Saturday Soccer Action Roundup: The Reds v The Seagulls, Chelsea v The Toffees along with Further Action
Up-to-the-Minute Game Updates
A pleasant afternoon from London, where the sun is actually shining, although by the time we're at the interval, darkness will be falling. Speaking of which, can there be a happy farewell for the Egyptian star? And, that doesn't have to be a departure permanently, of course. He, like many others will be heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, regardless of what transpires. We are waiting for the starting lineups from the Merseyside club's encounter with Brighton.
Listed below are this afternoon's 3pm UK kick-off matches.
- Chelsea versus Everton
- Liverpool v Brighton
There is also a full round of EFL action, too.
Official Starting Elevens
Stamford Bridge v Everton
Chelsea Lineup: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, James, Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Palmer, Garnacho, Joao Pedro.
Chelsea Bench: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Hato, Acheampong, Guiu, Estevao.
Everton Lineup: 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 Official: Thomas Bramall.
Liverpool versus The Albion
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 Starting XI: Verbruggen, Wieffer, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Gruda, Gomez, Rutter.
Brighton Bench: Steele, Welbeck, Kostoulas, Milner, Boscagli, Mitoma, Ayari, De Cuyper, Veltman.
Match Referee: Craig Pawson.
The Egyptian forward on the substitutes for Liverpool. So is Alexander Isak. More team news is imminent but it looks like Florian Wirtz supporting Ekitike in attack.
Afternoon League Scores
Big result in the fourth tier, where it's a regional clash of Bristol Rovers v Swindon; the M4 derby. Swindon are ahead 3-0.
In the second tier, three early kick-offs 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 Scores 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 failed to convert a first-half penalty and have now equalised through Ryan Manning.
Norwich have gone back in front, the goal coming from Jovon Makama, his second.
Additional Soccer News
News from La Liga, where Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Kylian Mbappe is fit to play on Sunday against Alaves. Mbappe was absent for 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.
On that local derby, one fan commented: "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 receiving a red card.
Full Afternoon Match List
English Football League Championship 15:00 fixtures
- Birmingham v. Charlton
- Coventry v. Bristol City
- Leicester v. Ipswich
- Middlesbrough v. QPR
- Millwall v. Hull
- Portsmouth v. Blackburn
- Wrexham v. Watford
League One 15:00 fixtures
- 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 15:00 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 top flight, as well.
- Dundee Utd v. Motherwell
- Livingston v. Dundee
