Scott Murray's Blog, page 144

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Our city-boy cousin Buy Sell Buy Sell Red Braces Fuel-Injected Convertible Front-Tail Extension Smug Square-Jawed Floppy-Fringe-Covered Extremely Smackable Face Fiver is down on his luck right now. He’s currently living in a wet cardboard box in Kings Cross, with only old copies of the FT for insulation and Berliner-sized copies of Big Paper for food. Yes, he’s yesterday’s man, having lost his job as a result of an allergic reaction to the new plastic £10 notes, which bring him out in a strange white-dotted rash around the base of his nostrils, so he maintains, court case pending. But ever the professional, this sorry predicament doesn’t stop him from keeping up to speed with the latest business news, and only on Monday afternoon he was telling us to brace ourselves for Newcastle United making some major big-money transfers this month, once Mike Ashley sells the club to billionaire-backed investment guru Amand … oh Buy Sell Buy Sell Red Braces Fuel-Injected Convertible Front-Tail Extension Smug Square-Jawed Floppy-Fringe-Covered Extremely Smackable Face Fiver! How could you?

Related: Mike Ashley says there is no Newcastle deal with Staveley: ‘It’s been a waste of time’

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Tottenham Hotspur 4-0 Everton: Premier League – as it happened

Harry Kane became Tottenham’s all-time leading Premier League marksman as Everton were outplayed at Wembley.

7.39pm GMT

Related: Tottenham outclass uninspired Everton as Harry Kane reaches new milestone

7.20pm GMT

And that’s that! Spurs were magnificent today. Harry Kane scored two, becoming Tottenham’s all-time leading scorer in the Premier League era. Christian Eriksen finished off a team move of picture-book prettiness. And Son Heung-min was simply sensational. Everton were thoroughly outplayed. Their only consolation is that Spurs did a number like this on Liverpool as well. It’s not much, granted, but it’s something.

7.18pm GMT

90 min +1: Rooney brings down Lamela from behind. It’s a daft challenge, he’s already on a yellow. But Everton’s day doesn’t get any worse, as the referee takes no action.

7.17pm GMT

90 min: There will be two added minutes.

7.16pm GMT

89 min: A bit of space for Rooney down the right. He’s got Calvert-Lewin free in the centre, but can’t find him for a consolation. It’s been that sort of second half for Everton.

7.14pm GMT

87 min: Eriksen is replaced by Lamela. “As Sam Allardyce himself suspected, the decision to start the freshly-signed Turkish striker didn’t work out,” writes Peter Oh. “Too much Tosun? I’ll show myself out now.”

7.13pm GMT

86 min: Spurs entertain themselves with a little bit of keepball. Alli nearly bursts down the left but Jagielka comes across to batter clear.

7.11pm GMT

84 min: Aurier ambles down the right and crosses deep for Son, who stuns the ball and looks for the top right from the left of the Everton D. It’s miles wide right. Son’s been sensational tonight, he’s earned the right to get something wrong.

7.09pm GMT

82 min: Sissoko comes on for Dembele.

7.09pm GMT

This is a magnificent goal! Kane passes down the left for Aurier, who guides the ball inside for Son. The striker hooks a pass further inside for Alli, on the edge of the D. Alli plays a first-time backflick to Eriksen to his left. Eriksen smashes an unstoppable shot past helpless Pickford. You’ll do well to see a better team goal all season!

7.07pm GMT

80 min: Son turns on the jets to power down the inside-left channel. He looks to have the better of Holgate, but the Everton defender sticks out a leg to block his shot. Corner, which Pickford claims with a saucy juggle.

7.06pm GMT

79 min: No tension at Wembley. Everyone just going through the motions.

7.04pm GMT

77 min: Not quite sure how Spurs haven’t scored a fourth goal here. Wanyama, from the right, finds Alli in the middle. Alli slips the ball to the left for Son, who makes space with a drop of the shoulder and is one on one with Pickford. Son shoots. Pickford saves. Alli latches onto the rebound, and surely must slot home from the penalty spot. But his snapshot is weak and straight at the keeper, who nevertheless handles brilliantly to save the day for the second time in a split second.

7.02pm GMT

75 min: Rooney loses a footrace down the middle with Vertonghen. As the big defender turns and sails away, a frustrated, frowning Rooney clips his ankle. He goes in the book.

7.01pm GMT

74 min: Wanyama comes on for Dier.

7.01pm GMT

73 min: More space for the excellent Aurier down the right. He fires a mid-height cross into the box. Alli shapes to Zidane one into the net, but Gueye gets in the road. Spurs are knocking it around very confidently right now.

6.59pm GMT

72 min: Schneiderlin comes on for McCarthy.

6.58pm GMT

71 min: Lennon glides in from the right and finds Rooney, who immediately wedges a delightful pass down the middle for Calvert-Lewin. But the young striker can’t control as he bursts into the box, and the danger is gone.

6.57pm GMT

70 min: A hot-faced, agitated McCarthy bowls Alli to the ground near the right-hand corner flag. Free kick. Davies curls it in. Pickford punches clear with purpose. Spurs come back at Everton, Dier swishing a pass wide right for Aurier, who meets it first time and smashes a shot goalwards from the edge of the box. Pickford gathers. There’s a testimonial atmosphere at Wembley right now.

6.55pm GMT

68 min: Some lovely crisp triangles in the middle of the park by the hosts. Suddenly the superb Son flicks a pass down the middle and is this close to releasing Kane on goal for his hat-trick.

6.53pm GMT

66 min: But Everton need to be wary. Spurs snap back into life, Son breaking down the right but finding neither Dier nor Kane with a final pass. The visitors were very light at the back there, and got away with over-committing.

6.52pm GMT

65 min: Spurs have both feet up on the desk right now, the metaphorical cigar on. It’s allowing Everton some precious possession, not that they’re doing very much with it.

6.51pm GMT

63 min: Rooney goes on a wander down the right and is upended by Dembele, who really has been trying it on this evening. Still no yellow card. Another cheeky foul might finally push the referee too far.

6.48pm GMT

61 min: Everton, collectively, look somewhat shellshocked. Tosun is replaced by Calvert-Lewin.

6.47pm GMT

Another tap-in from six yards for Harry Kane, this one legit. Dier curls a ball in from the right. Kane connects with the side of his left foot, but mishits. No matter, the ball loops over Pickford, spreadeagled at Kane’s feet, and almost apologetically nestles into the empty net.

6.45pm GMT

58 min: Son drops a shoulder on the edge of the Everton area and pearls a shot off the bottom of the left-hand post. The rebound evades Alli, who was free in the area. Everton are in danger of falling apart here.

6.44pm GMT

57 min: Aaron Lennon comes on for Bolasie. He receives a warm ovation from both sets of fans, having played at White Hart Lane for a decade. A lovely moment.

6.42pm GMT

55 min: Kane advances on the Everton area with productive intent. He’s got Alli to one side, Son his other, but has a dig from 25 yards instead. Pickford does very well to parry the ball away from danger.

6.40pm GMT

53 min: Spurs should be three up. The effervescent Son slips a pass down the inside-left channel to release Alli into the area. Alli is being pressured from behind by Kenny, who refuses to give up, but nevertheless should dink the ball over the advancing Pickford. Instead he slams it into the side netting. Credit Kenny there for some never-say-die hassling.

6.39pm GMT

52 min: Holgate sticks his elbow into Vertonghen’s mush as the pair contest a high ball in the middle of the park. He’s very lucky to escape punishment there, the referee giving Spurs a free kick but doing nothing else.

6.37pm GMT

50 min: That goal’s put a glide in Tottenham’s collective stride. Son dances into the area down the left, and very nearly sashays his way brilliantly though a couple of half-arsed Everton challenges. He’s defeated by sheer numbers. But Son looks super-sharp right now.

6.35pm GMT

It’s all a bit scrappy. Some head tennis in the midfield. Completed passes at a premium. And then Son tears away from Kenny down the left. He makes it into the area unchallenged, and sends a shot-cum-cross fizzing across Pickford and towards the bottom right. Kane, in the middle, slams a sidefoot into the net. It’s given as a goal, but Kane was a couple of inches offside there. Tight, but it shouldn’t have stood.

6.32pm GMT

And we’re off again! No half-time changes. Spurs get the ball rolling for the second half. And here’s Everton fan Myles Gordon: “I’ll have to agree that it was somewhat Martina’s fault for the goal but geez he has no help down the right and is being terribly isolated. Our shape was dreadful and I feel for Martina because he has been an easy target whole season.”

6.22pm GMT

Half-time reading: “Football has drawn its strength and its fascination not from its precision, but from moments of ragged, oddly shaped, endlessly evasive beauty.” Our man Barney Ronay, on the money as ever. Agree, disagree, enjoy.

Related: VAR fails the football test in more ways than we could have imagined | Barney Ronay

6.17pm GMT

And that’s your lot for the first half. Spurs deserve their lead on the balance of play, but Everton have had their moments too, with their new boy Cenk Tosun putting himself about in the no-nonsense style. It promises to be a very interesting second half!

6.15pm GMT

45 min: Alli contests a 50-50 down the left wing with Jagielka. The Everton man clatters Alli to the floor, and that’s the first booking of the match.

6.13pm GMT

43 min: ... Rooney heads confidently clear.

6.12pm GMT

42 min: Son slips a pass down the left for Davies, who can’t get his cross past Kenny. But it’s a corner. From which ...

6.11pm GMT

40 min: Tosun looks very lively indeed. He tears down the left and pulls a ball back for Rooney, but the pass isn’t accurate and trundles behind England’s record scorer. Sigurdsson tries to recycle the ball, and the move ends with McCarthy hoicking a weak shot over the bar, and wide, from the edge of the area. But Everton are at least asking questions.

6.09pm GMT

38 min: Gueye, quarterbacking from deep, pings a fine ball down the left wing to release Bolasie into acres. But Bolasie has gone too early, unnecessarily so, and the flag goes up for offside. It’s not as though Everton are looking toothless up front: as at Anfield in the cup, their quick breaks carry a real whiff of danger. But it’s just not quite clicking properly yet.

6.07pm GMT

36 min: More time for Aurier down the right. He slips a pass down the wing for Kane, who should pick up possession just inside the Everton area but is snoozing a bit, allowing the alert Holgate to nip away with the ball. Kane, frustrated with his laziness, picks up the pace and slams hard and late into the escaping Holgate. He earns a talking-to from the referee, but there’s no booking.

6.05pm GMT

34 min: Spurs have taken their foot off the gas a little since the goal. Everton are enjoying an extended period of possession in the middle of the park, albeit without threatening to advance any further. A decent response to falling behind, small acorns and all that.

6.02pm GMT

32 min: A free kick for Everton in Spurs territory as Dier fouls McCarthy. Sigurdsson takes, and sends it straight down Lloris’s throat. But Everton come again, Bolasie drawing a couple of white shirts down the right and slipping in Kenny on the overlap. Kenny crosses for Tosun, who heads harmlessly over. Nice move, though.

6.01pm GMT

30 min: Dembele comes through the back of Rooney in the midfield. He’ll be testing the referee’s patience soon.

6.00pm GMT

28 min: Aurier has Martina’s number, and he very nearly gets clear again when Eriksen flips the ball past the full back’s helper Sigurdsson. Everton just about get away with this one, but Aurier has the run of this flank.

5.57pm GMT

A goal had been coming. And here it is. Aurier has enjoyed a lot of the ball out on the right. He’s given more space now. Far too much. He strides into the area and takes a shot. It’s an appalling effort, dragged across the face of goal, but Martina’s playing Son onside, and the Spurs striker turns the shot into the net at the far post!

5.55pm GMT

25 min: Alli finds Kane on the edge of the Everton D. Kane turns on a sixpence and looks to thread a shot into the bottom left. It’s a fine effort from a tight spot, but Pickford reads it well and gathers. No goals yet, but it’s not for the want of trying.

5.54pm GMT

23 min: Spurs respond with some shooting practice. Kane, Aurier and then Kane again. Three low fizzers, Pickford dealing with the two Kane efforts, Aurier finding his attempt blocked. Both teams are in a progressive mood tonight!

5.52pm GMT

22 min: ... Everton score a goal that’s disallowed! Sigurdsson curls into the box. Tosun, level with the right-hand post, 12 yards out, flicks into the mixer. Rooney, six yards out, flicks it over Lloris and into the net! But he’s rightly flagged for offside.

5.51pm GMT

21 min: Sigurdsson takes. Alli heads clear. Gueye lashes goalwards, but the shot’s deflected out for a throw on the right. That field position leads to another corner. From which ...

5.50pm GMT

20 min: Everton looked dangerous on the break last weekend at Anfield, and they’re looking dangerous on the rare occasion they flood upfield today. Sigurdsson drills a pass up the left wing to set Rooney scampering. Rooney lays off to Tosun, who is clattered by Sanchez. A free kick, which leads to Everton winning a corner out on the left.

5.48pm GMT

18 min: Dembele is rather fortunate to escape a booking for a cynical tug on Rooney in the midfield. The Spurs man was possibly helped by Rooney opting not to make a meal of the challenge.

5.48pm GMT

17 min: Dembele waits awhile in the centre circle, eventually picking a pass forward for Eriksen, who immediately shuttles it on down the inside-left channel for Alli. He very nearly breaks clear into the area, but there’s not quite enough juice on Eriksen’s pass, and Everton mop up.

5.46pm GMT

15 min: Eriksen whips a high ball into the area at pace. Son, running into the thicket of players from deep, flicks a fine header towards the right-hand corner. It’s only just over the bar. So close to the opener! And Everton respond wonderfully, a long ball down the middle flicked on by a Tosun high-kick, Rooney latching onto it and flashing a low shot wide of the right-hand post from the edge of the area. Good end-to-end fun.

5.44pm GMT

14 min: After a lull, Spurs suddenly spring into life. Alli slips a pass down the inside-right channel for Kane, who reaches the byline. Alli, Son and Eriksen all hover by the near post, while Kane chips a cross to the far post. Then there’s another phase of attack, Alli dribbling down the left and finding himself upended by Gueye, just to the left of the Everton area. This is a free kick in a very dangerous position.

5.41pm GMT

11 min: Kane turns a first-time pass down the inside-left channel to set up a one-versus-one race between Alli and Holgate. For a while, it looks as though Alli will win that battle and break clear on goal, but the defender battles back brilliantly, moving up a gear and staying strong to make off with the ball and snuff out the danger.

5.40pm GMT

10 min: Spurs stroke it around the middle a while more. They’ve enjoyed 59% possession so far.

5.39pm GMT

8 min: Everton toy with the idea of launching their first attack, Rooney spraying a fine pass wide right for Kenny. But the young full back hesitates and the chance to break is gone. Ah but this is a little better, Gueye guiding a fine pass down the inside-left channel for the new boy Tosun. For a second it looks like the striker will break clear of Sanchez and head into the box, but a heavy touch allows the defender back into the footrace, and the Everton man clanks into his opponent. Foul. Better from Everton, though.

5.37pm GMT

7 min: It’s attack versus defence at the moment. Dier looks to make ground down the right but he’s denied by Rooney. Then Eriksen tries to get something going down the same flank, but runs the ball out of play. Spurs are seriously winning the possession and territorial battles, though Pickford’s yet to get his hands warm.

5.35pm GMT

5 min: Aurier again down the right. This time he earns a corner. The ball’s whipped into the mixer, and Kane’s winding back his neck muscles with a view to powering a header goalwards from six yards. But Jagielka gets some last-minute eyebrows in the way, flicking the ball from danger. Wonderful defending.

5.34pm GMT

4 min: Space for Aurier down the right, but Everton hold their shape in the middle and there’s no obvious ball for the full back. The home side are totally on top.

5.33pm GMT

2 min: Son makes good down the left and reaches the byline, but he’s eventually herded away from danger by Kenny. The home side very much on the front foot in these very early stages.

5.32pm GMT

And we’re off! Everton get the ball rolling. It’s passed back to Holgate, who shanks the ball straight out of play. And the Everton defender is soon doing it again as Spurs come at the visitors. Not the most assured start by the young defender, so he’ll be happy to get a very decent tackle in on Alli a few seconds later, as Spurs continue to press. A settler.

5.27pm GMT

The teams are out! Spurs wear their famous lilywhite shirts, Everton their equally storied blue. A lot of energised noise at Wembley. A fine pre-match atmosphere. We’ll be off in a minute!

5.26pm GMT

Mauricio Pochettino talks! But only in a pre-recorded segment on BT Sport in which he says that his players would rather come first than second. Which is all right and proper, but y’know. No hot pre-match chat from the Spurs boss today. Maybe he’s come to the overdue conclusion that the whole process is a complete waste of everyone’s time, which would be fair enough, he’s a smart chap.

5.10pm GMT

Sam Allardyce speaks! “It’s been a really poor 2017 [in terms of Everton’s away form]. Obviously I managed to get the win at Newcastle, and a couple of draws at Liverpool and West Brom, so that hasn’t been too bad. But we’d like to improve on that. Today is a really tough game, Spurs have overcome their fears at Wembley and are playing very well. We will do our very best to get a result, one point would be satisfying, a draw would be very good indeed. Cenk Tosun is a bit of a brave decision by me, throwing him in at the deep end. Hopefully he can impress today; if he doesn’t it’ll be more my fault than his. The Premier League will be much more demanding than he thinks, but he brings us something in terms of attacking prowess, not just in terms of goals, but holding up the ball as well.”

4.41pm GMT

Tottenham’s side for last week’s 3-0 win over Wimbledon in the FA Cup was a much-changed one. So perhaps it’s more relevant to compare tonight’s starting XI to the one sent out against West Ham in the Premier League a couple of Thursdays ago. There’s just the one change: Mousa Dembele takes the place of his near-namesake Moussa Sissoko, who drops to the bench.

Everton however named their first-choice XI at Liverpool in the cup, so let’s compare their team to that. And yes I am making these rules up as I go along. Morgan Schneiderlin and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are benched. Their replacements: Idrissa Gueye and, making his debut for the Toffees, £27m striker Cenk Tosun.

4.32pm GMT

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Dier, Dembele, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.
Subs: Trippier, Lamela, Wanyama, Vorm, Sissoko, Llorente, Walker-Peters.

Everton: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Jagielka, Martina, McCarthy, Gueye, Bolasie, Rooney, Sigurdsson, Tosun.
Subs: Schneiderlin, Williams, Lennon, Niasse, Calvert-Lewin, Lookman, Robles.

2.48pm GMT

Tottenham Hotspur started the 1958-59 season badly. In relegation bother, they eased manager Jimmy Anderson out of the way and gave the job to Bill Nicholson. The great man’s first match was at home to Everton, and he watched in open-mouthed disbelief as his charges won 10-4, Bobby Smith helping himself to four goals. “It can only get worse,” a deadpan Danny Blanchflower told his new boss upon ambling off the pitch.

Yes, it’s probably fair to say Spurs won’t repeat that scoreline in this fixture today. But it is fair to say that Everton will nevertheless approach this evening’s match with some trepidation. They haven’t won a single match against teams above them in the table this season, and they’re currently on a three-game losing run, Sam Allardyce’s honeymoon bounce (apologies for the mental picture) now a thing of the past. Everton were comprehensively dispatched 3-0 by Spurs at Goodison back in September; they haven’t beaten the north Londonders since December 2012; they haven’t won at Spurs since November 2008. Neither form nor history is on their side.

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Chelsea 0-0 Arsenal: Carabao Cup semi-final, first leg – as it happened

After a tight tussle at Stamford Bridge, it’s advantage Arsenal (slightly)

9.52pm GMT

And that’s that. No goals, no near misses, no VAR controversy. You couldn’t put a cigarette paper between these two teams. So it’s off to the Emirates in a fortnight for another 90 minutes, followed by extra time and penalty kicks.

9.51pm GMT

90 min +4: Alonso tries to power down the left, but Bellerin sticks to him like glue. Arsenal have been very disciplined tonight.

9.49pm GMT

90 min +2: Interesting that on the touchline, just after the penalty claim, Conte was performing the international mime for TV. An early adopter.

9.48pm GMT

90 min: There will be five added minutes, some time no doubt added for that late faff with the old VAR.

9.47pm GMT

89 min: Fabregas wriggles free down the right and sends a low cross into the mixer. It deflects off Xhaka, onto the right-hand post, and out for a corner! Then there’s some retrospective VAR action, as they check the Welbeck-Fabregas coming together. After a wee wait, it’s no penalty and play is waved on. It’s a corner, which isn’t all that.

9.43pm GMT

87 min: Chelsea finally get a go, and Elneny is booked for a late clip on Morata. That’s the striker’s last involvement; he’s swapped for Batshuayi. Fabregas races down the right and into the area. He stands on Welbeck’s ankle as the pair challenge for the ball and goes over. A penalty claim! But play goes on.

9.43pm GMT

86 min: It’s all Arsenal now. After another long period of ball-hogging, Xhaka has a belt from 25 yards. It’s not all that, straight at Courtois.

9.41pm GMT

85 min: Yes. He lays it off for Elneny, who was a bit taken aback to receive it, and fluffs his move. Hazard is replaced by Bakayoko.

9.40pm GMT

84 min: Sanchez dribbles in from the left wing and is barged to the ground by Willian. A free kick, and one that Sanchez will be taking himself. Surely, at the best part of 30 yards, it’s too far out to shoot?

9.38pm GMT

82 min: Arsenal are imposing themselves for the first time this evening, enjoying a prolonged period of possession in the middle of the park. The clock, now their friend, ticks on.

9.36pm GMT

80 min: Kante is booked for a cynical lunge on Welbeck, who was making off down the inside-left channel. He issues a complaint, though there’s not much basis for it. Sanchez takes the free kick, curling it to the far post in the hope of finding Mustafi. It’s too strongly hit, and it’s a goal kick.

9.34pm GMT

78 min: After a fairly stodgy few minutes, this is opening up again. Iwobi twists and turns on the edge of the Chelsea box, but can’t quite fashion a shooting opportunity. Any goal scored now, by either team, would be so precious.

9.34pm GMT

77 min: Alonso and Morata combine beautifully down the left, a quick ping-ping, to release Hazard into acres of space down the left. Hazard enters the area but the angle’s tight, and his low cross-cum-shot isn’t much cop. Willian was waiting in the middle to sidefoot home, too. Chelsea soon come back at Arsenal for a second go, Alonso having a crack from distance down the left. Not quite.

9.32pm GMT

75 min: Willian has a smack from 20 yards. The ball takes a deflection and heads for the top right. Ospina, for a split second wrong footed, adjusts and claims well.

9.31pm GMT

74 min: On the touchline, Antonio Conte has a good old chew on his fingernails. He’ll be desperate for a winning goal. Chelsea have been on top for the majority of the match, but Arsenal have held them at arm’s length for the most part.

9.29pm GMT

72 min: A brilliant shimmy and shake in the centre circle by Iwobi, and he’s suddenly in a lot of space. He powers wonderfully towards the Chelsea box, then snatches at his shot from the edge of the area, and the ball dribbles through to Courtois. He had Sanchez to his right, screaming for the pass, but he was entitled to have a go. Shame it was so lame after an excellent run.

9.27pm GMT

71 min: Chambers hurt himself while sliding for that ball in the Billy Wright v Ferenc Puskas style. A bit of treatment. It looks like he’ll continue, though.

9.26pm GMT

69 min: Morata hares down the left. His low cross is meant for Fabregas, but is deflected into the path of Hazard, who puts Chambers down on his arse by dropping a shoulder. He’s poised to shoot from the edge of the box, but Elneny does very well to close him down and snuff out the danger.

9.24pm GMT

68 min: The hard-working Drinkwater is replaced by the trickier Willian. A statement of intent from Chelsea, who want to take a lead to the Emirates in a fortnight’s time.

9.23pm GMT

66 min: Sanchez comes on for Lacazette. Moses, to the right of the D, has a dig which is deflected and balloons over the bar. From the corner, Christensen rises and plants a header to the right of the goal.

9.22pm GMT

65 min: Chelsea are pressing Arsenal deeper and deeper, but the visitors are holding their shape. Drinkwater and Moses are doing an awful lot of probing down the right, the inexperienced Maitland-Niles presumably having been identified as a weak link. Nothing doing yet, though.

9.20pm GMT

63 min: More sterile domination by Chelsea. Arsenal will be happy enough with the way the evening’s gone so far, Wilshere’s injury excepted.

9.18pm GMT

61 min: Maitland-Niles curls a delicious ball into the Chelsea box from deep on the left. He’s inches away from finding the head of the inrushing Welbeck, but there’s a little too much height on the cross and the ball floats through to Courtois. Much better from Arsenal, though.

9.17pm GMT

60 min: Arsenal can’t get a sniff of the ball at the moment. But they’re forcing Chelsea to do most of their work in the middle third of the pitch. Azpilicueta is doing quite a lot of quarterbacking, but he can’t find Morata or Hazard with his long, floated passes.

9.14pm GMT

58 min: Morata spins away from Mustafi down the right and bursts into the box. He’s faced with Ospina, and a very, very tight angle, and very nearly squeezes it in. A highly decent effort, albeit one that ends up rippling the side netting.

9.13pm GMT

57 min: A clearly frustrated Wilshere, ever dogged by injury, is replaced by Elneny.

9.12pm GMT

56 min: Morata elicits cheers this time, blootering a fine effort towards the bottom left from distance. Ospina parries away. Wilshere goes down. He can’t continue.

9.12pm GMT

55 min: Wilshere is struggling a bit, having extended his leg to block a shot and taken quite a whack. He’ll continue, but doesn’t look particularly happy. He’s limping quite a lot.

9.11pm GMT

54 min: Drinkwater has a whack from distance. It’s blocked by Mustafi’s armpit. Moses wheechs down the right and earns a corner off Wilshere. Alonso gets his head on the set piece, rushing in, six yards out, but somehow can’t get an effort on target.

9.08pm GMT

52 min: Alonso tries to curl one into the top left. He smacks his shot into the wall. The ball balloons out for a corner, which doesn’t really lead to very much.

9.08pm GMT

51 min: Rudiger opens his legs and strides down the inside-left channel. Xhaka extends one of his and upends him, earning a booking. Free kick for Chelsea, 25 yards out, just to the left of centre.

9.07pm GMT

50 min: It’s a little bit scrappy, with nothing much happening. Morata misplaces a pass in the midfield, then narrowly fails to tee up Hazard on the edge of the Arsenal penalty area. On both occasions, the Chelsea faithful let out the Fernando Torres Groan.

9.04pm GMT

47 min: From the second set piece, the ball’s flicked on to Christensen by the right-hand post. He must score, surely, but gets under his header and sends it over the bar. What a chance, the closest there’s been to a goal so far.

9.03pm GMT

46 min: Chelsea waste no time in winning a corner down the right, Moses and Hazard combining briskly and crisply. The ball drops to Kante, just to the left of the D. He hammers a fine rising shot goalwards, but hits his own man Christensen. The rebound leads to some head tennis, and then another corner, this time on the left.

9.01pm GMT

And we’re off again! No changes at half-time. Chelsea get the ball rolling.

8.48pm GMT

Half-time transfer news:

Related: Arsenal midfielder Francis Coquelin set for £12m move to Valencia

8.47pm GMT

And that’s that for a breezy but ultimately forgettable half of football. Arsenal will be much the happier side.

8.46pm GMT

45 min: Welbeck eyebrows the free kick over his own bar, conceding a corner. The ball is shifted way back to Azpilicueta, who floats a stunning pass down the inside-left for Fabregas, who has broken clear of the Arsenal back line and will meet it with his head, just inside the area, level with the left-hand post. He sends the ball towards the bottom left; Ospina gathers on the line. He might have done a little better there; anything sent towards the right-hand side of the net would have surely beaten the keeper given his starting position.

8.44pm GMT

44 min: Mustafi drags Morata to the floor as the striker makes off down the right. A free kick, and a chance for Chelsea to pack the box. Fabregas will take.

8.43pm GMT

43 min: Azpilicueta plays a pass down the middle from deep. Fabregas flicks it instantly, and very nearly releases Hazard clean through. Mustafi does very well to stick to his man, and guides the ball back to Ospina.

8.42pm GMT

42 min: Moses comes clattering into Welbeck and concedes a free kick in a dangerous area to the left of the Chelsea box. Xhaka takes, and loops it straight into the arms of Courtois.

8.40pm GMT

39 min: Iwobi bursts down the inside-left channel and loses control. Rudiger only half clears. The ball drops back to Iwobi, who hammers a fine shot towards the bottom left. Courtois parries, Chelsea half clear again. From the loose ball, Maitland-Niles breaks into the box. He goes over with Moses very close to kicking his boot. The ref does the VAR thing, but soon enough is telling Chelsea to take a goal kick.

8.37pm GMT

37 min: With Arsenal expecting Fabregas to give the ball some air, the Chelsea midfielder slides the ball across the face of the box for Kante. One mistimed hoick later, and Ospina is taking a goal kick.

8.36pm GMT

36 min: Morata looks to spin Mustafi down the inside-left channel. There’s too much grabbing and grappling by the Arsenal defender, and that’s a free kick, 25 yards out. Chelsea load the box.

8.35pm GMT

34 min: It’s kind of gone off the boil, this match. The crowd are still giving it plenty, to be fair.

8.33pm GMT

33 min: Now it’s Chelsea’s turn to waste a corner. They achieve this by giving the ball to Drinkwater on the edge of the area. He dispatches it towards the tube station.

8.32pm GMT

32 min: Another Arsenal corner, same outcome.

8.32pm GMT

30 min: Corner for Arsenal down the left. Before it can be taken, Chambers shoves Azpilicueta to the ground, both palms on his chest, playground style. Azpilicueta moans a bit. The ref does his little Give Us A Clue style VAR mime - it’s a television show, Lionel/Liza - and the VAR chappie tells him to give both players a bollocking. Chambers and Azpilicueta are told to stop being so bloody stupid. The corner is a non-event.

8.29pm GMT

28 min: From the set piece, Moses once again gets the better of Maitland-Niles down the right. He zips into the box and lashes a superb effort onto the bottom of the right-hand post. Ospina might have had it covered anyway, but it was the wood that did the work.

8.28pm GMT

27 min: After a brief lull, Kante drives down the right before switching the ball to the other flank. Alonso breaks into the box and tries for the bottom right. His shot flies across goal, not miles away from the feet of Morata. It deflects off Chambers and out for a corner.

8.24pm GMT

24 min: Drinkwater slips a pass down the right for Moses, who cuts inside a sleeping Maitland-Niles and enters the Arsenal box. Moses pearls a shot towards the bottom right. Ospina catches at the second attempt, Morata very nearly latching onto the initial fumble.

8.23pm GMT

22 min: Wilshere floats a pass down the inside-right for Lacazette, who is suddenly clear of a dozing Chelsea back line! He steps into the area, but faced with a slightly tight angle, lashes a wild effort into the top right of the Matthew Harding Stand.

8.22pm GMT

21 min: A lovely little shimmy from Xhaka in the midfield, and he’s earned himself a bit of space. Enough time to thread a pass down the left for Welbeck to chase. The striker very nearly gets to the ball first - he’d have been clear on goal - so Moses does very well to fight his way into pole position and usher the ball out of play.

8.20pm GMT

19 min: Iwobi goes on a zippy run down the centre of the park and he’s upended by Kante, 25 yards from goal. Xhaka drags a dreadful free kick straight into the wall, an awfully weak shot, but gets a break as the ball deflects out for a corner on the right. Fortunately for the hosts, Arsenal make a total balls of the set piece.

8.18pm GMT

17 min: Some slow Arsenal triangulation in the middle of the Chelsea half. Suddenly Lacazette injects a little burst of energy down the inside-left channel, and very nearly breaks clear into the area. Not quite, but that was a lovely little electric buzz, a switch flicked, and it nearly gave Chelsea a shock.

8.16pm GMT

15 min: This is good end-to-end fun, even if neither keeper has had a workout yet. Bellerin slams a low cross into the Chelsea box from the right; Christensen hooks clear. Morata races after a long ball down the Chelsea left, but he’s hounded out of it. We’re only at the start of a long, two-legged affair, so it’s pleasing to see both sides already going for it.

8.14pm GMT

14 min: Rudiger lobs a long ball down the middle looking for Hazard. Chelsea looking to test Arsenal’s back line under the high ball, it seems. Arsenal pass this time. Wilshere bombs down the other end, a powerful and purposeful run. He spreads the ball wide right for Iwobi, who hesitates, and there goes the momentum.

8.12pm GMT

12 min: Azpilicueta floats a ball into the Arsenal box from a deep position on the right. Alonso nearly gets on the end of it, haring in from the left. Arsenal are forced to concede a corner, from which Moses has an ambitious lash from the right-hand edge of the D. It’s not a very good shot.

8.11pm GMT

10 min: Arsenal are struggling to keep hold of the ball for any great length of time. There’s room for Xhaka in the middle, with Chelsea slightly light at the back, and he fires a pass upfield for Lacazette, but the striker can’t trap the ball and the chance of a quick break is gone.

8.09pm GMT

8 min: Chelsea are enjoying the lion’s share of possession at the moment. Morata, his back to goal, 30 yards out, spins and tries to send Fabregas down the inside left. But Fabregas is nowhere near it. Bellerin goes up the other end and earns a corner down the right. The set piece is a non-event. But this game has a nice, brisk, open feel to it.

8.06pm GMT

6 min: Mustafi sends the ball back towards Ospina with a distinct lack of vigour and energy. The keeper does well to ensure nothing dramatic occurs as a result.

8.05pm GMT

4 min: Stamford Bridge is bouncing. Both teams continue to have a good early feel of the ball. Not too much ambition on display so far. Hazard being the exception: he’s buzzing around in his trademark style, nearly always in shot.

8.03pm GMT

2 min: Hazard slips a pass down the inside-left channel for Morata, who beats Arsenal’s offside trap without too much fuss. He breaks into the box and slams the ball into the side netting from a tight angle. Not an easy chance by any means, so not a cock-up on the level of his three one-on-one misses last week at the Emirates. The ease with which he broke through there may give him succour.

8.01pm GMT

And we’re off! Arsenal get the ball rolling, and everyone at the back gets a touch. The pitch has had the sprinklers on it, and is lush and slick. The ball’s shuttled upfield, and Chelsea’s defenders take a turn to familiarise themselves with the ball.

7.59pm GMT

The teams are out! Chelsea are in their famous blue, Arsenal wear their storied red and white. Blues captain Cesar Azpilicueta outscreams and outclaps his opposite number Jack Wilshere in the tunnel. Wilshere reserved in the old-school style. And then the players take to the pitch as The Liquidator rings around Stamford Bridge. No need to describe the atmosphere at Stamford Bridge when Arsenal are in the house. This is football! We’ll be off very shortly!

7.50pm GMT

Arsene Wenger speaks! “We look forward to this game because we had a bad game on Sunday and we want to show we can respond quickly. In a semi-final, you always want your team to put in a strong performance. Alexis Sanchez is completely focused and though he has given a lot recently, he is ready to come on and play this game. Of course I welcome VAR, though it has to be clarified what is a penalty, and what is not a penalty, because we are all confused.”

7.49pm GMT

Antonio Conte speaks! “This is a trophy, and trophies are important for my players and for me. For this reason we want to try to get to the final, but we know Arsenal want to do the same. VAR is not bad. It’s very important because it reduces the mistakes. But we must have a bit of patience when you start new things. It can improve football in England.”

7.41pm GMT

TV Oar Insertion dept. The Video Assistant Referee (VAR) makes its League Cup debut tonight. It’s designed to

cause more
end arguments concerning the following type of potentially controversial incident: goals, penalty kicks, straight red cards, and mistaken identity. Referee Martin Atkinson can call on VAR Neil Swarbrick if he so desires, while Swarbrick can metaphorically tap on Atkinson’s shoulder to give the official the heads up over any clear factual errors. If any incident is not totally clear, the VAR may get Atkinson to have a gander at a pitchside monitor, no doubt with Conte and Wenger on his shoulder dispensing beneficial advice. Good luck, everyone!

7.18pm GMT

Both teams made all manner of changes for their weekend FA Cup games at Norwich City and Nottingham Forest, so perhaps it’s more relevant to make a comparison to the sides fielded when everyone met at the Emirates last week. Chelsea have made two changes to their starting XI: in come Antonio Rüdiger and Danny Drinkwater; Tiémoué Bakayoko drops to the bench, while Gary Cahill sits this one out in his civvies. Eden Hazard is fit after recovering from a calf problem.

Arsenal’s team news is arguably the bigger. Alexis Sánchez is only on the bench - the rumour-mongers linking him to Manchester City will have a field day - while Mesut Özil won’t be taking part at all. Danny Welbeck and Alex Iwobi deputise. Meanwhile David Ospina replaces the rested Petr Čech in goal. Granit Xhaka and Shkodran Mustafi have shaken off injury concerns.

7.09pm GMT

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Rudiger, Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Drinkwater, Alonso, Hazard, Morata.
Subs: Pedro, Bakayoko, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi, Luiz, Eduardo.

Arsenal: Ospina, Chambers, Mustafi, Holding, Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Iwobi, Welbeck, Lacazette.
Subs: Mavropanos, Mertesacker, Sanchez, Walcott, Elneny, Macey, Nelson.

12.36pm GMT

Welcome to our coverage of the first leg of the

Carabao
League Cup semi-final between bitter London rivals Chelsea and Arsenal. And if this match is as half as good as last week’s Premier League encounter at the Emirates, we’re due a cracker.

Arsenal have a poor record at Stamford Bridge. Since winning 5-3 in October 2011, they’ve lost five and drawn one of their last six games on the Fulham Broadway, a run which takes in a 6-0 shellacking in March 2014. With Eden Hazard fully recovered from a calf injury, Chelsea will be favourites to take a lead to north London for the second leg in a fortnight’s time. Especially as Arsenal are reeling from FA Cup defeat at Nottingham Forest, while their star man Alexis Sanchez may have his head elsewhere thanks to some serious interest from Manchester City.

Related: Arsène Wenger still riled by Eden Hazard penalty but has to revive Arsenal

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Norwich City 0-0 Chelsea: FA Cup - as it happened

The Canaries earned a draw against an out-of-sorts Chelsea.

7.24pm GMT

And that’s that. Norwich were decent, Chelsea under par. A draw seems a fair result. And it’s back to Stamford Bridge they go!

7.23pm GMT

90 min +2: Norwich are under the cosh as they attempt to hold on for a replay. Sterling wheechs down the right and earns a corner. The set piece drops to Zappacosta, to the left of the D. He chests down and tries to Le Tissier a volley into the bottom right. It’s a lovely effort, inches wide of the right-hand post.

7.22pm GMT

90 min +1: Musonda has a whack from 25 yards out on the left. It’s well wide of goal. “£142 million seems a lot for one football player,” argues Simon McMahon. “You could buy the entire Dundee United team for that money, and still have £141 million left over for sweets.”

7.20pm GMT

90 min: Zappacosta takes a looping punt from distance. Gunn gathers. Sterling comes on for Pedro. Drinkwater curls a high cross into the Norwich box from the left towards Morata, who is flagged offside. There will be three added minutes.

7.19pm GMT

88 min: Wildschut comes on for Pritchard.

7.19pm GMT

87 min: Rudiger, moving to gather a ball that had gone out for a goal kick, goes nose to nose with a punter in the front row who had thrown it elsewhere. The punter smiles for the camera as Rudiger thinks better of lingering and continuing the discussion.

7.16pm GMT

85 min: Olivera’s first act is to skedaddle down the right. He nearly gets the better of Pedro, but not quite. Pedro goes racing off upfield, and is tugged by Tettey, who is booked for his cynicism.

7.13pm GMT

83 min: Murphy is replaced by the not-fully-fit Olivera.

7.12pm GMT

82 min: Drinkwater eases his way towards the Norwich box and looks for the top right from distance. Gunn claims easily.

7.11pm GMT

80 min: Maddison buys a cheap free kick from Bakayoko, running into him down the Norwich left. Pritchard scampers after the set piece, sent flying down the inside-left channel, but Caballero has it covered.

7.09pm GMT

78 min: Musonda comes on for Kenedy.

7.09pm GMT

77 min: Luiz whips a wonderful effort towards the top left. It’s inches over the bar. Gunn would have probably tipped that over with a strong hand, but what a free kick from a frankly silly angle. Luiz is one of the most entertaining players in the world, whatever he gets up to.

7.07pm GMT

76 min: Bakayoko drives gracefully down the inside-left channel and is brought crashing to the floor by Hanley, who is booked and doesn’t bother arguing. A free kick 25 yards out, but well to the left. Luiz seems to fancy it, though.

7.04pm GMT

74 min: Batshuayi, who has been very quiet, is replaced by Morata.

7.03pm GMT

73 min: The corner is no good.

7.03pm GMT

72 min: Chelsea hog the ball, slowly moving their way upfield with some crisp, pretty triangles. Eventually Willian earns a corner.

7.01pm GMT

70 min: The corner is no good.

7.00pm GMT

69 min: Kenedy faffs around over a throw-in, is closed down by Pritchard, and hacks his opponent to the ground. Free kick, which is whipped into the box, and ... can you shank a punch? Well, if you can, Caballero’s just managed it. He flies out of his goal and, in an attempt to punch the ball out to the left, sends it to the right, and to the feet of Murphy, whose first-time shot through a crowded box is going wide right but is deflected off Luiz for a corner.

6.57pm GMT

66 min: A long period of Chelsea possession ends when Pedro glides in from the left and unleashes a bobbler which is gathered easily by Gunn. The champions are on top, but the Norwich keeper has yet to be seriously worked.

6.54pm GMT

64 min: Space for Pritchard in the Chelsea box, Norwich having finally turned up for the second half. He turns on a sixpence and gets a shot away, looking for the top right. But it’s deflected over for a corner, which leads to nothing. Still, that’s better from the hosts, and much more like their first-half stylings.

6.53pm GMT

62 min: Some rat-a-tat pinball in the middle of the park. Suddenly the ball breaks to Pritchard, who threatens to break quickly. With no Caballero to calmly deal with the situation (!) Cahill is forced to bring his man down. He takes a booking for the team.

6.52pm GMT

59 min: Free kick for Chelsea out on the right as Lewis clips the ankle of Zappacosta. He’s lucky to escape a booking. Chelsea lump the ball into the box. It’s cleared way upfield, forcing Caballero, who had been wandering a long way from his area, to win a header in the centre circle in order to stop a quick break. Entertaining, if not ideal.

6.49pm GMT

58 min: Willian has the ball glued to the toe of his boot, Charles Charlie Charles style. He sashays down the inside-right channel, past Trybull and Klose, and enters the area with zig-zagging ease. His low fizzer towards the bottom corner isn’t so good, gobbled up easily by Gunn. Shame, that was a mesmeric run.

6.47pm GMT

56 min: Willian drops a shoulder, George Besting his way left to right across the face of the Norwich area. Eventually he lashes a low shot towards the bottom right. Gunn turns the ball round the post. From the corner, Pedro has a look at the top left from distance. Not quite. But Chelsea are totally on top now. Antonio Conte’s hairdryer must have been turned on full blast.

6.45pm GMT

55 min: Kenedy rambles down the left and lays off for Bakayoko, who attempts to send a heatseeker into the top right. Ambitious. It would have been spectacular.

6.44pm GMT

53 min: Willian romps down the inside-right channel before pulling one back for Drinkwater, just on the edge of the area to the right of the D. Drinkwater isn’t far off threading a fine first-time shot through a crowded area and into the bottom left. Not quite; just wide. Norwich are being made to work a lot harder in this second half.

6.42pm GMT

50 min: Chelsea have come out with renewed purpose. Batshuayi works a little bit of space 25 yards from goal and sends a pea-roller straight into the arms of Gunn. Speaking of renewed purpose, and regarding that £142m half-time breaking news, here’s Grant Tennille, with an email headed Hoochie Coutchie Man: “Barcelona finally nabbed theirs, but it’s worth noting that a shift from Fab Four to trio doesn’t necessarily mean sacrificing power, thrust, and creativity.” Isn’t it a bit early for the bong?

6.39pm GMT

48 min: He gets a cross away now, though! A deep one from the same left flank, Zappacosta heading back across goal from the right. Willian is waiting to sweep home, six yards out, but Zimmermann hacks clear just in time. Fine football all round.

6.37pm GMT

47 min: Some sterile possession for Chelsea in the early stages of the second half. Pedro makes off down the left but can’t get a cross away.

6.35pm GMT

And we’re off! Chelsea get the ball rolling, having been made to wait in the cold by tardy Norwich. No changes.

6.19pm GMT

Half-time breaking news:

Related: Philippe Coutinho to join Barcelona after £142m deal agreed with Liverpool

6.18pm GMT

Maddison circumvents Drinkwater with ease on the edge of the Chelsea box, but then lashes wildly over the bar while looking for the top-left corner. Kenedy tries to skin Pinto down the left, but is ushered out of play. And that’s that. Daniel Farke will be pretty happy with that. Antonio Conte, not so much.

6.15pm GMT

45 min: Luiz tries to get something going for Chelsea in attack, striding forward down the centre of the park and lifting a long pass forward for Kenedy. But that’s easy pickings for Gunn.

6.14pm GMT

43 min: Pritchard flicks and turns past Cahill on the right-hand edge of the Chelsea box. He fires across for Lewis at the far stick, but Zappacosta has read the danger and steps in to concede a corner before his opponent can sidefoot home. The corner comes to nothing.

6.12pm GMT

41 min: Luiz is booked for a late clip on Maddison, who was in the process of nicking a loose ball past him. To be fair to the Chelsea man, there was no malice and he holds his hands up in acknowledgement of his mistimed challenge.

6.11pm GMT

40 min: Norwich stroke it around nicely, without really going anywhere. The high point: Maddison executing a lovely spin and turn to wriggle out of trouble in the middle of the park. He’s awarded a warm round of applause for that one.

6.09pm GMT

37 min: You can’t quite say Norwich have had their chances. But they’ve had their half-chances. They’ll hope to make another, and take it, before the break, and before Antonio Conte can deliver the bollocking his players are almost certainly going to get.

6.07pm GMT

35 min: Maddison pings a lovely reverse pass down the inside-left channel to release Murphy. Rudiger just about does enough to deal with the situation, sticking with Murphy and pushing him wide left, though the Norwich man is still able to get a shot away. He drags it harmlessly across the front of goal.

6.05pm GMT

34 min: More space for Pedro down the left. He loops long, and Klose is forced to head out for a corner with several Chelsea men buzzing around. Once again, though, the resulting set piece is a waste of time.

6.04pm GMT

32 min: Chelsea have been a bit sleepy for the last few minutes, but it looks as though they’ve woken up a bit. Willian tries to make space to shoot, just inside the Norwich area on the left, but faces three men and is forced to lay off for Kenedy, who squirts a low shot through a crowded box. The ball deflects out for a corner. Kenedy takes it himself, and sends it straight out of play on the left. On the touchline, Antonio Conte threatens to bubble over into Fume Mode.

6.01pm GMT

30 min: A bit of space for Pedro down the left. He lifts one into the area, looking for Batshuayi, but the striker doesn’t show and the ball is aimless, drifting into Gunn’s arms.

5.59pm GMT

28 min: Murphy bombs down the left, spots Caballero off his line, and attempts a spectacular curler into the top right from the edge of the area. It’s wild and high. Norwich are enjoying themselves right now, playing some very entertaining, attacking football.

5.58pm GMT

26 min: Murphy dribbles past Rudiger and into the Chelsea box on the left. He tries to thread a pass through a thicket of black shirts to Pritchard; the ball’s never getting through that forest of legs. Chelsea clear their lines. But Norwich have responded well to that brief period of Chelsea midfield control, and are right back in this game.

5.56pm GMT

24 min: Pritchard, his dander up, comes skittering in from the right wing. He’s got chance to shoot, but opts to look for an even better one, so when he finally gets an effort away, it’s closed down by Cahill.

5.54pm GMT

23 min: Chelsea ping it around the back in the Pep style. Eventually Caballero gives the ball to Luiz on the edge of the box. It’s not a great ball. Also Luiz is dozing. Pritchard, suddenly snapping around Luiz’s ankles, gets a toe on the ball and sends it wide right of the goal. Had that pinged away on target, we’d have an opening goal to report, because Caballero wouldn’t have been able to stop it.

5.52pm GMT

21 min: Willian is once again illegally impeded, hauled back by Klose’s arm on his shoulder. Again the referee makes do with a stern chat. A fair chance that the next foul on a marauding Chelsea player may result in a booking.

5.51pm GMT

20 min: Norwich play some nice pretty triangles down the left, but go nowhere. Progressive tendencies on display.

5.49pm GMT

18 min: Trybull ensures he falls into the back of Willian as the Chelsea winger zips past him. That could have been a booking, but the referee is lenient.

5.48pm GMT

17 min: A good time, then, for Norwich to remind everyone that they’re the home side. Murphy makes good down the left and reaches the Chelsea area. He’s got men in the middle but instead of crossing he looks to diddle Caballero at his near post. That’s not happening.

5.46pm GMT

15 min: A slight lull as Chelsea opt to stroke it around the middle of the park in a sterile fashion. They’re in no rush. But the first sign of Chelsea establishing a smidgen of control on Championship opposition.

5.44pm GMT

13 min: Pinto looks to be just fine now: he whistles a wonderful crossfield pass, right to left, to release Pritchard into space on the wing. Pritchard can’t get a ball into the box, but Norwich have started this game in a positive and confident fashion, going toe to toe with the champions of England.

5.43pm GMT

12 min: Luiz struts around the centre circle in the imperious style. He floats a gorgeous long quarterback’s pass down the inside-right channel, very nearly releasing Zappacosta into the Norwich area. Just a drop too much juice, and the ball flies out for a goal kick. But Zappacosta was close to gathering that and homing in on goal.

5.41pm GMT

10 min: After a couple of minutes, a slightly groggy Pinto sits up and then wanders to the touchline. He winks at Kenedy - no hard feelings - and waits to be waved back on. He’ll continue.

5.40pm GMT

8 min: Pinto and Kenedy go up together for a high ball. The Chelsea man clatters into the side of his opponent, shoulder meeting head. Pinto is poleaxed, laid out on the floor. On come the doctors.

5.37pm GMT

6 min: Lewis embarks on a rococo ramble down the left, and nearly has the better of Rudiger. Eventually he’s swarmed by black shirts, but for a second it looked as though he might break clear into the area. That was a promising sortie.

5.36pm GMT

4 min: A bit of space opens up for Maddison down the inside-right channel. For a second there’s a huge gap in the centre of the Chelsea defence, and he heads for it. But just as he cocks his leg to shoot, Luiz comes across to block. Great covering. But Maddison hesitated for a split second there, as though he couldn’t believe there was a route to goal opening up.

5.34pm GMT

3 min: Kenedy strides forward from a deep position on the left and decides to have a go for goal from the best part of 35 yards. Nope! His shot is dragged harmlessly wide right. He’s got the good grace to look sheepish. Over-ambitious.

5.32pm GMT

2 min: A reasonably quiet start, both sides taking turns to get a feel of the ball, stroking it hither and yon.

5.31pm GMT

And we’re off! The hosts get the ball rolling. Chelsea haven’t lost in the third round since Manchester United did for them in 1998. Their fans accordingly are in good voice.

5.30pm GMT

The teams are out! Norwich City in their gloriously traditional yellow and green, Chelsea in a very fetching third-choice black with sky-blue trim. A marvellous atmosphere at Carrow Road, a stadium that always looks stunning under floodlights. We’ll be off in a minute!

5.19pm GMT

Antonio Conte speaks! “Every trophy is important for us. We try to do our best in every competition. For sure we know it won’t be easy against Norwich. We try to make rotations in every game, we have been doing this for a long time. But it is right to give good chances to everyone, and I always get a good answer from my players. It is a good chance for David Luiz, who has had a long recovery from injury. I hope he has a good performance.”

5.07pm GMT

Norwich manager Daniel Farke speaks! “We are looking forward to this game, especially after our decent run in the Carabao Cup. It is important to be realistic. We know that Chelsea is the big favourite. In ten games, eight times they will win the game and one time there will be the draw. But there’s always one game where you can create something special and we have a pretty relaxed situation. We have had a decent run in the league recently, so we will see what happens!”

4.51pm GMT

Pre-match reading: Here’s our man Paul MacInnes on why Norwich, not so long out of the Premier League, could do with a strong second half to their season.

Related: Big changes at Norwich City leave many fans cold as Chelsea arrive | Paul MacInnes

4.46pm GMT

Just the one change to the Norwich XI named for the New Year’s Day win at Carrow Road over Millwall. The attack-minded Nelson Oliveira makes way for the more defensive Christoph Zimmermann; he’s not fit to start but may feature.

Nine changes to the Chelsea team from the side sent out at Arsenal midweek. The big news is the return of David Luiz from injury. Also note Alvaro Morata, on the bench with the kids. Punishment for missing three one-on-ones at the Emirates? Of course not. But maybe.

4.35pm GMT

Norwich City: Gunn, Ivo Pinto, Hanley, Klose, Lewis, Tettey, Trybull, Pritchard, Maddison, Zimmermann, Murphy.
Subs: Husband, Vrancic, Oliveira, Watkins, Hoolahan, Wildschut, McGovern.

Chelsea: Caballero, Luiz, Cahill, Rudiger, Zappacosta, Drinkwater, Bakayoko, Kenedy, Willian, Batshuayi, Pedro.
Subs: Morata, Musonda, Clarke-Salter, Eduardo, Ampadu, Sterling, Hudson-Odoi.

11.07am GMT

Norwich City have never won the FA Cup. They’ve never even got to the final. Just the three semi-final appearances in 1959, 1989 and 1992. Chelsea by comparison have lifted the famous old pot seven times. Norwich are a mid-table Championship side; Chelsea are the reigning champions of England. Norwich have lost seven of their last 13 games; Chelsea just the one. Norwich have lost all four of their previous FA Cup rubbers with Chelsea; Chelsea are unbeaten in 13 games against Norwich.

But this is the third round of the FA Cup, where dreams can come true and the impossible is occasionally achieved. It, we must therefore conclude, is on. Kick off at Carrow Road is at 5.30pm GMT.

Related: Big changes at Norwich City leave many fans cold as Chelsea arrive | Paul MacInnes

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Fleetwood Town 0-0 Leicester City: FA Cup - as it happened

Fleetwood were the better side in a poor game, as the 2015-16 Premier League champions are taken to a replay.

2.36pm GMT

If ever a game needed a Jamie Vardy, it was that one. Ah well, he’ll be available for the replay.

Related: Leicester and Eldin Jakupovic live dangerously as Fleetwood come close

2.36pm GMT

90 min +2: Fleetwood nearly win it at the death! Hunter turns sharply down the inside-right channel, and smacks low. His shot deflects off Benalouane and onto the bottom of the right-hand post! The ball bounces back onto Jakupovic, but instead of pinging into the net, the keeper is somehow able to gather!

2.33pm GMT

90 min: There will be two added minutes.

2.33pm GMT

89 min: Hunter draws a foul from Chilwell out on the right. Another free kick, another chance to load the box. Hunter loops it towards the far post. Amartey chests it down and clears. A half-arsed shout for a penalty - did Amartey handle? - but nobody really puts their heart and soul into it, which tells the story.

2.31pm GMT

88 min: A strange lack of urgency. Perhaps both sides have decided a replay wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world.

2.29pm GMT

86 min: Hunter whips a decent free kick through the Leicester area, but there’s a little too much juice on the ball and it flies out of play to the left of goal. Nobody in red near it.

2.28pm GMT

85 min: Cole goes bowling down the right wing and is cynically upended by King as he threatens to break into the area. This is a free kick in a very dangerous position.

2.26pm GMT

83 min: But it’s Fleetwood who are looking the stronger in the latter stages! Coyle earns their ninth corner of the afternoon, down the right. Again Bolger wins the header, but having deceived Benalouane with a clever curling run to get free, he flashes a poor effort miles right of the target.

2.25pm GMT

81 min: The ever-excellent Hunter charges down the right and earns a corner off Benalouane. Bolger meets the set piece, but his header isn’t great, squirting off to the left. Fleetwood try to recycle, but Cole can’t meet a left-wing cross and Leicester mop up easily enough.

2.23pm GMT

80 min: Iheanacho comes on for Slimani. The last throw of the dice for Claude Puel, who does not want a replay.

2.21pm GMT

77 min: Pond goes into a slide tackle to deny Okazaki space down the left. He plants his boot in the Leicester striker’s trouser arrangement. Ooyah, oof. Clumsy rather than intentional, and Okazaki doesn’t make a drama out of it.

2.20pm GMT

76 min: Dragovic receives treatment after taking a kick on the sole of his boot from Dempsey. He’ll be OK to continue, but it’s a chance for everyone to catch their breath.

2.18pm GMT

74 min: Hunter’s been impressive today, though. He bustles down the right and earns Fleetwood another corner. The home side load the box. The danger man Bolger, the big defender, goes up for a header but misses, and is penalised for shoving Slimani, who gives him a little whack in return with a sly flick of his heel. All good knockabout fun, with an old-school flavour.

2.16pm GMT

72 min: Swish, head, clank, swipe. An almost total lack of control, neither team able to keep hold of the ball. Poor BBC One.

2.12pm GMT

69 min: Burns is replaced by McAleny.

2.11pm GMT

67 min: Gray drives at Coyle down the left and leaves the Fleetwood full back for dust. As he nears the byline, he loops a delightful cross towards the far post, where Slimani is unable to guide home from a very tight angle. Side netting. Still, a lovely delivery by Gray, who is such a talent.

2.09pm GMT

65 min: Leicester have regained a little equilibrium after rocking awhile back there. Okazaki earns a free kick off Schwabl, 30 yards from goal. Leicester commit plenty of men forward, but Albrighton’s delivery is appalling, straight down the middle into the hands of Neal, nowhere near a blue shirt.

2.07pm GMT

63 min: Fleetwood have been very impressive since the restart. Forcing Leicester into that double substitution is testament to their endeavour. The Foxes will be thinking about last year’s tie with Millwall quite a lot right now.

2.05pm GMT

61 min: The corner comes in. It’s half cleared. Schwabl creams a low shot straight at Jakupovic from the edge of the area. Fleetwood come at Leicester for a third time; they win yet another corner. Schwabl attacks the goal with his head this time, but he’s well off target.

2.03pm GMT

59 min: Another corner for Fleetwood down the right. Bolger wins a header this time, but sends his effort well wide right from eight yards. That goes down as a decent chance. And Leicester are wobbling a little here, because the hosts come at them again quickly, and earn another corner on the right!

2.01pm GMT

57 min: Leicester make a double change, hooking Barnes and Silva and throwing on Albrighton and Okazaki.

2.00pm GMT

56 min: The corner isn’t anything to write home about.

2.00pm GMT

55 min: Hunter nudges the ball past Amartey down the left and makes for the area. It’s a brilliant run, and he gets past Dragovic easily before whipping low towards the near post. Benalouane drops to bundle the ball out, to the left of the goal, for a corner. Fleetwood want a penalty for hand ball. They’re not getting it: the ball clanked off thigh and chest.

1.56pm GMT

53 min: Leicester nearly open Fleetwood up on the quick break, James racing down the right and attempting to thread a diagonal pass through the middle for Barnes. But Pond steps up, reading the play perfectly, to intercept and put a stop to Leicester’s gallop.

1.54pm GMT

51 min: Burns busies himself down the right and earns a corner out of not very much. Bolger very nearly meets the set piece with his head, 12 yards out, but Benalouane gently eases him out of the way and the danger is cleared.

1.52pm GMT

48 min: Silva charges down a ponderous Neal clearance, but the ball pings out for a goal kick. Excitement is at a premium right now.

1.50pm GMT

47 min: A hectic and shapeless start to the half. As you were, then.

1.48pm GMT

And we’re off again! Leicester get the ball rolling for the second half. No half-time changes have been made. “Nothing says ‘magic of the cup’ like a solitary seagull (40 min) making more noise than the crowd,” opines Phil Withall. Indeed. All part of the third round’s intoxicating brew. There are some trees making their presence felt at one corner of the stadium, through a gap in the stands. It’s a real shame there aren’t hundreds of kids in brown parkas sitting on the branches to get a free view of the match.

1.35pm GMT

Half-time reading:

Related: Coventry target Stoke FA Cup scalp but ownership woes stymie revival hopes

1.34pm GMT

Not a classic. Yet.

1.33pm GMT

45 min +1: The corner drops to Slimani, on the corner of the six-yard box. He hooks a shot goalwards, but it hits Bell, sitting on the floor. Slimani claims for a penalty, the ball having brushed the top of Bell’s arm, but there’s nothing in that: Bell was right next to Slimani, his arm was by his body, and he didn’t move it an inch.

1.31pm GMT

45 min: There will be two minutes of added time. Barnes has a dig from distance and the ball deflects off Schwabl for a corner out on the right.

1.30pm GMT

44 min: Leicester earn themselves another corner down the left, and do absolutely nothing with it. It’s been one of those halves.

1.29pm GMT

42 min: Cole earns a free kick out on the left. The ball’s hoicked into the area and half cleared. Bolger has a dig from distance and nearly sends the ball into the gents, the door of which is behind Leicester’s goal, well to the right.

1.27pm GMT

40 min: Hunter pumps the free kick into the Leicester box. Barnes clears. Not much going on. A seagull pierces the silence.

1.24pm GMT

38 min: Silva goes into a 50-50 with Schwabl in the midfield and concedes a free kick. More worryingly for Leicester, he’s taken a proper whack to his shin and grimaces in pain. He’s not getting up yet.

1.22pm GMT

36 min: Free kick for Leicester, 35 yards from the Fleetwood goal out on the left. A chance to load the box. Gray takes. Cole’s attempt to clear is woeful, his header dropping to Barnes, 12 yards out and level with the left-hand post. Barnes shanks an over-ambitious volley miles wide and high.

1.19pm GMT

34 min: Some head tennis in the middle of the park. A couple of speculative long balls by both sides. A lull.

1.18pm GMT

32 min: Gray, just inside the Fleetwood area on the left, takes down a looping ball with a lovely first touch. Stone dead. He drops a shoulder to reach the byline and attempts an audacious shot towards the bottom left. But Neal isn’t to be beaten at his near post. Corner, which is the end of that. But that’s Leicester’s first shot in anger.

1.16pm GMT

30 min: Bell drifts in from the left wing, a determined and skillful run which gets him past a couple of blue shirts. He slips the ball to Cole on the edge of the Leicester box. Cole threatens to break into the area, but Benalouane slams the door shut. A lively attack, some fine defending.

1.14pm GMT

27 min: Leicester play it patiently, pinging the ball around, this way and that, before suddenly releasing the very promising Chilwell down the left. Chilwell’s burst of pace forces Coyle to slide the ball out, but Leicester don’t get the corner they should have. It’s just a throw, deep in Fleetwood territory, and the field position comes to nothing.

1.11pm GMT

25 min: Leicester continue to dominate possession, but they’re beginning to look a tad more threatening now, pushing Fleetwood back into their final third. A measure of control is being asserted after a nondescript start.

1.09pm GMT

23 min: Gray sticks to the touchline down the left, a wonderful old-school run down that earns Leicester a corner. The set piece is whipped into the mixer. King, six yards out, rises to meet the ball, but heads it wildly over the bar. That’s a second close-range chance for Leicester squandered.

1.06pm GMT

20 min: Leicester have enjoyed 61% of possession so far. They haven’t done a great deal with it. Uwe Rosler will be very happy with his team’s start.

1.05pm GMT

18 min: Dempsey cuts in from the right and lays off for Hunter, who makes himself space for another shot. He doesn’t connect properly, the ball bobbling through to Jakupovic. Hunter looks in the mood, though; Leicester have given him two chances to shoot already.

1.03pm GMT

17 min: Pond’s first act is to bump into Slimani, who requires a foot rub and a drink of water as a result. It’s fair to say this match hasn’t quite got going yet. Plenty of time to summon the magic of the cup.

1.01pm GMT

15 min: Eastham has taken a whack in a challenge with Slimani, and isn’t able to continue. He goes down, contemplates his ruined big day, then lifts himself up and wishes his replacement Pond all the best.

12.58pm GMT

12 min: Now it’s Neal’s turn to shine in goal. He claims a Leicester corner, won by James down the left, with supreme confidence and to loud cheers.

12.57pm GMT

10 min: That’s got Fleetwood’s dander up. Hunter and Burns go racing towards the Leicester box, the latter feeding the former, coming in from the left. Hunter takes a whack from 25 yards, but it’s easily dealt with by Jakupovic.

12.56pm GMT

9 min: This turned the volume up, though! Dragovic plays a ridiculous blind backpass, and nearly beats his wandering keeper Jakupovic, the ball bouncing towards the bottom right. The keeper scrambles back and tips the ball around the post. The resulting corner comes to nothing.

12.54pm GMT

8 min: Amartey and Gray try to get something moving down the right, but Fleetwood hold their shape and there’s nothing going on. All very quiet at the moment.

12.52pm GMT

6 min: All a bit hectic at the moment, a shapeless muddle in the middle. It’s the FA Cup third round, there’s nothing wrong with that.

12.51pm GMT

4 min: Gray curls the free kick to the far post, where the ball drops to Slimani. It’s half a chance, but from close range Slimani can only flash the ball wide left of the post. He should have done better.

12.49pm GMT

3 min: A nice bright start to this game. Fleetwood rolling up their sleeves and getting stuck in. Schwabl puts himself about in the middle of the park, disrupting Leicester as King and Barnes try to work a move down the left. Then Glendon clatters James to the ground on the right. A free kick, and a chance for Leicester to load the box.

12.47pm GMT

And we’re off! Fleetwood get the ball rolling, and almost immediately put the visitors under some pressure. A long ball down the left confuses Amartey, allowing Hunter to turn him and hook a cross into the area. Burns meets it with his head, eight yards out, but can’t get any power on the effort. Jakupovic claims easily enough.

12.45pm GMT

The teams are out! Eventually. Fleetwood leave Leicester waiting in the tunnel for a couple of minutes, some last-minute mind games perhaps. The home heroes are in their Arsenalesque red-and-white shirts, Leicester in their famous blue. This stadium is Arsenalesque too, of course - it’s called Highbury - though there are no grand art deco stylings at this one. It’s a pretty little place, though: a modern curved stand on one side, a social club on the other. A proper, old-fashioned, third-round feel.

12.32pm GMT

Leicester manager Claude Puel speaks! “It is a disappointment for Jamie Vardy, he would like to play this game. But it is important to be careful about his injury. I think I pick a team that can win this game, knowing the fitness levels of my players after a tough Christmas period of five games in ten days. It was important to have a solution. But we want to win this game, it’s an important competition. Fleetwood are a good young team and would like to make a shock, so it is important for us to focus.”

12.28pm GMT

Fleetwood boss Uwe Rösler speaks! “The distance between the Premier League and the lower leagues is getting bigger and bigger. The chances of a cup upset are lower. But having said that, it is still possible. We have a home game, so we will be fearless, on the front foot, attacking.”

12.17pm GMT

Vardy might not be playing today, but he is in the house. There he is, signing autographs, posing for selfies, all that jazz.

12.08pm GMT

Fleetwood make two changes to the team that went down to Bradford City on New Year’s Day. Out go midfielders Jack Sowerby and Jordy Hiwula-Mayifuila; taking their place, Markus Schwabl and Wes Burns.

Meanwhile there’s to be no dream return for Jamie Vardy, who hasn’t regained his fitness and isn’t in the Leicester squad. Neither is Riyad Mahrez, whose omission will no doubt fuel rumours of a move to Chelsea or Liverpool or whoever else are said to be in for him, it’s quite hard to keep up. Having said that, his absence today could be totally innocent, as Leicester have rested nearly all of their usual first picks: of the XI sent out to beat Huddersfield on New Year’s Day, only Islam Slimani, Matty James and Daniel Amartey keep their places. Eldin Jakupovic, Adrien Silva and Harvey Barnes all start for for Leicester for the first time.

11.58am GMT

Fleetwood Town: Neal, Coyle, Eastham, Bolger, Bell, Schwabl, Glendon, Dempsey, Burns, Cole, Hunter.
Subs: Jones, Pond, Hiwula, McAleny, Cairns, Biggins, Sowerby.

Leicester City: Jakupovic, Amartey, Dragovic, Benalouane, Chilwell, Barnes, King, James, Adrien Silva, Slimani, Gray.
Subs: Iheanacho, Albrighton, Hamer, Maguire, Okazaki, Ndidi, Choudhury.

10.40am GMT

Welcome to Highbury Stadium, Fleetwood, Lancashire: Jamie Vardy’s alma mater. Here’s hoping Vardy recovers from his groin problem and plays this afternoon, for it’d be one of the great FA Cup third-round stories. Before inspiring Leicester City to the Championship and then the Premier League, Vardy supplied the goals that won the Conference for Fleetwood Town, propelling the club into the Football League for the first time in their history. A hero returns. It’d be a shame if he has to sit this out in his civvies.

Fleetwood are a League One fixture these days, a meteoric rise. But they’ve never faced a first-tier club in competitive football, so a match against the four-time FA Cup runners-up presents a new sort of test. They’ve lost their last three games at home, while Leicester are coming off the back of a clinical 3-0 win over Huddersfield Town. But in the cup there’s always hope: Leicester crashed out of the cup last season to another League One side in the shape of Millwall. Is another famous shock on the cards?

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Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 West Ham United: Premier League – as it happened

Spurs and West Ham trade spectacular goals at Wembley.

10.11pm GMT

Related: Spurs’ Son Heung-min matches Pedro Obiang’s strike in draw with West Ham

9.51pm GMT

Some slapstick nonsense in the West Ham area as Spurs take turns to have a shy at goal. Some pinball. It could go anywhere! But the Hammers hack clear, and that’s it! The visitors earn a deserved point: what a defensive performance, and what a goal by Obiang. They couldn’t complete a preposterous smash and grab, though; Son’s equally sensational strike gives Spurs a little deserved something too, reward for all that pressure and possession. West Ham rise to 15th, while Spurs are three points behind fourth-placed Liverpool. A fine end to the festive programme. Happy new year, everyone!

9.48pm GMT

90 min +2: Masuaku clears a bouncing ball and nearly hoicks Lamela into the stand as well. All fair. Hard but fair.

9.47pm GMT

90 min +1: There will be four added minutes. Aurier curls one into the West Ham box from a deep position on the right. Llorente misses his header at the far post, but he’d pulled Rice to the ground anyway and that’s a free kick to take the pressure off.

9.46pm GMT

90 min: Noble comes sliding in on Llorente, and that one earns a booking. Plenty of pushing and shoving, but it hasn’t been a dirty game.

9.45pm GMT

88 min: The resulting corner comes to nothing. Carroll is then booked for booting the ball away in the time-wasting manner. Some possible controversy in the build-up to the Son equaliser, by the way: Moyes is of the opinion that Aurier had illegally crumped Lanzini back up the pitch to win the ball and start the move. It was certainly a hearty challenge.

9.42pm GMT

86 min: West Ham respond by throwing Carroll on for Lanzini. And then they go on the attack, Ayew dribbling in the Ricky Villa style into the left-hand side of the Spurs box. He goes this way and that, and suddenly he’s one on one with Lloris! But it’s a tight angle and his chip is deflected by the keeper over the bar.

9.41pm GMT

Anything Obiang can do, Son can do better. Or at least just as well. From 25 yards, with nothing much on, he unleashes a majestic riser that nestles into the top-right corner at great speed! Adrian had no chance whatsoever. What goals we’ve seen tonight!

9.39pm GMT

83 min: From the corner, Vertonghen has a whack from the edge of the area. It’s deflected out for another corner, from which Wanyama miskicks dreadfully from 12 yards. No matter, though, because Spurs soon come back at West Ham and ...

9.38pm GMT

82 min: Kane nearly skitters clear down the right, chasing a long ball, but Rice sticks to him well. Kane can’t make the area for a shot, so settles for a corner instead. Before the set piece can be taken, Spurs make their final change, Llorente coming on for Davies.

9.36pm GMT

80 min: Son dribbles down the left but his low cross is easily snaffled at the near post by Adrian.

9.36pm GMT

79 min: Lamela tries to wriggle his way through a small gap down the inside-left channel. He nearly makes it, but ends up conceding a free kick. West Ham were seriously rocking before that stunning strike, but they’re back in shape now.

9.34pm GMT

77 min: A free kick for West Ham out on the right. Lanzini hoicks it long. Out on the left, Obiang curls one back towards the right-hand post. Kouyate is clear on the corner of the six-yard box! But he completely fluffs his header, sending it in the wrong direction, bouncing off apologetically to the right of goal. What a chance to make it two goals from two efforts!

9.31pm GMT

75 min: A contender for song of the season, as the West Ham fans trill: “One shot, we’ve only had one shot.” Spurs have had very many, by comparison. Their latest, by Eriksen, fizzes towards the bottom left from 20 yards but it’s easily gathered by Adrian.

9.30pm GMT

74 min: Spurs make a double change: Dier and Sissoko off, Lamela and Wanyama on.

9.30pm GMT

72 min: West Ham quite rightly celebrated that wonder goal with some passion, though they hadn’t cleared their heads by the restart. And soon Kane was just to the right of the goal, trying to get a shot away. Five West Ham players surrounded him, an ersatz version of that famous Belgium v Maradona photo from 1982. The ball squeaks through the pack and nearly goes in at the near post. But Adrian turns it round. The corner leads to nothing.

9.27pm GMT

This is an astonishing goal! West Ham take their first serious shot in anger. And what a shot! Obiang, 30 yards out on the left, cuts inside and decides to go for it. He sends a heatseeker into the top left, and nearly takes the net off. Lloris got across, too, but such was the power he had no chance of saving that. What a goal! Fair to say that had not been coming.

9.24pm GMT

68 min: Spurs are getting closer and closer. Eriksen slips the ball forward, down the middle, to release Kane. The striker traps, turns and shoots, but Zabaleta slides in to block. The ball loops up for Alli, who tries to head home but sends the ball over the bar. Adrian gives him a wee clatter. Penalty? Nope, though you’ve definitely seen those. To be fair to West Ham, though, Kane was offside when receiving Eriksen’s pass, so two wrongs kind of make a right.

9.21pm GMT

66 min: Eriksen’s turn to have a dig from distance. He cuts in from the left and looks for the bottom corner. Adrian smothers.

9.21pm GMT

65 min: A knackered Hernandez, last seen running through quicksand, is replaced by Ayew.

9.20pm GMT

64 min: Vertonghen takes a punt from 25 yards. The ball ricochets to Kane, bursting clear into the box down the inside left. He shoots from a tight angle. Adrian blocks. The flag goes up for offside, correctly.

9.19pm GMT

63 min: Son curls a ball into the West Ham area from the right. Kane goes down at the far post as he attempts to connect. Zabaleta had an arm on his back, and Kane wants a penalty kick. He’s not getting it. It would have been generous, but you’ve seen refs award them.

9.17pm GMT

61 min: Spurs respond with purpose, Kane very nearly getting on the end of a Davies left-wing cross, Eriksen taking a fierce low slam from the edge of the box, Alli heading another cross harmlessly wide right.

9.16pm GMT

60 min: Some Spurs sloppiness in the midfield, as though it’s all too easy to boss that part of the pitch. Suddenly Hernandez is racing clear on goal! But he’s running through treacle, and easily chased down by Sanchez. For a second there, it looked as though West Ham were going to take a very saucy lead.

9.15pm GMT

58 min: Space for Alli down the right. He powers towards the byline, past Rice, and pulls a low one back for Son, near the penalty spot. Son has time to get his act together, but rather scuffs his shot through a thicket of players and the ball rolls harmlessly into Adrian’s arms. A real chance.

9.13pm GMT

57 min: Son loops a pass down the left and very nearly releases Kane, but Ogbonna steps across to deal with the situation, controlling, turning and lumping clear. That’s marvellous defending, with the super-hot Kane breathing down his neck.

9.12pm GMT

55 min: Alli tries to juggle the ball past Reid on the edge of the box. Reid hacks the ball away but clips Alli’s high-kicking leg. It’s a fair coming together for a ball that’s there to be won, and though the Tottenham faithful scream for a penalty as Alli falls, the player himself makes no claim. Penny for Arsene Wenger’s thoughts, huh.

9.10pm GMT

54 min: West Ham are quite happy to sit back and soak it all up. Why not? It worked for them in the first half. It’ll be interesting to see if they show any more ambition should they continue to frustrate Spurs.

9.09pm GMT

52 min: This is all Spurs, up to the final third. West Ham own that bit of the pitch. Kane, the best part of 40 yards from goal on the left and getting a little frustrated, tries to replicate Robbie Fowler’s goal for Liverpool against Birmingham City in the 2001 League Cup final. Top marks for ambition.

9.07pm GMT

50 min: More Spurs passing, hither and yon. But West Ham still hold firm. No gaps. Eriksen tries a chip down the inside-right channel, and very nearly finds the marauding Aurier, but the ball’s intercepted gracefully by Ogbonna.

9.03pm GMT

48 min: Son stepovers his way down the left wing. He gets a yard on Kouyate, but then blasts a wild cross behind the goal. An end to a long period of patient Spurs possession.

9.02pm GMT

We’re back ... and they’re off again! West Ham get the ball rolling for the second half, their job only half done. It’s launched long and Lloris collects. “Martin Peters was a very good player but, ah ... dear old Jimmy was something special,” sighs Roy Everitt.

8.48pm GMT

Half-time viewing, courtesy of Mike Gibbons. “As it’s Spurs and West Ham, and the transfer window is open, a quick nod to the greatest swopsie transfer deal in English football history in March 1970. Martin Peters from Upton Park to White Hart Lane, and this fella - Harry Kane to the power of ten for any kids reading - in the other direction.”

8.47pm GMT

... there’s nothing. The teams trudge off. In the stands, a rendition of I’m Forever Blowing Bubbles fills the air. The away fans a lot happier than the home support.

8.45pm GMT

45 min: After a sleepy couple of minutes, Spurs wake up. Eriksen powers down the centre, exchanges crisp passes with Alli, and slams a shot goalwards from 25 yards. A deflection gives Adrian some work to do as the ball moves through the air. The keeper tips it over. Corner. From which ...

8.43pm GMT

42 min: Hernandez over-elaborates in the middle of the park, allowing Spurs to tear en masse towards the West Ham area. But the visitors make sure there are no gaps in the middle, the attack slows down, and Alli eventually plays a forward ball to nobody. West Ham clear their lines.

8.40pm GMT

40 min: Spurs ping it around a bit, but get nowhere. Eventually Sissoko tries switching play down the right but only succeeds in passing the ball straight out of play. A few frustrated groans from the home faithful.

8.39pm GMT

38 min: Hernandez goes down very easily as he brushes against Vertonghen while attempting a fancy backflick. Vertonghen looks perplexed at the award of a free kick, which allows West Ham to load the box and hoick one in from the right. The set piece isn’t up to much, though. No drama.

8.37pm GMT

36 min: West Ham launch another attack, Hernandez rolling a pass down the right for Lanzini, who has team-mates in the box to find. But instead of crossing, he cuts inside and considers shooting. Then doesn’t shoot. Then he considers shooting again. Eventually the ball’s taken off his toe. What a waste. Calmer heads, and West Ham could have worked Lloris once or twice in the past few minutes. But here we are.

8.35pm GMT

34 min: A real chance for Hernandez, in the centre circle, to set Obiang free down the middle. Spurs sloppy in midfield and light at the back. But he claps his pass straight into Dier, the opportunity suddenly gone. Spurs go up the other end and nearly make West Ham pay big. Vertonghen, out on the left, wafts a gorgeous long diagonal ball to Aurier, rushing towards the West Ham box. Aurier rolls the ball across the face of goal. Kane, romping in, meets it, but only at full stretch, running it out of play to the left of goal instead of shooting. That would have been a lovely goal.

8.32pm GMT

32 min: Spurs enjoy a lot of possession in the middle of the park. West Ham continue to hold their shape. Nothing more to report.

8.31pm GMT

30 min: Spurs are turning up the heat again. First Son dribbles down the left in the baroque style and reaches the corner of the six-yard box, but can’t quite force a shot through. Then another wave of attack ends with Eriksen firing low, hard and not too far wide of the right-hand post. Adrian probably had it covered, but it was a decent effort from distance nonetheless.

8.29pm GMT

28 min: Masuaku curls a ball into the Spurs area from a very deep position on the left. It seems to unnerve Lloris, who just about ushers it out of play to the right of goal without panicking. But had Hernandez taken more of a gamble on the run, that could have caused Spurs a little bother. The home side go straight up the other end and nearly score, Kane curling one towards the bottom right from the left of the D. Adrian meets it at full stretch, and the ball’s half cleared. Dier immediately dispatches it into Row Z.

8.27pm GMT

26 min: West Ham are holding their defensive shape very well right now. Spurs probe about quite a lot, but they’re forced to turn back when they approach the final third. The home fans have fallen a little quiet as a result.

8.25pm GMT

24 min: A little bit of space for Hernandez down the right, and a rare attack for West Ham. The Little Pea sends a roller through the Spurs area, but nobody in claret and blue has kept up with play, and so the home side mop up without much fuss. Spurs go down the other end, Alli making good down the left, taking advantage of a misjudged Reid interception. Alli fires one in low but it’s hacked clear purposefully by Ogbonna.

8.22pm GMT

22 min: Son flicks a couple of passes down the left for Davies on the overlap. The first results in a cross that’s too deep, the second runs out for a goal kick. Spurs continue to enjoy a fair bit of space down this flank. “What Russell Hope forgot to mention was that David Cross scored four goals that day,” reports John Tumbridge. “I had too until he revived my internal pain.”

8.20pm GMT

20 min: Corner for Spurs down the left. Eriksen’s dead-ball delivery is uncharacteristically flat, in both senses of the word, failing to beat the first man. West Ham clear their lines with a collective yawn.

8.19pm GMT

19 min: West Ham have been second best so far, but not embarrassingly so. Spurs spend time in the middle of the park, knocking it around in the passive style. David Moyes will be happy enough with the way things are going.

8.17pm GMT

16 min: Eriksen slips a ball into the West Ham area from the right for Kane. Faced with a tight angle, the striker smashes a ball across the face of goal, and it’s sliced into his own net by Reid. However Kane was offside. No goal. But there’s some better news for Spurs, relatively speaking, from 11 min’s Roy Everitt. “Actually, I’ve just checked and it was only 5-3, on 6 November 1976.”

8.15pm GMT

15 min: Spurs pin West Ham back awhile. Aurier twists down the right and slips a ball into the box for Kane, on the right-hand corner of the six-yard box. But Kane can’t turn and get a shot away, much as he tries. West Ham clear.

8.13pm GMT

12 min: Ogbonna hooks a pass down the inside-left channel and isn’t a million miles away from freeing Lanzini. Too much juice, though, and it’s all the way through to Lloris. Still, the home side were snoozing a little there. Lanzini grimaces, knowing that was a half-chance to create something.

8.12pm GMT

11 min: Another run by Son down the left. It doesn’t really come to much, but the Spurs forward is gettting plenty of space down this flank. “The only time I ever went to a West Ham v Spurs game was in the mid to late seventies,” writes Roy Everitt. “Being young and naive, it wasn’t until I was on the tube approaching Upton Park with a load of fellow Spurs fans that I realised I was basically wearing claret and blue. No harm was done, except to Spurs, who lost about 5-0, I think.”

8.10pm GMT

9 min: Son and Zabaleta go high-kicking into a 50-50 about 35 yards from the Spurs goal. West Ham get the decision, much to Son’s annoyance. Lanzini lumps the free kick into a loaded box, but it doesn’t result in a chance and Spurs clear easily enough.

8.09pm GMT

7 min: A lull. A strange rhythm to this game so far. “Notice how when Moyes mentioned the top teams, he made no mention of Manchester United?” asks Alan from Ireland. “Sly little dig there at his old club me thinks!” Maybe. Though it is possible the mere sensation of that club’s name on his lips would send him into toxic shock. Dark days. Best take no chances.

8.06pm GMT

5 min: From the set piece, Adrian doesn’t give a good account of himself under a high ball. His fumble leads to another corner, but that one leads to nothing. Spurs have suddenly come on strong.

8.05pm GMT

4 min: Dier and Eriksen triangulate down the middle, the latter nearly feeding Kane into the box. Adrian gathers. Spurs soon come again, though, with Son down the left. His low cross isn’t cleared by the miskicking Obiang. Kane tries to force the loose ball into the net from a tight angle. He gets it past the keeper but Rice heroically clumps it away from extreme danger, for a corner.

8.03pm GMT

2 min: A fairly quiet start, apart from a rasping rendition of Bubbles coming from one corner of the famous old/new stadium. Plenty of time for this match to get going.

8.01pm GMT

And we’re off! Spurs get the ball rolling and then take it upfield. They hold onto possession awhile, then move it backwards, giving most of the team an early touch.

7.59pm GMT

The teams are out! Tottenham wear their famous lilywhite, West Ham their equally storied claret and blue. A rare old atmosphere at Wembley ahead of a big London derby, and here’s Spurs fan Russell Hope to whip it up a little more: “Just been reflecting on the GOOD OLD DAYS and my first Spurs-West ‘aaaaaam game. August 1981, Tottenham’s first home game of the season after the Ricky Villa cup final ... and we lost 4-0. I had quite a lot of wee thrown over me and was chased down the High Road afterwards by a group of exuberant eastenders. Modern football, eh? Ruined it all.” We’ll be off in a minute!

7.48pm GMT

Mauricio Pochettino’s turn. “It is hard to keep the momentum, but we have to give the team fresh legs. It is important for us to keep fighting for fourth; three points will be massive for us. It is true that we need to give Harry Kane a good rest, because he was feeling unwell, but hopefully today he is fully recovered and can play the 90 minutes. It will be perfect for us if we finish this game with three points and the perfect festive season. But the game will be very close and we must fight.”

7.39pm GMT

David Moyes is asked how sweet Andy Carroll’s late winner against West Brom tasted. “It was great for us, three important points at this time of the season. Andy has been injured and in truth, if we had our way, he wouldn’t even be on the bench today. Marko Arnautivoc is injured as well, he’s been really important for us, but not fit to play tonight. This is similar to playing against Arsenal, Manchester City or Chelsea, I think Tottenham are one of the top teams, the quality of players they have got. But we will have a go. We have to be compact and difficult to play against. We’ve done it in some games, hopefully we get back to that tonight.”

7.15pm GMT

Given the teams both played 48 hours ago, it’s something of a surprise that each manager has made only three changes to their starting XIs. Mauricio Pochettino calls up Harry Kane, Serge Aurier and Moussa Sissoko; they take the place of Fernando Llorente, Kieran Trippier and Erik Lamela, all of whom are named as subs.

David Moyes drops Andy Carroll to the bench, while Marko Arnautovic and Aaron Cresswell have injury issues. Stepping up: Javier Hernandez, Mark Noble and Declan Rice.

7.02pm GMT

Tottenham Hotspur: Lloris, Aurier, Sanchez, Vertonghen, Davies, Sissoko, Dier, Eriksen, Alli, Son, Kane.
Subs: Trippier, Lamela, Wanyama, Vorm, Llorente, Dembele, Winks.

West Ham United: Adrian, Reid, Ogbonna, Rice, Zabaleta, Kouyate, Noble, Obiang, Masuaku, Lanzini, Hernandez.
Subs: Carroll, Ayew, Haksabanovic, Hart, Martinez, Quina, Makasi.

9.51am GMT

It’d be understandable if both of these teams are feeling a little tired. Tottenham played in a tempest at Swansea just 48 hours ago. At the same time, West Ham were embroiled in a 94-minute tussle with West Bromwich Albion at the London Stadium. And now here they are at Wembley for one of the season’s big capital clashes. Is there no let-up?!

Both sides will be feeling knackered yet content. Tottenham are on a three-game winning streak, having responded to defeat at Manchester City before Christmas by swatting aside Burnley, Southampton and Swansea City. Harry Kane, Mr 2017, hasn’t scored yet this year, but to be fair he only played 22 minutes against the Swans and still managed to set up Dele Alli with an exquisite assist. A win here will move Spurs to within a point of Liverpool in fourth, all set for another tilt at a Champions League spot.

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Refereeing calls have cost the Gunners four points and the 1932 FA Cup

In today’s Fiver: Wenger goes into Fume Mode, Imre Varardi versus a pie and more Fiver backlogs

They say bad luck always comes in threes, and that’s something Arsenal can tell you all about. Last night, they conceded a very soft penalty to Eden Hazard and Chelsea, a decision that comes hot on the heels of the generous spot-kick awarded against them last weekend at West Bromwich Albion, and Jack Allen’s equaliser for Newcastle United in the 1932 FA Cup final which was converted from a cross delivered behind the line. Those three questionable refereeing calls have cost the Gunners four points in the race for European football next season, as well as an FA Cup. When will they get their fair share of payback breaks?! According to the what-goes-around-comes-around cycle, not until the year 2104, by which time Arsène Wenger will have been 108 years in the job. Yes, it already seems like that now, doesn’t it.

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Arsenal 2-2 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened

Héctor Bellerín salvaged a point for Arsenal in injury time, a fitting finale to a wonderful (and sometimes controversial) end-to-end encounter

Read David Hytner’s match report from the Emirates

10.13pm GMT

Related: Hectór Bellerín makes late amends for Arsenal after Chelsea comeback

9.36pm GMT

And that, ladies and gentlemen, is that. The first half was entertaining enough, but what a second 45! On another day, with another ref, Arsenal could have had a man sent off; Chelsea may not have been awarded their penalty. But never mind the controversies. That was a rip-roaring game of football, the kind neither side deserved to lose. Magnificent fun. Chelsea stay in third; Arsenal remain in sixth. And we’ve still got two legs of the League Cup semi-final to come!

9.36pm GMT

90 min +3: Chelsea should regain the lead! Morata is sent clear down the inside right. And for the third time this evening he fluffs a one on one! He smacks his shot into Cech. The rebound falls to Zappacosta, who smashes a hysterical drive onto the crossbar from 25 yards!

9.35pm GMT

Yes they can! Ozil slips Bellerin into space down the right. Bellerin reaches the byline and rips into the box. He crosses long with men in the middle. No matter! Because the ball’s sent into the area again. Alonso’s clearing header is weak. It drops to Bellerin, to the right of the D. One sweet half volley, and it’s creamed into the top left!

9.32pm GMT

90 min: “There’s only one team in London,” trill the visiting fans. On the Arsenal bench, Arsene Wenger hangs his head. He’s not had the breaks this week. There are four added minutes. Can the Gunners give their boss some late festive cheer?

9.30pm GMT

88 min: Before the corner is taken, Walcott comes on for Chambers. The set piece leads to Mustafi hitting a fierce volley from the edge of the box. It’s heading towards the top right, but clanks into Cahill’s arm. No penalty, because that arm was tucked into his body, and the defender had no time to react anyway. That would have been some goal.

9.29pm GMT

87 min: A lot of space for Welbeck down the right. He’s got Sanchez free in the middle, though his team-mate is offside. He’s forced to settle for a corner.

9.28pm GMT

86 min: Arsenal respond by pressing Chelsea back. Maitland-Niles nearly finds Welbeck in the centre with a cross from the left, and there’s a little blast of pinball, but eventually the reigning champions clear their lines.

9.27pm GMT

Willian, deep on the left, sprays a stunning pass wide right for Zappacosta, who twists the young Maitland-Niles inside and out. Zappacosta reaches the byline and slams a low cross into the centre, where Alonso clips a fine first-time shot across Cech and into the bottom left, six yards out and level with the right-hand post. A wonderful goal, and one that’s silenced the Emirates. What a turnaround this has been.

9.23pm GMT

82 min: Bellerin turns on the jets to make space down the right. His cross is a tad too high for Welbeck in the centre. And then Hazard is replaced by Willian, to pantomime boos. Well, it’s still technically the festive season, after all.

9.21pm GMT

80 min: Lacazette, who has run himself into the ground, is replaced by Welbeck.

9.20pm GMT

78 min: Morata tears down the left again, only to be sent turf-wards by Bellerin. The referee waves play on, causing ironic cheers to ring around the stadium. It’s safe to say the home fans have been on a rolling boil since the penalty decision. Meanwhile here’s Mac Millings again: “I have one friend fewer than And We’re Off Again!’s Simon McMahon, so I sent a copy of the magnificent The Title to my Dad instead. I’d like to tell you he loved it, but I have not yet received a note of thanks, nor, indeed, the merest acknowledgement from him of its arrival. Perhaps he’s too engrossed in its marvelousness to express gratitude to his third-most disappointing child.”

9.18pm GMT

76 min: Morata makes good down the left and very nearly finds Hazard in the middle. Cech smothers a fierce low cross with great skill.

9.17pm GMT

75 min: Some admin: Ozil was booked while protesting the penalty award. “Wilshire really shouldn’t have been on the pitch with his dive, so I’ll give it to the Blues though that was a very soft pen,” opines Tim Penney.

9.15pm GMT

73 min: Kante has a dig from the edge of the box. His shot takes a wicked deflection and only just sails wide of the left-hand post. Corner, nothing, etc., and so on.

9.14pm GMT

71 min: Fabregas is replaced by Drinkwater. He gets a very generous ovation as he exits the stage.

9.13pm GMT

70 min: And now Antonio Conte loses the place completely, as Morata misses another one on one, sent clean through by Fabregas. Morata drifts a little to the right, allowing Chambers to become an annoyance, then hoicks a shot, presumably meant for the top right, high and wide. Conte leaps around on the touchline, using words such as “eff” and “cee”. He really is not best pleased with his striker.

9.11pm GMT

69 min: Arsene Wenger is in full Fume Mode. You can’t blame him, the week he’s had. A talking point, right there. Certainly not a great deal of contact between Hazard and Bellerin.

9.10pm GMT

Hazard dribbles into the Arsenal box from the left. He chips the ball past the outstretched leg of Bellerin, and goes down very easily. That’s another Wenger-bothering decision, because there didn’t appear to be much contact. Hazard certainly went down looking for it. He gets up and strokes the ball into the left-hand side of the net, Cech having gone the other way.

9.08pm GMT

65 min: Arsenal look in the mood to recreate those crazy five minutes against Liverpool. Lacazette and Sanchez buzz down the inside-right channel with much intent. Sanchez claps an effort towards the bottom right, but it’s tipped round the post. The corner comes to nothing.

9.06pm GMT

Arsenal triangulate back and forth along the front of the Chelsea box. Suddenly the ball squirts down the inside-left channel. Wilshere strides with great purpose into the box, and absolutely larrups an unstoppable shot into the top left. Courtois is beaten at his near post, but couldn’t do anything about it, such was the ferocity of the strike. The Emirates erupts!

9.04pm GMT

62 min: Arsenal are on top now, first to everything. A crisp one-two between Ozil and Lacazette sends the former clear into the box down the left, but he can’t get the ball past Courtois. Never mind, because Maitland-Niles drifts down the left and earns a corner. From which...

9.03pm GMT

60 min: Arsenal go into high-press mode, and pin Chelsea back. It’s a fine period of pressure, featuring a couple of corners and a lot of heavy-metal hassling. It all ends when Ozil sweeps home from six yards, though the whistle had long gone for a block on Alonso amid a penalty-box melee.

9.01pm GMT

57 min: Moses is replaced by Zappacosta. “It’s amazing to me that I have never seen that Beckenbauer free kick before,” begins Mac Millings. “In fact, I refuse to believe it possible that I can have reached 45 years of age with even being aware of its existence. Conclusion? That goal is no more real than ‘Gary Naylor’.” Bah! Busted after all these years.

8.59pm GMT

55 min: And you could say the same about Wilshere. He’s already booked, and he goes over Christensen’s leg on the edge of the Chelsea box, looking for a free kick. The referee’s having none of it. Could he have shown Wilshere another yellow for a dive? There’s probably just enough ambiguity in the trick. But Arsenal could do with taking a bit more care here. On another day, with another ref, all that...

8.57pm GMT

53 min: More end-to-end fun. Lacazette is one-on-one, for a split second, latching onto an Ozil slider down the inside left. He goes for the big whack, as opposed to the dink over Courtois, and the keeper wins the duel. The resulting corner leads to a Chelsea break upfield. That ends with Hazard and Morata failing to get a bouncing ball under control on the right-hand corner of the Arsenal six-yard box. Cech smothers. In the move upfield, Holding had clattered Fabregas, so he goes in the book. Given his trip on Morata a few minutes earlier, you could argue that he’s a lucky lad.

8.53pm GMT

51 min: And off Arsenal go up the other end, the highly promising Maitland-Niles flashing down the left and curling high towards the far post. If only Sanchez was an inch taller. Goal kick.

8.52pm GMT

50 min: Fabregas slips Hazard away down the right. Hazard enters the box and fizzes a shot towards the bottom left. Cech blocks. The ball springs to Bakayoko out on the right. He scoops inside. Alonso, coming in from the left, rises high and crashes a stunning header towards the bottom right. Cech turns it round the post. The corner comes to nothing.

8.51pm GMT

49 min: Morata executes a perfect on-a-sixpence spin, and makes to sprint off down the right. He’s got a lot of grass in front of him, and so he’s cynically clipped from behind by Holding. It really should have been a yellow card, but the referee’s feeling generous. The free kick is far enough upfield to be no danger whatsoever.

8.49pm GMT

47 min: Hazard goes dancing down the left but his cross into the box is nowhere near Morata. Chelsea on the front foot in the early stages of the half.

8.48pm GMT

And we’re off again! Chelsea are 45 minutes away from becoming the first team in the Premier League this season to string together five clean sheets. Can Arsenal, who have scored in their last 24 home matches, stop them? The visitors get the ball rolling for the second half. “Evening Scott,” begins Simon McMahon. “Flattery gets you everywhere I was once told. Happy New Year to you, you handsome devil. The story about the strips is of course told in The Title, a brilliant history of pre-Premiership English football. I can thoroughly recommend it, having bought it for myself and all my friends for Christmas. Two copies then. Some of today’s overpaid lot, on both sides of the white line, would do well to read it.” Believe it or not, I’ve not paid him a penny for that.

8.44pm GMT

Half-time viewing: This comes courtesy of Gary Naylor, a notoriously hard man to please. He thinks Marcos Alonso should have done better with that free kick on 38 minutes. “Why doesn’t anybody try this? Beyond the obvious reason of course?”

8.32pm GMT

And that’s your lot for the first half. No goals, but a highly entertaining 45 minutes of end-to-end football.

8.31pm GMT

45 min: Chelsea very nearly open the scoring with a picture-book move. Ozil bursts down the middle of the park but is dispossessed by a crunching Kante tackle. The ball’s sprayed to Hazard down the inside-left channel. Hazard reaches the area and drifts across the front of it, left to right. On the right-hand edge of the D, he flicks it back to tee up Fabregas on the edge of the box. Fabregas looks to curl into the top right, but gets over-excited. That would have been something else.

8.29pm GMT

43 min: Fabregas is the second player to go in the book, winning the ball in a slide tackle with Wilshere. But he takes the man out afterwards with a hefty follow-through, and that encourages the ref to flash yellow. Fabregas isn’t happy with that decision at all.

8.27pm GMT

41 min: Moses and Hazard combine down the right, earning a corner in a tight space. Hazard does some more dribbling from a quickly taken short corner, and threatens to open Arsenal up. Which he half does, but he can’t find Morata by the near post.

8.25pm GMT

39 min: Ozil drifts in from the left and looks to pearl a low one into the bottom right. He gives it a real smack, but it’s inches wide of the right-hand post. Courtois had it covered. Arsenal immediately come at Chelsea again, Ozil dribbling towards the byline down the left. He looks for Sanchez in the middle, but the ball clanks around in the pinball style, then is spirited away by Fabregas.

8.23pm GMT

38 min: Alonso looks to whip the set piece into the top right. That’s three rugby points. That ball was never getting up and over the wall, then back down, in time.

8.22pm GMT

37 min: Bellerin and Lacazette faff about on the edge of their own box. Morata leaps in to take control. He’s upended by Xhaka, on the right-hand edge of the D. Free kick in a very dangerous position.

8.20pm GMT

35 min: More missed opportunities! Lacazette is close to latching onto a loose backpass to Courtois, but can’t connect. Then Fabregas floats in a cross from the left, the ball dropping over Mustafi to Bakayoko, free on the edge of the area! But he can’t bring it under control with his telescopic leg. Really not sure how this game remains goalless. But this is where we all are.

8.19pm GMT

33 min: Ozil meanders down the inside-left channel and rolls a pass inside. It’s an inviting one, across the face of the Chelsea box. It could be hit by either Wilshere or Xhaka. It’s hit by neither, because they leave it to each other. Then a few semaphore shapes are thrown by the pair in frustration.

8.17pm GMT

31 min: Wilshere picks up the first booking of the evening for a late slide on Fabregas in the middle of the park. It didn’t look malicious, just clumsy and very late as he entered a high-speed challenge for a loose ball that he was never going to win. He doesn’t bother arguing.

8.14pm GMT

29 min: A loose pass from Chambers in the middle of the park allows Hazard to launch a dangerous attack down the inside-left channel. Hazard can’t quite get a shot away, and though Chelsea hang on to possession and knock it around awhile, that’s the danger gone. Moses is eventually caught offside out on the right wing.

8.13pm GMT

27 min: Fabregas picks out another wonderful pass, drifting in from the left and slipping one down the channel for Bakayoko, who strides into the area and sends a riser towards Cech. The keeper tips over, and you know how these corners are going right now, so that’s that.

8.11pm GMT

25 min: Moses is sent scampering down the right by Fabregas. He earns a corner. And it’s another wasted one. But still. This match is wonderfully open.

8.09pm GMT

23 min: Lacazette, on the penalty spot with his back to goal, takes up a pass from Ozil on the left and spins, firing a stunning shot towards the bottom right. Courtois makes another world-class save at full stretch, tipping the ball round for a corner that comes to nothing.

8.08pm GMT

22 min: Incidentally, just before all that Arsenal-related drama, Chelsea very nearly went ahead themselves, Moses twisting down the right and sending a ball towards the near post, Morata not too far away from connecting. Linear narratives are so 2017.

8.06pm GMT

20 min: Ah, they’ve just shown the penalty shout again. Maitland-Niles went past Moses down the left, but clipped his own ankle while zipping past. A very good decision by the referee.

8.04pm GMT

17 min: Maitland-Niles goes over in the Chelsea box. The crowd scream for a penalty kick. It looked like one, too, at first view, but no Arsenal player claims, so maybe not. Anyway, play is waved on, and after a bit of pinball, Sanchez whips a shot towards the bottom left from ten yards. Courtois gets fingertips to it, and what an intervention, because the ball clanks off the left-hand post, rolls all the way across to the bottom of the right-hand upright, thinks about spinning in off the woodwork, but rolls back instead and stays out. Courtois smothers on the line. How did that not go in?! Wow.

8.02pm GMT

14 min: This is farcical. Moses, deep on the Chelsea right, sprays a long ball down the middle. Chambers should cut it out, but he’s having a chat with Wilshere in the centre circle! A move straight out of the famous Harry Enfield sketch, Charles Charlie Charles, all that. It’s a wonder he didn’t have a fag on. And so Morata is clear. He makes it to the box, and attempts to sidefoot past the advancing Cech and into the bottom right. He screws it well wide of the post. What a miss! That was a complete nonsense from start to end.

7.59pm GMT

13 min: Hazard sashays in from the left, gliding across the front of the Arsenal area. But he can’t find room to shoot, and he can’t pick a pass. And the see-saw vibe continues, as Sanchez slips Maitland-Niles away down the left; the young man reaches the byline but his low fizzer is dealt with easily by Courtois.

7.57pm GMT

11 min: This is lovely end-to-end fare. First Sanchez is found in space down the left; his looping ball into the centre is a touch too heavy to find Ozil, six yards out. Hazard then makes off down the left, enters the Arsenal area, and has a shot. Or was it a cross? Either way, it’s a corner that’s easily plucked from the sky by Cech.

7.56pm GMT

9 min: Chelsea ping it around in Arsenal’s final third for what seems like an age. Suddenly Morata busies himself down the left channel and very nearly breaks clear into the area. Arsenal were mesmerised for a minute there.

7.53pm GMT

7 min: Sanchez takes, looking for the top left. The ball deflects off the wall, and a rooted Courtois is relieved to see it fly wide right instead of into the top corner. It wasn’t too far away. The resulting corner is a total waste of time. Both teams have launched one decent attack, then, each following up with a nonsense of a set piece.

7.52pm GMT

6 min: Ozil drops deep, picks up the ball and runs at Chelsea down the middle. He slips the ball to Lacazette on his left. The striker draws a foul from a clumsy Kante by cutting inside. A free kick in a dangerous position, 25 yards out and level with the left-hand post.

7.51pm GMT

5 min: Chelsea hog the ball, stroking it around the back awhile. Arsenal haven’t really got going yet. Wilshere snaps around a few ankles. Lacazette attempts to get on the end of a long ball down the right. But otherwise, a quiet start by the hosts.

7.48pm GMT

2 min: Alonso jigs down the inside-left channel. He should feed Hazard into acres on the outside, but draws a foul from Wilshere instead. Chelsea take it quickly, Hazard dribbling past a snoozing Chambers and into the Arsenal box. The ball’s hacked out for a corner. Chelsea faff around with a short one, and immediately run the ball out of play.

7.47pm GMT

And we’re off! Arsenal get the ball rolling, amid bedlam. Here’s Charles Antaki. “Old Moore’s Almanac for the start of 2018 gives us: ‘A once-mighty sage, enfeebled by time, will invoke hellfire on a man garbed in sombre black, and be cast out from the field of combat while his armies yield to forces of the hirsute’. Hard to fathom, as ever.” Happy new year, everyone!

7.45pm GMT

The teams are out! And it’s a sight for sore eyes, with both teams wearing their iconic first-choice colours. Of course, it could be Chelsea sporting white sleeves, as the novel idea was first proposed to their manager David Calderhead by Daily Mail cartoonist Tom Webster in the 1930s. But the conservative Calderhead didn’t fancy making the change, and it was Arsenal’s Herbert Chapman who ran with it instead. But we digress. It’s noisy down Ashburton Grove way, as you’d expect. We’ll be off in a minute!

7.37pm GMT

Antonio Conte speaks! “It is a London derby between two big teams. This type of game is always special for the players and fans. There is a good link between Azpilicueta and Morata [who have combined for six goals already this season]. Azpilicueta has a good right foot.”

7.35pm GMT

Arsene Wenger is asked how much of a risk he’s taking by starting with Ozil. “I don’t know, but he’s been declared fit and trained yesterday. So I hope ... I think he’s 100 percent. He gives us fluidity in our game, and final balls in our final third. We are determined. Life is not always fair [a reference to the late penalty awarded against Arsenal at West Brom] and you have to deal with it, and this is a good moment to show how we can respond.”

6.57pm GMT

Mesut Özil has passed his late fitness test and starts for Arsenal. He’s one of three changes to the side sent out at West Bromwich Albion on New Year’s Eve. Rob Holding and Ainsley Maitland-Niles also step up, with Alex Iwobi dropping to the bench, and Laurent Koscielny and Saed Kolasinac both injured.

Chelsea make four changes to the starting line-up named against a Stoke City Representative XI last Saturday. Antonio Rudiger, Danny Drinkwater, Willian and Pedro are relegated to the bench, with Andreas Christensen, Cesc Fabregas, Tiemoue Bakayoko and star turn Eden Hazard taking their places.

6.46pm GMT

Arsenal: Cech, Chambers, Mustafi, Holding, Bellerin, Wilshere, Xhaka, Maitland-Niles, Ozil, Sanchez, Lacazette.
Subs: Mertesacker, Ospina, Walcott, Iwobi, Welbeck, Coquelin, Elneny.

Chelsea: Courtois, Azpilicueta, Christensen, Cahill, Moses, Fabregas, Kante, Bakayoko, Alonso, Hazard, Morata.
Subs: Caballero, Rudiger, Drinkwater, Pedro, Zappacosta, Willian, Batshuayi.

3.16pm GMT

This was the fixture, last season, that effectively decided the title race. Not quite in the way we might have imagined when Arsenal ran out easy 3-0 winners in September 2016, of course; Chelsea’s humiliation inspired Antonio Conte to give his defence a good old shoogle, and the rest is history. But it did decide the title race. Kind of.

There’ll be no similar legacy this time round. Chelsea’s title defence has been decent by any normal measure; problem is, Manchester City are setting some very abnormal standards right now. And in most years, Arsenal would still be on the fringes of the title race too. But all that’s realistically left on offer are positions two through four, and a place in next season’s Champions League. Hey, there are worse fates.

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The Fiver | Lagging behind Ragnar Klavan in the 2018 scoring chart

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2017 was a great year for Harry Kane, who achieved quite a high number in Random Stat Pulled Out Of Thin Air Six Years Ago To Establish Lionel Messi As A More Windswept And Interesting Character Than Gerd Müller (a process which was numerically but not spiritually successful, a fact on which The Fiver is sure everyone will agree). Kane’s RSPOOTASYATELMAAMWAICTGM tally of 56 goals, all for teams destined to fall agonisingly short in perpetuity, was simply stunning. But this calendar year has seen his form fall off a cliff. No goals and just one delightfully judged crossfield assist in 22 minutes of football at Swansea, which means in the 2018 scoring chart he lags behind Ragnar Klavan, while he’s only set up as many as Dejan Lovren. Bah, what a 12-month wonder! Bang go England’s hopes of a good World Cup. Shame on you, Harry.

Related: Antonio Conte reveals his yoga secret behind staying centred for Chelsea | Amy Lawrence

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Everton 4-0 West Ham United: Premier League – as it happened

Wayne Rooney completed his first-ever hat-trick for Everton in spectacular style, with a whip-smart first-time drive from inside his own half.

10.12pm GMT

Match report:

Related: Sam Allardyce watches on as Wayne Rooney hat-trick seals rare Everton win

9.54pm GMT

And so Everton caretaker boss David Unsworth does indeed go out on a high. He leaves the team in 13th spot, looking so much more comfortable than they did a couple of hours ago. And it’s all thanks to hat-trick hero Wayne Rooney, who scored a goal-of-the-season contender from inside his own half, a first-time drive of poise, cheek and technique that’ll be replayed over and over again. Sam Allardyce smiles broadly in the stand: he’s picked a good time to take over. By contrast, poor David Moyes doesn’t look quite so chuffed: his out-of-sorts West Ham side have just been thrashed by a team who had themselves been low on confidence, and remain floundering in 18th. A relegation struggle stretches out ahead of them.

9.50pm GMT

90 min +2: Everton stroke it around in the insouciant style.

9.50pm GMT

90 min +1: Calvert-Lewin is replaced by Nikola Vlasic.

9.49pm GMT

90 min: There will be three added minutes. It’s 180 seconds which can’t tick round quickly enough for David Moyes.

9.48pm GMT

89 min: A corner for West Ham out on the right. Rice sends a header sailing miles over the bar. Then Lennon is replaced, to appreciative applause, by Ademola Lookman.

9.46pm GMT

87 min: West Ham’s travelling support give “Sack the board” a quick trill.

9.44pm GMT

85 min: Rooney is given a standing ovation as he leaves the pitch. He’s earned it all right. Beni Baningime takes his place.

9.43pm GMT

84 min: Everton play a little keep-ball in the midfield. Sigurdsson and Calvert-Lewin suddenly pick up the pace, trying to open West Ham up down the inside left. Not quite.

9.41pm GMT

82 min: Goodison is quiet again. But it’s a satisfied purr around this grand old stadium. How quickly the mood changes. What a goal Wayne Rooney scored to effect that change!

9.39pm GMT

80 min: What price Pickford’s penalty save now? West Ham came out for the second half with the jets at full blast, and were excellent for a while, but they look a relegation rabble right now. It’s a thin line.

9.37pm GMT

And suddenly this is a rout. The corner’s swung in from the right. Williams gets in front of Rice, eight yards out, in line with the near post. He flicks towards the top left. Hart’s picking the ball out of his net again.

9.36pm GMT

77 min: Everton come at West Ham en masse. Davies powers towards the area. He slides the ball right for Kenny, who drills low into the box. Calvert-Lewin meets it on the penalty spot, first time, but his blast towards the bottom right is deflected out by Reid, another heroic slide. But Reid really has done himself, and is forced to go off. Declan Rice comes on in his stead.

9.34pm GMT

75 min: Calvert-Lewin very nearly strips Reid for pace down the left. Reid stops him with a last-ditch slide tackle; the Everton man would have been clear down the wing otherwise. But saving a free run on goal has come at a cost, as Reid springs up and feels his hamstring. He’ll keep going for now.

9.32pm GMT

73 min: Everton are cruising now. Lennon dribbles down the left and nearly breaks through, but the move peters out. “Who’d have thought that, with all that transfer activity, the most important signing of Everton’s summer was Joe Hart for West Ham?” quips Gary Naylor.

9.30pm GMT

70 min: And here’s the other side of Rooney, deliberately raking his studs down the back of Lanzini’s leg. It’s a yellow for sure. A red wouldn’t be completely outrageous. But the referee doesn’t do anything.

9.28pm GMT

68 min: Wow!

9.27pm GMT

Calvert_Lewin chases a lost cause down the inside-left channel. Hart races from his area, sliding in to hook the ball back upfield. Rooney, just inside the centre circle on the left, meets the clearance first time, driving it over the stranded Hart and into the empty net from his own half! What technique! What vision! What a way to complete his first-ever Everton hat-trick!

9.25pm GMT

66 min: West Ham continue to ping it around. Antonio suddenly bursts down the inside-right channel. He’s got men in the middle, but drags the ball behind them all. Bad mistake, because ...

9.22pm GMT

63 min: Everton have hardly touched the ball since the restart. West Ham are dominating the middle of the park. The home fans aren’t particularly happy with things right now.

9.21pm GMT

61 min: David Moyes, perhaps mindful of keeping his team’s collective chin up after the penalty miss, makes another change, swapping Arnautovic for Antonio.

9.20pm GMT

59 min: Lanzini takes, smacking it towards the bottom left. It’s not a brilliant spot kick, well inside the post, but not terrible either. However Pickford gets down and with a strong hand pushes the ball away from danger! West Ham’s chance to get back into this game is spurned! Pickford has done his mate Williams a big favour there, because the challenge to concede the spot kick was a nonsense.

9.18pm GMT

58 min: Sakho and Arnautovic take turns to hold the ball up purposefully on the right-hand edge of the Everton box. They can’t quite open the hosts up. But no matter! They come straight back at them. Sakho holds the ball up again, with his back to goal. Williams clumsily scythes him down from behind. A no-brainer for the ref. Penalty!

9.16pm GMT

56 min: Lennon and Kenny combine down the right. But the street of Kenny is a dead end, and he runs the ball out of play. Still, that’s a little period of play in West Ham territory; Everton need the breather.

9.13pm GMT

54 min: Davies is retrospectively booked for a late tackle on Kouyate, the infringement coming in the middle of that West Ham flurry.

9.12pm GMT

52 min: Lanzini cuts in from the left and sends a swerving riser goalwards from 25 yards. Pickford parries well. Then another phase of attack, as Lanzini rolls a pass towards Cresswell down the inside-left channel. Cresswell sends a screamer towards the top right. Pickford is beaten, but the ball clips the crossbar instead of nestling into the corner. West Ham are so unlucky not to be right back in this match. They’ve been a different team since the restart.

9.09pm GMT

50 min: Zabaleta and Cresswell take turns to wheech the ball into the Everton mixer from either flank. Everton manage to clear the balls easily enough, but they’re soon forced to defend again as West Ham come straight back at them. The Goodison crowd are a bit agitated at this state of affairs.

9.08pm GMT

49 min: Everton are being pinned back in their own box right now. West Ham are in the zone for the first time this evening. Pickford still hasn’t had his hands seriously warmed, but small acorns and all that.

9.07pm GMT

48 min: Everton fail to deal with a long hoof into their box. Martina and Sakho both miss their headers on the edge of the area. Arnautovic is therefore afforded a little space in the right of the box. He looks to curl one onto Sakho’s head, six yards out, but the ball’s too close to Pickford, who picks it off.

9.05pm GMT

46 min: The early signs are good for West Ham. A one-two between Ayew and Sakho earns a corner down the right within 20 seconds of the restart. The set piece leads to nothing, but West Ham already look a bit more lively. Moyes with a few paint-stripping words at half-time, one would imagine.

9.04pm GMT

And we’re off again! West Ham get the ball rolling, having made one change: Sakho comes on for Obiang. It’s a positive move. It needed to be. But will it make any difference? West Ham were toothless in the first half.

9.00pm GMT

The mood from both camps at half time? Contrasting, to say the least. First up, here’s Ian the Esherhammer: “We have a keeper weak on one side and can’t kick. A back four containing probably the worst Italian international in history. A midfield that seems to have forgotten how to run and pass. Centre forwards that are either mad (Sakho) or knackered (Carroll). And the two most expensive players in the club’s history? Arnie and Ayew? £44m on decorations when we’ve spent bugger all on foundations. I’ve not seen worse in 40 years.”

Meanwhile here’s Barry McAuley’s verdict on all-new mid-table Everton: “Just another seven goals and Everton could be up to 12th for the start of the new regime. And lest we forget, an international manager with a 100% record at that level! A real signal of intent by the Everton board.”

8.57pm GMT

Everton don’t really do relegation, anyway, as a rule. The last time they fell out of the top division was in 1951, when they did so in some style, thrashed 6-0 by Sheffield Wednesday when a point would have saved their skin. “To abuse Everton at this stage would be like picking up a person badly mauled from a street accident and reading him a lecture on the folly of jaywalking.” A contemporary take by your super soaraway Manchester Guardian, as referenced in The Title: The Story of the First Division. Happier times also feature: Dixie Dean, the Golden Vision, Howard Kendall, all that. But still, 6-0.

8.50pm GMT

West Ham won here from two goals down in March 2016. But Dimitri Payet isn’t around these days. It’s difficult to see where any comeback would come from tonight. Everton, after a slightly nervous start, have wrested total control of this game. The way things are going, they’ll be in mid-table in an hour’s time, and West Ham will remain in the dropzone.

8.47pm GMT

45 min +1: The corner leads to a messy melee in the Everton six-yard box. Zabaleta tries to latch onto the ball as it bounces around freely, but he can’t get near enough to give it a whack, and Everton clear their lines.

8.46pm GMT

45 min: Lanzini dribbles down the right and is brought down by Sigurdsson a few yards from the corner flag. Cresswell loops it deep; Kenny heads out for a corner. West Ham really need something before the break to raise their spirits.

8.44pm GMT

44 min: Davies embarks on another wander towards the West Ham area. No pressure on him whatsoever. He tries to thread a pass down the inside-right channel to release Lennon into the area. It’s not quite right, but not far away either.

8.43pm GMT

43 min: West Ham knock it around the middle of the park awhile, but go absolutely nowhere. The stuffing really has been knocked out of them.

8.42pm GMT

41 min: Holgate very nearly tees up Ayew on the edge of the Everton box, fluffing a simple header back to his keeper by knocking the ball straight up in the air. But Pickford is wise to what’s unfolding, and is quickly out to gather the ball before the striker can get anywhere near it. Pickford is the real deal.

8.40pm GMT

39 min: Now it’s the turn of Davies to go down in the West Ham area, under a shoulder charge from Ogbonna. Nothing wrong with that. But Everton have a spring in their step. They’re putting West Ham under all sorts of pressure. The visitors have no answer.

8.38pm GMT

37 min: In great contrast to West Ham, Everton now look full of beans. Calvert-Lewin chases a long pass down the inside-left channel. He goes down under a challenge from Arnautovic, and claims a penalty, but it’s shoulder to shoulder and Michael Oliver isn’t having a bar of it. The correct decision.

8.35pm GMT

35 min: Sigurdsson harries and hassles down the left, but can’t find a man in the middle. Arnautovic looks to break upfield, and is tugged back by the frustrated Icelandic international, who is booked for his trouble.

8.35pm GMT

33 min: West Ham are struggling to keep hold of the ball right now. Rooney’s second has seriously knocked their already fragile confidence. Zabaleta, who wants to watch himself having already been booked, goes in heavy on Lennon. No foul, but an unnecessary risk in the middle of the park. Arnautovic tries to get things going down the right but runs the ball out of play.

8.32pm GMT

31 min: From a tangle in the midfield, Masuaku breaks at great speed down the left touchline. It’s a determined run, and he whips in a vicious cross. But nobody in claret has kept up with him, and Pickford is able to claim the ball without any problem.

8.31pm GMT

30 min: Obiang is fortunate to escape a booking for a clumsy, if not malicious, clank on Davies in the centre circle.

8.30pm GMT

What a return to the side by Wayne Rooney! Everton’s talisman and captain makes it two, sweeping in a simple chance from eight yards into the bottom left. It had been set up by Davies, who had powered into the box from the right and crossed low. But what were West Ham doing? Davies was completely untracked; Rooney was totally unmarked in the middle of the box! Appalling defending. But Everton did what they had to do. Goodison jumps again!

8.27pm GMT

26 min: Zabaleta is booked for tap-tackling Sigurdsson on the ankles when writhing about on the floor. The resulting free kick, pumped into the box, sees Lennon clipping Masuaku to the floor. Pressure off.

8.26pm GMT

25 min: Arnautovic and Kouyate combine well down the inside-right channel, pressurising Everton in their own box. The ball eventually squeaks through harmlessly to Pickford, but West Ham have responded reasonably, if not marvellously, well to falling behind.

8.24pm GMT

23 min: Cresswell, Masuaku and Lanzini buzz down the left to earn yet another West Ham corner. Holgate nuts that one upfield without fuss or ceremony. Everton try to break upfield through Rooney, but there are no options, and possession is given up quickly.

8.22pm GMT

21 min: The penalty incident and goal apart, this game has been a shapeless mess. Everton fans will care not a jot. “As a West Ham fan I think Gary Naylor has got it right on BFS,” writes Tom Shaw. “I was one of a minority of West Ham fans who was sorry to see him go and I thought he was treated disgracefully by our supporters who seemed to be under some illusion that we were just the right manager away from being a Champions League team. We were not, and neither are Everton. At the moment all either side can hope for is a bit of mid-table stability. I’d also have taken Benitez, though I think Moyes is a good appointment for us.”

8.20pm GMT

20 min: West Ham come straight back at Everton, earning themselves a second corner out on the left. Lanzini swings it in. Pickford claims it easily. Goodison is making some noise now.

8.19pm GMT

It’s a dismal penalty by Rooney, soft towards the bottom left. Hart does brilliantly to get down and parry, but the ball balloons up, allowing Rooney to cushion a simple header into the unguarded net from a couple of yards!

8.18pm GMT

17 min: Good work by Kenny down the right earns Everton’s first corner of the night. West Ham clear it easily. They should break upfield, but faff about and allow Everton to come back at them. Rooney slips a ball through the middle for Calvert-Lewin. It’s not a perfect pass, but it breaks to the striker, who is clean through! He tries to round Hart on the right, and is upended by the keeper. Penalty! Hart might have got a slight touch to the ball, but he also brought down the man on the follow-through.

8.16pm GMT

15 min: A West Ham free kick from the middle of the park is witlessly booted into the Everton box. Martina should let it fly out for a goal kick, but heads out for a throw instead. West Ham send a couple of balls into the box from the right. Kenny heads one up straight into the air. Then Pickford does very well to claim a fierce cross by Zabaleta. Everton don’t look particularly confident at the back, like that’s breaking news.

8.13pm GMT

13 min: Martina bombs down the left and loops long. Davies, on the right-hand edge of the West Ham D, nearly takes control and bursts into the box. But he can’t quite manage it. Still, this is better from Everton.

8.12pm GMT

12 min: Calvert-Lewin, chasing another direct pass, puts pressure on Ogbonna down the Everton right. He very nearly nips in ahead of the defender on the edge of the area, but Ogbonna stands firm, turns and blooters clear. That’s calm defending, but decent pressure from the young Everton striker as well.

8.11pm GMT

10 min: Rooney again tries to get a sleepy looking Everton going. But he’s probing from a very deep position on the left. He attempts to burst infield and drive a pass down the inside-left channel, but his rangefinder is off at the minute.

8.09pm GMT

8 min: Masuaku sprints down the left and earns the first corner of the game. Lanzini curls it into the mixer; it’s cleared easily enough by Holgate. The anxiety and uncertainty continues to quietly crackle around Goodison.

8.08pm GMT

7 min: Wayne Rooney is currently quarterbacking from the left-back position. Everton are not doing much in attack, in other words. But they are still seeing most of the ball.

8.06pm GMT

5 min: The atmosphere has fallen flat quite quickly. Goodison is understandably collectively nervous after the fiasco against Atalanta last week. One woman was spotted in the stands waving a sign on which she stated her support for Everton, but not for Allardyce. There’s not much happening on the pitch, by the way; you’re missing nowt.

8.04pm GMT

3 min: Everton are enjoying the lion’s share in the early exchanges. Not to any great effect. Holgate smacks a long ball down the right, but there’s nobody in blue anywhere near it, and that’s a goal kick for West Ham.

8.01pm GMT

And we’re off! Everton get the ball rolling. They immediately knock it long. Rooney, out on the left, rakes a diagonal ball into the box, in the general direction of Lennon. Cresswell rises highest and guides the ball back to Hart. The hosts on the front foot, early doors, in the no-nonsense style. It should be noted that Big Sam hasn’t actually taken over yet.

8.00pm GMT

The teams are out! Everton are in their famous royal blue, while West Ham turn out in their storied claret and blue. Everyone looking good. A rare old atmosphere. And Goodison Park is resplendent under the floodlights, as it always is. It might not be the grandest ground in the country any more, but it’s dripping with character. You can’t buy or build that sort of thing. It’s possible one or two West Ham fans will have an opinion on this subject. But never mind that! We’ll be off in a minute!

7.51pm GMT

David Moyes, returning to his old stomping ground, is asked whether this is a night for sentiment. “No, not at all. We’ve got to make sure we get three points, make sure we get a good result. So no, I’m here to do a job. We’ll build on our performance against Leicester, we took some things from it, but we need to play much better, get three points on the board, though one was good. Andy Carroll went over on his knee, which is frustrating but it happens. Everton have a few injuries too. It’s good that Sam is here, I’m glad he’s back in work, he’s a great guy and a very good manager. I hope it doesn’t motivate them, I want our team to be winning, I’m really only concentrating on West Ham. I had some great times here and I’ll meet the people after the game and have a drink with them. But my focus is on West Ham.”

7.43pm GMT

Big Sam: your views. “I might be the only Evertonian pleased with Big Sam’s appointment,” announces Gary Naylor, who may or may not have spent all afternoon trawling the message boards, Twitter, etc. “The last two managers (three if you count Unsworth) have overseen teams that, on the pitch at least, have gone off the rails, losing discipline, shape and morale. If that happens again, but this time starting from 17th not 7th, where would we be? But I’d have moved heaven and earth to get Rafa Benitez (still would next summer) and I suspect I’ll be in a minority of one on that.”

Meanwhile here’s Matt Dony. “Five cryogenic chambers, one dependable centre half, and 20,000 packs of industrial-strength gum seems a reasonable shopping list for Big Sam (19.23). Don’t forget ‘one pint of wine’, though.”

7.37pm GMT

David Unsworth speaks ahead of his last game as caretaker. “The motivation is to play well, there’s a new manager watching. All the players have to impress him, but we have to impress our fans too. That’s the most important thing, we need to get a win. We’ve been a bit unfortunate to pick up injuries, but that’s part of the game. There are other players who are given an opportunity, so the onus is on them to perform. I’d like to have had a high in every single game, I can assure you. But of course I want to go out on a high, I want the club to win three points. I want everyone associated with Everton to go home with a smile on their face, and we will do our very best.”

7.23pm GMT

Incidentally, Big Sam is in the house. And he looks like he means business. Wasting not a moment.

7.16pm GMT

Everton make five changes to the starting XI ripped apart at St Mary’s on Sunday afternoon. Leighton Baines, Michael Keane and Phil Jagielka are injured, Morgan Schneiderlin is benched, and Kevin Mirallas fails to make the squad. In come Mason Holgate, Ashley Williams, Cuco Martina, Tom Davies and restored captain Wayne Rooney.

West Ham by contrast are the very picture of consistency. Just the one change to the team sent out for that hard-earned draw with Leicester City at the London Stadium last Friday. Andy Carroll is injured, so his place is taken by Andre Ayew.

7.04pm GMT

Everton: Pickford, Kenny, Holgate, Williams, Martina, Davies, Gueye, Lennon, Rooney, Sigurdsson, Calvert-Lewin.
Subs: Schneiderlin, Sandro, Besic, Vlasic, Lookman, Robles, Baningime.

West Ham United: Hart, Zabaleta, Reid, Ogbonna, Cresswell, Kouyate, Obiang, Arnautovic, Lanzini, Masuaku, Ayew.
Subs: Adrian, Sakho, Noble, Martinez, Antonio, Fernandes, Rice.

9.28am GMT

... the biggest game in Everton’s history. Well, that’s what Match of the Day pundit and erstwhile Evertonian Martin Keown was suggesting the other night. Let’s set aside the likes of the 1928 match against Arsenal when Dixie Dean needed a hat-trick to break George Camsell’s league goalscoring record of 59, the 1933 FA Cup final, the 1966 FA Cup final, the 1984 FA Cup final, the 1985 Cup Winners Cup final, and the 1994 status-saving mission against Wimbledon ... let’s not nitpick. Because you get the general drift. This is quite a big one, after all.

It’s 17th versus 18th. A relegation six-pointer? Well, not quite. It’s way too early for that. But it’s a game which could set a tone or sour a season. A win tonight for shambolic Everton, who have lost their last two fixtures 5-1 and 4-1, would catapult them up to 14th spot; they’d be five clear of the dropzone, and with Sam Allardyce coming in, worries of a first relegation since 1951 would suddenly look a bit daft. Defeat, though, would plunge them into the relegation places. Again, it’d be far too early to seriously fret, with two thirds of the season still to play. But fret people will, these days.

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