up front for Brighton. The Brentford captain Pontus Jansson, who has been out with a serious hamstring injury, starts his first game since October.
Crystal Palace v Leicester team news
Roy Hodgson has picked a pretty attacking team for his first game back at Selhurst Park: Wilfried Zaha, Ebere Eze, Michael Olise and Odsonne Edouard all start.
Bournemouth v Fulham team news
Bournemouth are unchanged. Carlos Vinicius replaces the suspended Aleksandr Mitrovic for Fulham.
GOAL! Man City 4-1 Liverpool (Grealish 74)
Jack Grealish caps an outstanding performance by finishing off yet another terrific team move. Liverpool played really well in the first half but they’ve been taken to the cleaners in the second.
Arsenal v Leeds team news
Gabriel Jesus starts for the first time since the World Cup – but Bukayo Saka is only on the bench.
🔴 ⚪️
🧱 Holding at the back
🤩 Trossard on the wing
⚡ Gabby leads the lineLet’s keep this good form up 👊 pic.twitter.com/wlH513EC53
— Arsenal (@Arsenal) April 1, 2023
Leeds are without Patrick Bamford, who is on the bench, and Wilfried Gnonto, who isn’t.
On this day in 1990… Peter Reid’s lands a savage blow to Aston Villa’s title hopes.
What it says on the tin department
GOAL! Man City 3-1 Liverpool (Gundogan 54)
A finish of indecent serenity from Ilkay Gundogan has put City 3-1 up at the Etihad. Julian Alvarez, in for the injured Erling Haaland, has played a big part in all three goals.
On this day in 1970… an all-British European Cup semi-final.
GOAL! Man City 2-1 Liverpool (De Bruyne 46)
Kevin De Bruyne has put City ahead at the Etihad, finishing off another good move after just 51 seconds of the second half. As things stand, we have a belter of a title race.
Barney Ronay on the title race
Premier League: Man City 1-1 Liverpool (HT)
It was all square after a frantic, occasionally fractious first half at the Etihad. Mo Salah flashed Liverpool in front before Julian Alvarez – in for the injured Erling Haaland – finished off a classic City move.
Alvarez’s goal was set up by Jack Grealish, who moments earlier had charged back to the edge of his own area to stop Salah getting his second.
Follow the second half with Scott Murray.
Women’s Super League
The WSL leaders Manchester United won 4-0 at Brighton in the early game. Leah Galton scored twice before Rachel Williams and Lucia Garcia added some late gloss. It’s turning into one of the great title races, with the Big Four almost inseparable at the top.
Preamble
Welcome to the beginning of the end. The end of another Premier League season, that is. The next eight weeks will be a breathless orgy of drama, hyperbole, euphoria, despair, rage and contrived punditry rows. Each Premier League team has between 10 and 13 games to play before the whole thing concludes on 28 May. More importantly – perhaps uniquely – they all have something to play for.
The concept of mid-table mediocrity will doubtless reintroduce itself before the end of May. But right here, right now, all 20 teams in the Premier League are fighting for something: the title, a particular European place or the avoidance of Championship football next season.
The reason for this unusual situation is the cavernous gap between Aston Villa in 11th place (38 points, four behind Liverpool in sixth) and Crystal Palace in 12th (27 points, four above the bottom club Southampton). There was actually a similar gap between Wolves and Villa at this stage last season, but most of the mid-table teams had no realistic chance of European football or relegation.
Usually by this stage, a few teams are drifting into what the Manchester United writer Richard Kurt called a “nihilistic nothingness”. He was talking about the 1988-89 season, when United went into a prolonged funk after going out of both the title race and the FA Cup. They scored only once in five games in April – and that was a Tony Adams own-goal.
All of which is a roundabout way of saying all today’s Premier League games are important, and all have different points of interest. Just don’t call any of them six-pointers, or we may fall out.
Arsenal, who are tantalisingly close to one of the second most improbable title victory of the Premier League era, can make it seven straight league wins by beating Leeds.
Roy Hodgson, aged 75 2/3 , is back in charge of Crystal Palace for their game at home to Leicester.
Bournemouth could move out of the relegation places by beating Fulham, who are playing for the first time since that spectacular loss of noggin at Old Trafford.
Nottm Forest v Wolves is 16th v 13th, but also a relegation battle. Just don’t call it a six-pointer or we may fall out.
Last, and absolutely not least because they are two of the most impressive teams in the league, Brighton face Brentford in a European battle, with both teams hoping to jump into the promised land of sixth place. That depends in part on Liverpool’s result in the early game at the Etihad.
We’ll try to keep an eye on matters elsewhere too. Bbut don’t expect miracles, this isn’t a chatbot. These are today’s featured games, all 3pm kick-off unless stated.
Premier League
Scottish Premiership
Championship