Scott Murray's Blog, page 88

The Fiver | Jumpy and paranoid to the point of not taking questions from papers

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Say what you like about Shed Reorganising, Car Boot Vacuuming and Old Episodes Of Quincy Watching’s Frank Lampard, but the recent run of five defeats in seven Premier League games that did for him wasn’t the worst in Chelsea’s history. Not by a long chalk. How about this string of results in 1980-81, from the start of December until the end of the season in May, and in the old Second Division to boot: 0-0, 0-2, 0-1, 0-2, 0-0, 0-0, 0-1, 3-0, 3-0, 0-4, 0-1, 0-1, 2-0, 0-1, 0-0, 0-1, 0-1, 0-0, 0-0, 0-2, 0-3, 0-2. They found the net in only three of their last 22 matches! If that sort of thing happened today, the steel toecap of Mr Roman’s Big Boot o’ Bye Bye would be worn down to a grade of foil not recommended for roasting.

Related: David Squires on … Chelsea's sacking of Frank Lampard

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The Fiver | An appointment with Mr Roman’s twitchy, well-scuffed sacking shoe

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Stamford Bridge is swathed in snow, but that’s not why Po’ Frank Lampard’s a-cold. Po’ Frank’s a-cold because Frank Lampard’s Chelsea have just issued him with Frank Lampard’s P45, Mr Roman’s notorious and oft-operated boot sending him bouncing eastbound along London’s fashionable King’s Rahd in style, his old school tie trailing in the breeze. Seems scraping past 10-man Fulham, eking out a turgid win against second-tier Luton, and having his coaching trousers washed, pressed and handed back to him on a silver platter by Brendan Rodgers wasn’t enough to save his dream job after all. Hey, it’s lucky Brenny gave him back those breeks, huh kids, because Mr Roman has hoofed him down the Rahd with some force and feeling. Imagine the neon chafing that would otherwise have occurred by the time he reached Sloane Square.

Related: Chelsea to appoint Thomas Tuchel as manager after Frank Lampard is sacked

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Football transfer rumours: Benteke and Musa to join West Brom?

Today’s fluff is feeling a bit more optimistic about things

Arsenal had the FA Cup wrested from their paws at the weekend, so are cheering themselves up with some retail therapy. It looks like they might have landed Martin Ødegaard, the New Messi of 2015, on loan from Real Madrid until the end of the season. Real Sociedad are however still hoping to entice him back to San Sebastian, where he enjoyed himself during the 2019-20 season. Arsenal are therefore hedging their bets by keeping close tabs on Norwich City’s Emiliano Buendía.

Related: 'Amazing journey': Mesut Özil thanks Arsenal as he seals Fenerbahce move

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Cheltenham 1-3 Manchester City: FA Cup fourth round – as it happened

The Robins were nine minutes away from one of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history, only for City to extinguish the dream with a three-goal salvo

7.46pm GMT

Ben Fisher was at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium. Having now filed his report, I hope he’s booked himself a luxury chauffeur to whisk him home. Congratulations to Manchester City, who advance to a fifth-round tie at Swansea having refused to panic when in a very sticky situation. Commiserations to Cheltenham Town, who were nine minutes away from one of the greatest upsets of all time. Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe and warm, everyone. Nighty night!

Related: Phil Foden and Manchester City dash Cheltenham dreams of Cup upset

7.43pm GMT

Michael Duff is in a philosophical mood. “I don’t know whether it’s tough to take. I’m so proud of the players. I said before the game I wanted to effect the game in a positive way, and I don’t think we deserved the third. That was harsh on the lads. But that’s what they do, they’re world-class players, they move you and move and move, but I’m incredibly proud. The players they brought off the bench probably tells you something. The way they celebrated their goals probably tells you something as well. They’ll know they’ve been in a game. They did everything I asked, other than see the game out, but they’ve done that to better teams than us! Unfortunately it wasn’t to be. But I’m delighted for the club. The key is enjoy it, but we’re back to work against Oldham on Monday. We’ve got to kick on.”

7.38pm GMT

The City cream rose to the top in the end. Foden and the substitute Cancelo proved the difference in the end, the latter with a hand in two of the goals that broke Cheltenham hearts. But when the pain subsides, the League Two team will have memories to last a lifetime. Tozer and May were the stand-out heroes, but Azaz, Boyle, Clements and Raglan weren’t too far behind. Oh, and Griffiths in goal. And Lloyd, Blair, Freestone, Thomas, Williams, Long and Addai. What a performance, the Robins nine minutes away from one of the biggest shocks in the entire history of the FA Cup. City will feel extremely relieved to have escaped, just in time. They’ll travel to Swansea City in the fifth round.

7.32pm GMT

Phil Foden was City’s stand-out performer, and here he is, talking to the BBC. “We were a bit slow at times in the first half, but it was all down to them, they played really well and made it hard for us. They had a good shape. We’re really glad to get the win. In the end we got the goals. There’s no better feeling than scoring, I’m just enjoying it at the moment.” He also reports that after the final whistle, he told Cheltenham striker Alfie May that he’s “a great player, their most influential player ... I said you had a great game and your team done well today.” The young man very magnanimous in victory.

7.28pm GMT

City clear one hell of a hurdle at Cheltenham. This score flatters them. It’s not that they were poor; they weren’t. It’s just that Cheltenham were magnificent to a man, is all.

7.27pm GMT

City ping it around. Suddenly they turn up the tempo. Cancelo sashays infield from the right and plays Gundogan in down the channel. Gundogan fizzes towards the near post, where Torres slams home.

7.25pm GMT

90 min +2: City continue to play keep ball in the professional style. They’re showing the League Two side ultimate respect. Cheltenham have earned every scrap.

7.24pm GMT

90 min +1: On the BBC, Danny Murphy has named Ben Tozer the man of the match. Nobody would disagree. He’s been a giant at both ends of the pitch. That goalline clearance from Mendy: man!

7.23pm GMT

90 min: There will be four extra minutes in which Cheltenham can salvage their dream.

7.22pm GMT

89 min: City play keep ball. All of a sudden, the clock is their friend.

7.20pm GMT

88 min: Addai replaces Clements.

7.20pm GMT

87 min: They nearly damn well did, you know. Laporte half clears the corner. The ball drops to Blair, just inside the box to the right of goal. He attempts a Le Tissieresque volley towards the top left, but it’s always flying far too high.

7.18pm GMT

86 min: Another long Tozer throw earns a corner. They couldn’t, could they?

7.18pm GMT

Fernandinho, out on the left, floats a diagonal ball into the box. Jesus - just about level - brings it down delicately before battering a shot into the bottom right. A brilliant double whammy from City. How quickly a dream can evaporate.

7.16pm GMT

83 min: Another opportunity for Tozer to fling in a long throw. Before he can take it, Guardiola comes across to complain about something or other, presumably Tozer’s elaborate towelling routine. Eventually the throw comes in. Mahrez deals with this one.

7.14pm GMT

Cancelo crosses deep from the right. Foden springs the Cheltenham offside trap and sidefoots a volley past Griffiths and into the left-hand side of the net. City save themselves with nine minutes to go!

7.13pm GMT

81 min: Cheltenham were about to replace May with Williams, but Azaz comes off instead.

7.12pm GMT

80 min: Azaz is down with cramp. No wonder, he’s been everywhere.

7.12pm GMT

79 min: Cancelo, 25 yards out on the right, cuts inside and looks for the bottom left. His curler floats harmlessly past the post.

7.10pm GMT

78 min: Gundogan chips into the box from the right. Foden heads well over the bar from eight yards.

7.09pm GMT

77 min: Another City change, as Mendy is replaced by Cancelo.

7.08pm GMT

76 min: Fernandinho floats a speculative ball into the Cheltenham box. Raglan very calmly cushions a header back to Griffiths.

7.07pm GMT

75 min: The tension is palpable. Imagine if this place was rammed with punters!

7.06pm GMT

73 min: The ball flicks off Raglan and a corner is conceded from distance. The first, on the left, is headed clear by Boyle under extreme pressure, and leads to a second on the right. Mahrez curls it to the near post, but Freestone is there to skelp clear.

7.05pm GMT

72 min: City stroke it around the middle, but Cheltenham are holding their shape and there’s no way through.

7.03pm GMT

70 min: Foden slips a ball down the inside right for Mahrez, who is one on one with Griffiths but slams his effort straight at the keeper. Take nothing away from the save, but Mahrez should have scored. Throw in the goal and the earlier miss by Jesus, and City might be starting to worry that this is written in the stars.

7.02pm GMT

69 min: Gundogan’s first job is to whip the free kick over everybody in the box and out of play. Griffiths takes care over the goal kick, with professional clock management very much in mind.

7.00pm GMT

68 min: Torres drops a shoulder with a view to haring down the right. He’s checked illegally by Freestone. Before the free kick can be taken, City replace Harwood-Bellis and Doyle with Dias and Gundogan, while Cheltenham swap Lloyd with Long.

6.58pm GMT

66 min: Azaz, quarterbacking from deep, tries to release May down the inside-right channel. Steffen races out of his area to intercept just in time.

6.57pm GMT

64 min: City look visibly shocked at what Cheltenham have done to them. A lot of movement on the bench, as a beyond-livid Guardiola prepares to ring the changes.

6.55pm GMT

62 min: Some space for Mahrez to run into down the right. He romps into the box but his low cross-cum-shot is blocked by the ever-sensational Tozer. Cheltenham clear their lines.

6.53pm GMT

61 min: Laporte claims an illegal shove, but there really wasn’t much in the challenge from Raglan. And there’s no VAR, so the referee’s decision is final. He talks himself into the book.

6.52pm GMT

Here comes another of Tozer’s long throws. He flings it in from the left. Raglan causes some confusion at the near post, beating Laporte. The ball rolls off Raglan’s back and drops to May, who roofs it from six yards! One of the biggest shocks in FA Cup history is on!

6.49pm GMT

57 min: Laporte clears the corner with a fine Tozereque header. It’s the biggest compliment I can give him.

6.49pm GMT

56 min: Some more fancy footwork from the excellent Azaz, and he earns enough space to slip Boyle into a bit of space down the left. Boyle wins a corner.

6.47pm GMT

54 min: Azaz spins away from Fernandinho with Brazilian grace. His attempt to subsequently release May is no good, but never mind that. A lovely bit of skill to escape the attention of one of the best defensive midfielders in the country.

6.46pm GMT

53 min: Foden slips Jesus clear down the middle. A gorgeously weighted pass. Jesus takes it without breaking stride, enters the box and ... sidefoots past Griffiths but shaves the outside of the right-hand post. What a miss!

6.44pm GMT

51 min: A free kick for City out on the right. Doyle curls it towards Jesus, who lets it slap his startled face. The ball twangs harmlessly out for a goal kick.

6.43pm GMT

50 min: May spots Steffen off his line, but gets his cheeky attempt at a long-distance lob all wrong. The ball clanks off the top of the stand behind and out of the stadium with perfect comic timing. May has the good grace to grin sheepishly.

6.42pm GMT

49 min: Foden takes the resulting free kick, and puts too much on it. City soon come back at Cheltenham, Torres trying something spectacular from a tight angle on the right. It flies over the bar.

6.41pm GMT

48 min: Raglan is booked for a needlessly aggressive lunge on Jesus. He’s lucky Jesus got out of the way, because that could have got quite unpleasant if there was big contact. Not the best challenge.

6.40pm GMT

47 min: Griffiths sends a long free kick into the City box. Boyle wins the header but the ball sails out harmlessly for a goal kick.

6.39pm GMT

46 min: Fernandinho tries to slide a pass down the right channel for Torres. Who intercepts? Tozer intercepts. He’s having a hell of a game.

6.37pm GMT

Cheltenham get the second half underway. No changes for either side.

6.25pm GMT

Half-time entertainment. No replays this year, of course, so let’s go back to the era of the marathon tie.

Related: When Everton took three replays to beat Sheffield Wednesday in FA Cup

6.23pm GMT

What a magnificent display. No, not the fireworks: fourth-tier Cheltenham Town. They’ve been brilliant to a man so far, though special notices should be posted for Tozer, Griffiths and Azaz. It’s not even that City have been particularly bad. It’s just the FA Cup, is all. The magic of the FA Cup. Can it last another 45 minutes for Cheltenham? We’ll be on the verge of a sensation if so!

6.21pm GMT

45 min +5: Now Tozer does some tidying up at the back. He’s been the man of the match so far, not least because of that astonishing goalline clearance.

6.20pm GMT

45 min +4: Another opportunity for Tozer to do his thing. In comes the throw from the left. Mahrez hooks this one clear.

6.19pm GMT

45 min +3: Clements curls the corner in with pace. Steffen does extremely well to punch clear under extreme pressure.

6.18pm GMT

45 min +2: The first opportunity for Tozer to showcase his long throw. He towels the ball down, then flings it in from the left. Laporte is forced to head it behind, a melee having developed at the near post.

6.17pm GMT

45 min +1: The first of six extra minutes passes by.

6.16pm GMT

45 min: The fireworks fizzle out, and the game restarts. Cheltenham nearly catch City cold, Griffiths launching long, Boyle flicking on, Lloyd clattering into the back of Laporte on the penalty spot as he fought to get a shot away. Free kick for City.

6.14pm GMT

43 min: Both sets of players congregate by the touchline, waiting for the display to stop. It doesn’t stop. The referee has a word with the local bobby, who runs off to see what’s what.

6.12pm GMT

41 min: Some fireworks outside the stadium. A couple land on the field of play, and referee Stuart Attwell has no option but to take the players off.

6.10pm GMT

39 min: Mahrez dribbles down the inside-left channel and curls hard towards the top left. Griffiths parries the shot high into the sky, then claims at the second attempt.

6.09pm GMT

38 min: Doyle nicks the ball off Azaz, but in doing so, hysterically shanks the ball out for a corner. City deal with the set piece easily enough, and suddenly Mahrez is tearing clear down the right. He crosses in the hope of finding Foden, but Tozer is positioned well to head clear.

6.07pm GMT

36 min: Jesus is blocked by Tozer’s arm as he darts down the left. He wants a penalty but he’s not getting it. The ball’s worked back to Fernandinho, who creams a shot towards the top left. It’s always heading wide, and Griffiths had it covered anyway.

6.05pm GMT

34 min: Doyle ships possession meekly and Cheltenham stream forward in attack. Azaz drives down the middle then slips a pass wide to Freestone, who is in plenty of space but hesitates and is eventually forced to turn tail. Just for a second there, City looked light at the back and Cheltenham were carrying a threat.

6.03pm GMT

32 min: Freestone curls a pass down the left to release May. The flag goes up. That looked tight. May would have been free. City fly up the other end, Mendy cutting back from the byline on the left to find Foden, who slams a first-time shot into the hoardings. By the look of frustration on his face, he expected to score there.

6.02pm GMT

30 min: Griffiths blooters a drop-kick down the middle. It nearly finds its way through to Lloyd on the edge of the City box. Not quite, but Garcia didn’t look particularly comfortable as he grappled nearby with May. Cheltenham are keeping City’s defenders honest.

5.59pm GMT

28 min: May bustles down the right and draws a free kick from Laporte. Clements loops it long, hoping to find Raglan at the far post, but it hangs in the air and Steffen rises to claim.

5.57pm GMT

26 min: Mendy whistles a volleyed cross through the six-yard box from the left. It’s begging to be turned home, but a deflection takes it away from Jesus and Torres.

5.56pm GMT

24 min: City clear the corner easily enough, and then Boyle is booked for upending Doyle in an over-zealous attempt to keep the pressure on.

5.54pm GMT

23 min: Azaz shovels a clever pass down the inside left for his pal May, who strides into the City box and attempts to catch Steffen out at his near post. Steffen is forced to turn the ball around the post for a corner. That was a fine move.

5.53pm GMT

22 min: Mahrez curls in from the right. Jesus wins a header eight yards out. Ah hold on, it’s his shoulder, and that’ll explain why the ball harmlessly squirted wide left.

5.52pm GMT

21 min: City stroke it around the back in the patient style. Cheltenham will be more than happy with this. Then they intercept, Azaz trying to spring May clear down the inside left. The flag goes up correctly for offside.

5.50pm GMT

19 min: Another City corner, another calm claim for Griffiths. The young keeper’s had a great game so far.

5.49pm GMT

18 min: Clements shanks the ball to Mendy on the left. Mendy feeds Foden, who crosses low for Torres. A snapshot is well saved by Griffiths, the rebound hacked out for another City corner.

5.48pm GMT

17 min: Tozer hooks a clearance upfield and accidentally boots Torres in the chest on the follow-through. City want a free kick for a high challenge, but they’re not getting one.

5.47pm GMT

15 min: City have come very close twice, but Cheltenham will be extremely happy to get to the first staging post unscathed. They’ve played well so far, resolute in defence, and unafraid to throw men into attack.

5.45pm GMT

13 min: Nothing comes of the resulting corner. That might have been one of the greatest, certainly one of the most unreal, goalline clearances in the entire history of football. Sensational!

5.44pm GMT

12 min: Doyle crosses from the right. The ball’s half cleared to Mendy, who is barrelling in from the left. Mendy hits a rising howitzer towards the top right. It’s surely a goal, he’s really creamed that! But Tozer makes a spectacular one-in-a-million goalline clearance! A stunning diving header! He had about 0.00000000001 seconds of reaction time to deal with that.

5.41pm GMT

10 min: Mahrez fouls Clements near the centre circle and it’s another chance for the hosts to fling a free kick into the City box. It’s easily cleared by Fernandinho.

5.40pm GMT

9 min: Doyle whips the free kick into the Cheltenham box. A quick bit of pinball before the ball sails into the arms of Griffiths.

5.39pm GMT

8 min: The free kick’s floated into the mixer. Boyle wins a header. It drops to Thomas, who tries to Zidane a shot goalwards from a tight angle on the right. The ball loops off Garcia. Cheltenham claim a penalty for handball, but no way. City go up the other end, Mahrez illegally blocked by Freestone as he makes his way down the right.

5.38pm GMT

7 min: Azaz probes down the left. City half clear, but then Jesus barges clumsily into the back of Clements, and this is a free kick, just to the left of centre, 30 yards out. Cheltenham load the box.

5.36pm GMT

6 min: Cheltenham look lively in these early exchanges. Azaz slips a ball down the inside-right channel and finds May, but the striker’s gone too soon and the flag goes up for offside.

5.35pm GMT

4 min: A real concern for May, who is Cheltenham’s leading scorer. But thankfully he’s up and about. A sore hand, but he looks good to continue. So Cheltenham have just about managed to bodyswerve what would have been a couple of huge early blows.

5.34pm GMT

2 min: Cheltenham breathe out. Blair goes romping down the right, and fires one towards the near post. May can only slam the ball wide, and his momentum sends him crashing into the advertising hoardings. He stays down awhile, having hurt his arm.

5.32pm GMT

21 seconds: City nearly take the lead, Mahrez looping down the right, Jesus breaking into the box and attempting to chip over Griffiths in the Cheltenham goal. Griffiths does extremely well to paw away. What a start that would have been.

5.31pm GMT

City get the ball rolling, but only after everyone takes a knee of solidarity and love. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.

5.30pm GMT

The teams are out at the Jonny-Rocks Stadium. Cheltenham in their red and white shirts, City in a change strip of black. We’ll be off in a minute, but first I should address the elephant in the room. They’re a luxury VIP chauffeur car service for Gloucestershire and the Cotswolds.

5.27pm GMT

A word with Robins boss Michael Duff: “Looking forward to it. It’s probably the biggest cup tie in the club’s history. A little bit of trepidation, but this is why we’re in the FA Cup. The message to the players is: can you walk off the pitch with pride? Don’t walk off the pitch all nice and clean, asking for somebody’s shirt. That’s not what we want to do.”

And here’s Pep Guardiola: “They have qualities that we don’t find usually. The throw will cause a lot of problems. We have to play a good game.”

5.13pm GMT

Cheltenham have a lovely badge, don’t they? So nice to see the faux heraldic crest and the currently ubiquitous roundel eschewed for something a bit more abstract. These things are important, as one of the Guardian’s premier buffoons once argued.

Related: Playing for the badge: How fashion is ushering in a new age for club crests | Scott Murray

4.58pm GMT

The winners of this match will be away to Swansea City in the fifth round. The Swans have just battered Nottingham Forest, whose 62-year itch in this competition remains unscratched. John Brewin has the details of that 5-1 thumping, plus news of all the other 3pms, in today’s Clockwatch.

Related: FA Cup fourth round, Football League and more – clockwatch!

4.42pm GMT

Cheltenham make two changes to the team named for Tuesday’s 1-1 League Two draw with Newport County. Lewis Freestone and Chris Clements take the place of the injured Chris Hussey and Ellis Chapman.

Manchester City meanwhile make ten changes from the team that beat Aston Villa 2-0 in the Premier League on Wednesday. Phil Foden is the only player to retain his place. Aymeric Laporte returns after a month out injured, while academy prospects Tommy Doyle and Taylor Harwood-Bellis are given an opportunity to show what they can do.

4.35pm GMT

Cheltenham Town: Griffiths, Raglan, Tozer, Boyle, Blair, Azaz, Thomas, Clements, Freestone, May, Lloyd.
Subs: Flinders, Long, Bowry, Williams, Addai, Harris, Ebanks.

Manchester City: Steffen, Harwood-Bellis, Garcia, Laporte, Mendy, Torres, Fernandinho, Doyle, Mahrez, Gabriel Jesus, Foden.
Subs: Dias, Sterling, Gundogan, Zinchenko, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Joao Cancelo, Ederson, Bernabe.

11.57am GMT

The magic of the FA Cup, distilled into its purest tincture, right here! Fourth-tier Cheltenham Town are rewarded for edging past Mansfield Town in the last round with a home tie against one of the best teams in the world: Manchester City.

It’s a David-Goliath scene all right. Pep Guardiola’s side have won their last nine matches straight, while Cheltenham have only won one of their last nine, that aforementioned win over Mansfield, and they needed extra time to achieve that. There are 82 places between these sides in the football pyramid. And even if Pep does the Big Rotate, his squad is so deep it’s difficult to see a way for Michael Duff’s men to pull off a seismic shock.

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Southampton 1-0 Arsenal: FA Cup fourth round – as it happened

Kyle Walker-Peters’ deflected shot earned Saints their first-ever FA Cup win over Arsenal

2.41pm GMT

Nick Ames was at St Mary’s, and his report has landed. You know the drill: clickity click! Thanks for reading this MBM.

Related: Gabriel deflection helps Southampton dump Arsenal out of FA Cup

2.40pm GMT

A dejected Mikel Arteta takes his turn. “I am really sad to be out of the competition. Congratulations to Southampton. I am disappointed with the way we lost the game. We conceded in an area where we cannot give the ball away. We had a lot of unforced errors. We had two or three important moments in the first half but we didn’t hit the target. In the second we had two or three really big chances but not enough to win the game. The way we conceded the goal was our own fault. We have to do a lot better but it was a lesson. In the second half we became much more dominant but it wasn’t enough. We are looking in the market, we are short in one or two positions, let’s see what we can do.”

2.35pm GMT

Hasenhuttl was right about the penalty. Replays clearly show Holding clipping Long’s boot, which is something you’d have expected the pernickety VAR system to have picked up. (Hey, I don’t like it any more than you, but this is where we are.) On BT Sport, resident expert Peter Walton reckons it wasn’t given because there was no “clear evidence”. Eh? There it is, on film. Thankfully it won’t be much of a controversy, though had Arsenal equalised you’d have heard plenty about it.

2.27pm GMT

Ralph Hasenhuttl on BT: “We had more punch, more power in the first half. In the second half, they got a lift and made a few good subs. It was a clear penalty for me, that would have killed the game. Our players really worked hard for this cup win. Our intensity is our philosophy. In general our work was very good, very committed. If you want to win you have to invest a lot. We showed we could do it for 90 minutes.”

2.13pm GMT

Saints captain and man-of-the-match James Ward-Prowse, speaks to BT Sport: “It’s a good feeling for us. To come past Shrewsbury was difficult enough, but to play a team like Arsenal was difficult and I think we deserved to win. Our pressing was very good. We lacked that second goal to kill the game, but from front to back we were solid. Our decision-making was good. We believe we can do it against anyone. They had spells of possession but we came through it very well. Lots of positives to take from the game. A good tie in the next round, and we’re looking forward.”

2.10pm GMT

Saints thoroughly deserve that victory. They were much the better side for the first hour, the Walker-Peters shot / Gabriel own goal the least they deserved for their well-executed high press. Arsenal finally found some rhythm during the closing stages, after throwing Partey and Saka on, but it proved too little, too late. There may be a few questions asked about Arteta’s starting XI, given Arsenal’s significant improvement after their reshuffle, but take nothing away from Saints, who did a number on the holders. It was an entertaining game.

2.06pm GMT

Southampton have their first-ever FA Cup victory over Arsenal! The holders are out. Saints will play Wolves away in the fifth round.

2.05pm GMT

90 min +3: Saints play it short, then Ward-Prowse concedes a free kick. Arsenal have just enough time for one Hail Mary play. They launch it long. The ball drops to Nketiah, just inside the box to the right of goal. It’s a decent half-chance, but he slashes desperately wide right.

2.04pm GMT

90 min +2: N’Lundulu busies himself down the inside-left channel, forcing Xhaka to concede a corner. Saints take their sweet time over it.

2.03pm GMT

90 min +1: The first of three added minutes passes without drama.

2.03pm GMT

90 min: Saka whips a brilliant ball in from the left. It whistles through the six-yard box. Lacazette is inches away from meeting it at the near post. The ball flies inches wide of the far post. Saints breathe out.

2.01pm GMT

89 min: Saints have to settle for a corner. They waste it.

2.00pm GMT

88 min: Partey gives the ball away in midfield. The ball’s shuttled to Long, who enters the box and goes over the leg of Holding. Neither referee nor VAR is interested in awarding a penalty, which seems a bit strange because there was contact.

1.59pm GMT

87 min: Diallo mooches up and down the right wing. He goes nowhere in particular, but the clock ticks on.

1.57pm GMT

85 min: Ings is replaced by Long.

1.57pm GMT

84 min: Pepe sends a high curler miles over the bar. With time running out for the holders, that was inexcusable. On the touchline, Arteta fumes enigmatically.

1.56pm GMT

83 min: Pepe drives in from the right and is brusquely dealt with by Bertrand. A free kick and a booking for the overly aggressive block. This is just to the right of the box. A real chance for Arsenal.

1.54pm GMT

82 min: A rare Saints foray into Arsenal territory is rewarded when Partey needlessly bundles Bertrand to the ground near the left-hand corner flag. From the resulting free kick, the ball’s worked to Ings, who sends a rising shot goalwards from 20 yards. Easy for Leno.

1.53pm GMT

80 min: Lacazette dinks into the Saints box for Pepe, who threatens to waltz around the committed Forster on the left. The keeper does just enough to force the pull-back. Nketiah shoots towards goal, the keeper out of position. Ward-Prowse clears off the line, then the flag goes up for an offside on Pepe.

1.50pm GMT

78 min: Some fresh legs up front for Saints, in the hope of finding more out-balls: Adams makes way for N’Lundulu.

1.49pm GMT

77 min: It’s attack versus defence ... and some last-ditch stuff from Saints, Bednarek heading clear under pressure from Lacazette, Ings slashing upfield with Pepe and Willian nearby.

1.47pm GMT

75 min: Saints have never beaten Arsenal in the FA Cup. The Gunners are four from four. Arsenal don’t appear minded to spoil that record. Willian jinks down the left and shoots, winning a corner with a deflection. Nothing comes of that, but there’s only one side who look like scoring now. Can Saints hang on?

1.45pm GMT

73 min: Willian crosses viciously from the left. Forster punches clear spectacularly. Arsenal are asking questions now.

1.44pm GMT

71 min: Lacazette comes on for Bellerin. Cedric moves to right back, while Saka drops to left back.

1.43pm GMT

69 min: Arsenal now look properly dangerous for the first time this afternoon. Saka, Pepe, Partey and Nketiah give Saints some of their own medicine, swarming all over the hosts. A cross from the right hits Walker-Peters on the arm. VAR checks, and play goes on, though the defender’s arm wasn’t tight by his body - think of the universal chicken impression - and you’ve seen those given.

1.40pm GMT

68 min: The corner comes to nought.

1.40pm GMT

67 min: Pepe slips a ball down the left for Nketiah, who strides into the box and flicks a shot towards the bottom right. It’s heading in, but Forster sticks out a foot to deflect out for a corner. That was a really clever attempt, and a magnificent save.

1.38pm GMT

65 min: Armstrong plays a cute reverse pass down the left to release Adams, who looks for Walcott in the middle. An earlier ball, and Walcott was free; instead, it flies through to Ings on the right. Ings cuts back for Walcott, but the ball bobbles, and Walcott sends his snapshot sailing serenely over the bar.

1.36pm GMT

64 min: Partey lumps one goalwards from the best part of 30 yards. As the ball disappears into the stand, he holds up a hand of apology to team-mates in better positions.

1.35pm GMT

63 min: Arsenal have upped their tempo since the double change, Partey right in the thick of it. They’re beginning to see a lot more of the ball.

1.33pm GMT

61 min: Some breaking news that may get the old managerial merry-go-round spinning. Rumours ahoy!

Related: Rafael Benítez puts clubs on alert after leaving job in China

1.32pm GMT

59 min: That’s lifted Arsenal’s spirits. Nketiah sashays infield from the right, and his low shot is deflected off Bednarek and out for a corner. That wasn’t far from flying in, with Forster wrong-footed and rooted to the spot. From the resulting corner, Holding hoicks over the bar from 12 yards. Much, much better from the holders.

1.30pm GMT

58 min: Arsenal make a double change: Saka and Partey for Martinelli and Elneny.

1.30pm GMT

56 min: Stephens leaves one on Pepe as the pair tangle on the floor. Did he mean that? If so, he’s lucky to get away with just a yellow. The referee gives him the benefit of the doubt, which seems about right. Bellerin isn’t happy with the decision, but it is what it is.

1.28pm GMT

54 min: Quarterbacking from deep, Stephens creams a glorious crossfield pass towards Adams on the right. Pass of the match! Adams prepares to attack the box, but sadly for Saints the flag goes up for offside. Not sure about that. It was very close. Arsenal breathe again.

1.25pm GMT

53 min: Nketiah busies himself to win a corner down the right, but the set piece is easily dealt with by the home side.

1.24pm GMT

51 min: Bertrand rips down the left and cuts back for Ward-Prowse, who slashes wildly over the bar. Saints are all over Arsenal, who can’t keep on like this.

1.23pm GMT

50 min: Ings tears after a long ball down the middle. He’s clear! He enters the box and goes for the bottom right. The ball cannons off the base of the post, back off the late-arriving Leno, and inches wide. Turns out it wouldn’t have counted anyway, the offside flag going up.

1.21pm GMT

49 min: Saints continue to hassle and harry the Arsenal defence. The visitors can’t get going.

1.20pm GMT

47 min: Arsenal are looking for a fast start to the second half, but it’s Saints on the front foot, and Martinelli gauchely brings down Walker-Peters on the right. Ward-Prowse sends a tricky outswinger into the mixer, and Leno bravely claims low in a crowded box.

1.17pm GMT

Arsenal get the second half underway. No changes.

1.15pm GMT

Looks like the goal has been taken off Walker-Peters and recorded as a Gabriel own goal. Bah. Southampton won’t care too much either way, but Walker-Peters, yet to score in a Saints shirt, might. As for Arsenal, they’ll have to up their game. With the exception of the effervescent Martinelli, they’ve been poor to a man, a state of affairs elegantly described here by Charles Antaki: “Arsenal seem to be counting on a feather-duster strategy - flicking away at the surface from a cautious distance and hoping the shine will eventually come. Brasso required, also elbow grease.”

1.02pm GMT

Half-time entertainment. Fifteen minutes is more than enough for a Long Read, yes?

Related: He shoots, he scores – or does he? How VAR changed football for ever

1.01pm GMT

Saints have prised one of Arsenal’s hands off the famous old pot.

1.00pm GMT

45 min: Cedric crosses again from the left ... and again it sails out of play, miles wide right. There will be one added minute.

12.59pm GMT

44 min: Ward-Prowse takes his sweet time over the free kick. He eventually takes it, aiming for the top left. He can get it up over the wall, but not back down. A poor effort.

12.58pm GMT

42 min: Pepe clumsily leaps into Bertrand, the pair contesting a high ball just to the left of the Arsenal box. Saints were going nowhere fast, so that’s a particularly daft foul to give away. A free kick in a very dangerous position.

12.56pm GMT

40 min: Space for Walcott down the left. He’s got options in the middle, but clumsily runs the ball out of play. A great position wasted.

12.54pm GMT

38 min: Arsenal ping it around to little effect. Saints are looking pretty comfortable right now. But all is not lost for Mikel Arteta, according to Ian Copestake: “It’s been brought to my attention that Bellerin is impossibly handsome and/or hot. Something for the beleaguered Arsenal manager to factor in as a positive.”

12.52pm GMT

36 min: Willian slides Nketiah into space down the right. The ball breaks to Pepe, who has a whack from the corner of the box. Bednarek blocks. The ball again falls to Pepe, whose deep cross is nowhere near Cedric. Better from Arsenal, who may decide that attack is the best form of defence.

12.50pm GMT

35 min: The Saints press is causing Arsenal all sorts of agony. This time Ings nicks the ball, and tees up Armstrong, whose low drive is deflected wide left. The resulting corner is met by Ings, who heads wide right from 12 yards. Arsenal don’t look sure of themselves in defence at all.

12.49pm GMT

33 min: Willian nicks the back of Walker-Peters’ heel. The referee doesn’t see it. On another day, that might have been a booking. Meanwhile here’s the MBM’s old friend Mac Millings: “Contrary to your suggestion, it is my understanding that the 9th minute’s Rich Naylor *is* Gary Naylor. The early reporting is unclear, but it appears that he won the lottery and immediately renamed himself, although there are some suggestions that he used his new-found wealth to turn himself into a thin, dunkable biscuit.” Isn’t it a bit early to be on the pipe?

12.46pm GMT

31 min: Some space for Cedric down the left, but his cross towards Nketiah at the far post is way too strong. Goal kick. Forster hasn’t been put to serious work yet. The holders have some thinking to do.

12.45pm GMT

29 min: A right-wing Saints cross drops to Ings at the far post. Ings chests down and volleys, his effort pinging off the back of Bellerin and only just wide right. Corner, from which Bertrand attempts an extremely ambitious shot from the best part of 30 yards. That one’s off to the Solent.

12.43pm GMT

27 min: Ward-Prowse looks to curl one into the top right from distance. Not quite, but not bad.

12.43pm GMT

26 min: That goal may go down as a Gabriel own goal. Walker-Peters shot may have been heading wide left. But did it take another flick, in the first instance, off Cedric, to set it out that way? You’d like to think Walker-Peters will be credited with his first Southampton goal, but we’ll keep you posted on that. Either way, it’s been a miserable start for the hapless Gabriel.

12.40pm GMT

The Saints press discombobulates the Arsenal defence. The ball’s shuttled out to the right, Walker-Peters entering the box and firing a shot through Cedric’s legs. The ball takes a flick off Gabriel’s outstretched leg, and pings past the wrong-footed Leno and into the bottom left.

12.38pm GMT

23 min: The game goes a bit scrappy for the first time.

12.37pm GMT

21 min: Cedric rakes a pass down the left in the hope of releasing Martinelli, who looks extremely lively. Forster is forced to race out of his area and blooter clear.

12.35pm GMT

19 min: It’s a lively and entertaining game, this. Both sides could have had a goal or two already. Let’s hope they keep this up, with the promise of extra time and penalties to come, of course.

12.33pm GMT

17 min: Walcott, who scored a hat-trick for Arsenal the last time the FA Cup threw up this particular fixture, has a dig from distance. He looks for the top left from a deep position out on the right. Not quite, but full marks for ambition.

12.32pm GMT

16 min: A free kick for Arsenal out on the left. Willian curls it down the channel, and Martinelli is free in the box, everyone else lined up on the other side, expecting a diagonal delivery. A clever routine, but Martinelli swings a leg at the dropping ball and gets no purchase on it. Easy claim for Forster, but Martinelli should have scored.

12.30pm GMT

14 min: Adams knocks the ball past Gabriel and backs himself in a footrace down the inside right. Easy. Gabriel doesn’t seem on it at all this afternoon. Adams makes it into the box and aims for the bottom left. Leno sticks out a strong hand to make an excellent save.

12.29pm GMT

13 min: Arsenal are slowly working their way into this. Nketiah’s clever reverse ball sends Willian into space down the right. His low cross is only half-cleared by Stephens. Cedric, on the edge of the box, has time to line up a shot, so his wild hoick into the stand behind can be considered extremely poor. The flag then goes up for offside, belatedly, though it looked as though Willian was onside. It’d have been one for VAR had Cedric converted.

12.26pm GMT

11 min: So having said that, Arsenal finally show in attack. Willian plays a glorious crossfield pass towards Pepe on the right, forcing a backtracking Bertrand to bundle the ball out for a corner. Nothing comes from the set piece, but that’ll give Arsenal succour after a sluggish start.

12.25pm GMT

9 min: Arsenal are struggling to get anything going, pootling around in midfield to no effect. So to kill the time, here’s Rich (no relation to Gary) Naylor: “I was at that final in Cardiff together with my brother. I flew over from Denmark just to make it. Maybe one thing that helps to explain it a bit (in my mind anyway) was that just a few weeks earlier, we had been on the receiving end of a five-star shellacking at the hands of Arsenal, and I think Strachan might have been worried about the potential for being really humiliated in an FA cup final. He played a very defensive team and line-up from what I remember - but then again we had been drinking in the Cardiff bars from well before the game, so what I remember might be rubbish.” Pulitzer for Mr Naylor, please!

12.23pm GMT

7 min: Another left-wing cross by Bertrand. The whistle goes as Armstrong barges into the back of Elneny. This is a really impressive, high-tempo start by Saints; not so much by Arsenal.

12.22pm GMT

5 min: The third corner is a non-event. What an effort by Ward-Prowse, though. Did he mean that? He may well have done, you know. A dead-ball wizard.

12.21pm GMT

4 min: Bertrand whips in from the left, forcing Cedric to put it out for a corner on the other side. The corner’s pulled back to Ings, who tries to hook into the bottom right. A deflection sets up another corner. Ward-Prowse takes again, the ball swerving infield, then back the other way, and off the crossbar! Arsenal bundle it out for another corner.

12.18pm GMT

3 min: Set-piece magician Ward-Prowse swings the free kick into the mixer, looking for Armstrong to the left of goal. Leno comes out to claim confidently.

12.17pm GMT

2 min: Gabriel miscontrols a simple pass from Leno and it’s a throw for Saints deep in Arsenal territory. During the following phase of play, Gabriel clumsily slaps Ings in the face. Nothing more than a free kick, all accidental, but it’s a nervous start by Arsenal’s centre back.

12.15pm GMT

Saints get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.

12.12pm GMT

The teams are out! Southampton wear their red shirts with white sash, forcing Arsenal into third-choice blue. It’s a brisk afternoon on the south coast. We’ll be off in a minute or two!

11.56am GMT

Mikel Arteta’s turn. “We are in a much better place. We are winning football matches, playing well, keeping clean sheets, and today we play our favourite competition. We have to defend it, and we face a very difficult opponent. There are players who deserve a chance, we have some injuries, it is a bit of everything.”

He also reports that Aubameyang had “a personal matter in the last few hours and we had to send him back”.

11.55am GMT

Saints boss Ralph Hasenhuttl talks to BT Sport: “I hope this is a strong side and we can compete with them. This is an important competition. Arsenal has a big squad and can maybe change a bit more, we are struggling with injuries, but we go with hopefully a strong side.”

11.49am GMT

Want an illustration of exactly how uneventful the aforementioned 2003 final was? Here’s Matt Emerson, whose reminiscence begins to stray from the subject after a dozen words, and never comes back to it. “I was at the 2003 final, and it was interminably dull, aided by a seven-hour round trip. Any pleasure in watching us win was further diluted by the fact that I’d missed the ‘Only Ray Parlour’ final the year before to go to my Spurs-supporting friend Big Kev’s wedding. I would never have missed his wedding just for a game of football, but the contrast in excitement levels was quite striking. And to be fair, Kev had tried to miss the final by scheduling his nuptials for early May, only for the FA to shunt it forward in order for England to prepare for the World Cup.”

11.29am GMT

Southampton make six changes to the team that saw off Shrewsbury Town in the rescheduled third-round match this week. Danny Ings returns after a hamstring injury and positive Covid test. Theo Walcott and Che Adams are also back. Fraser Forster, Jack Stephens, Jan Bednarek, James Ward-Prowse and Ibrahima Diallo all retain their places.

Arsenal make seven changes from the team sent out to beat Newcastle 3-0 in the Premier League on Monday night. Hector Bellerin, Gabriel Magalhaes, Mohamed Elneny, Nicolas Pepe, Willian, Gabriel Martinelli and Eddie Nketiah are all in, while new loan signing Mat Ryan is on the bench. No Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang in the squad.

11.25am GMT

Southampton: Forster, Walker-Peters, Bednarek, Stephens, Bertrand, Armstrong, Diallo, Ward-Prowse, Walcott, Ings, Adams.
Subs: Watts, Long, Valery, Vokins, Ramsay, N’Lundulu, Lewis, Jankewitz, Chauke.

Arsenal: Leno, Bellerin, Holding, Gabriel, Cedric, Elneny, Xhaka, Pepe, Willian, Martinelli, Nketiah.
Subs: Saka, Lacazette, Runarsson, Maitland-Niles, Thomas, Chambers, Luiz, Willock, Ryan.

11.17am GMT

The 2003 FA Cup final hasn’t lingered long in the memory. Robert Pires scored the only goal of an eye-wateringly dull game, the only real drama coming in the last minute when Ashley Cole cleared James Beattie’s header off the line. Arsenal and Southampton owe us one.

This fourth-round tie could be it! Both teams are in a good place right now, Saints progressing nice and steadily under Ralph Hasenhuttl, Arsenal rediscovering some form after losing their way in the autumn. Both teams will fancy their chances here too: Saints should have won at the Emirates back in December, while Arsenal tasted victory at St Mary’s last June. They also won the last FA Cup meeting here 5-0, though the hat-trick hero that day in 2017, Theo Walcott has since swapped sides. Kick off is at 12.15pm GMT. It’s on!

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From the Doc to Kuyt, six Manchester United v Liverpool FA Cup clashes

The Old Trafford side won six ties in a row against their Anfield rivals from 1948 to 1999, but there have been some famously tight matches and two Liverpool wins this century

Liverpool had beaten United at Anfield 18 days earlier, en route to the title. But it wasn’t much of an omen, not least because Tommy Docherty’s side had nothing to play for and were keeping their powder dry. At Wembley, he set his team snapping at Liverpool’s heels, ditching their trademark pretty wing play for something uncharacteristically agricultural: long launches that would hopefully discombobulate the normally ice-cool champions. It worked like a dream. Though Jimmy Case was the best player on the park, equalising with a juggle and volley of Zidanesque grace, United applied sufficient aerial pressure to break Liverpool, Stuart Pearson taking advantage of Emlyn Hughes’ inability to deal with a flick-on, Jimmy Greenhoff benefiting from an absurd looping deflection. Liverpool consoled themselves by winning the European Cup four days later; United drew satisfaction from denying them an unprecedented treble. Someone in Wimbledon may have taken notes.

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Liverpool 0-1 Burnley: Premier League – as it happened

A late Ashley Barnes penalty ended insipid Liverpool’s long unbeaten run at home in the Premier League

12.22am GMT

Related: 'A punch in the face': Klopp takes blame as Burnley rip up Anfield record

10.38pm GMT

That’s your lot, then, on a historic night for Burnley at Anfield. They thoroughly deserved to end Liverpool’s long unbeaten run at home in the league, earning three precious points in their fight to climb the table. They’ve also seriously hampered Liverpool’s title bid, which, with some tricky fixtures coming up, could soon become downgraded to a battle for a top-four spot. Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe and warm everyone. Nighty night!

Related: Burnley's Ashley Barnes shatters Liverpool's record with late penalty

10.36pm GMT

Sean Dyche’s turn! “We did the basics very well. Structure and shape, and individual diligence. You still need a bit of luck. They had a couple of chances, and Popey’s had to make a good save. But I’ve always believed in the side to find a moment, and we had a couple. And Barnesy had a penalty and slotted it away very well. They were probing, they were calm around the box, but our diligence was excellent. We don’t lack belief. We lack a bit of talent sometimes, in the key areas up front, but we have never lacked belief. It’s the reality of what we do, the challenge at Burnley. Do the basics right to keep you in it, and find a moment, and tonight we found a moment. We know we’re going to have to find bigger moments but this has put us in a better position.”

As for the half-time row: “It was just two managers fighting for their team, wanting to win a game. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

10.30pm GMT

Jurgen Klopp talks to Sky. “We lost a game which is actually impossible to lose, but we did it, and that’s my fault because my job is to make sure the boys have the right amount of confidence and make the right decisions. That obviously didn’t work out tonight as we had the ball a lot. We created some situations, that is all OK, but in the final moment our decision-making is not right. That is the problem: you have the ball in the right place, then you don’t shoot, then you pass. I’m pretty sure I said the same thing last week [rueful laugh]. If something doesn’t work you have to try harder, longer, and make better decisions. The things that don’t work are my fault. The things that work are the players. We’ve worked that long together now. If I make clear which movements make sense because it will hurt the opponent, and they don’t do them, then I have to make it clearer. That’s how it is. The good thing is, we can change it, we just have to work on it. And we can’t work on tonight’s game any more, but we can use it for the next one. I can’t believe we lost it, but it’s the truth and we have to accept that.”

As for the half-time exchange of views with Dyche? “If he’s not talking about it, I will not talk about it. I didn’t start it. All good.”

10.11pm GMT

The managerial post-match interviews are still to come. In the meantime, Richard Jolly’s report from Anfield has landed. Here it is!

Related: Burnley's Ashley Barnes shatters Liverpool's record with late penalty

10.04pm GMT

Ashley Barnes, who secured Burnley’s first win at Anfield since 1974, speaks! “What a shift from the lads, a great team performance. We believe in every game, and it was no different today. We knew it was going to be tough and we stayed resilient. We keep believing. We knew we would grow into the game. We managed to stick to our jobs and it worked. It was a bit of handbags [with Fabinho]. He gave us a little kick after, but it was one of them, and you just get on with it. [The result] is a great achievement. Every goal is massive, but the next one now is the most important.”

9.57pm GMT

That’s the end of Liverpool’s long unbeaten run in the Premier League at Anfield! A sequence that stretched all the way back to April 2017 is finally over after 69 games! Alisson engages the referee in a token argument over the penalty, but a grim-faced Klopp comes across to usher him away. Liverpool were appalling tonight ... but they were only as good as Burnley allowed them to be. Sean Dyche’s team were magnificent to a man, and fully deserved the win. The three precious points they’ve earned launch them into 16th place, two points ahead of Brighton on 19, with a game in hand. As for Liverpool? They remain in fourth, six off Manchester United’s lead, Spurs and Everton breathing down their necks, and still without a Premier League goal in 2021. A season to concentrate on the cups, perhaps? Sunday’s game at Old Trafford suddenly gets even bigger.

9.52pm GMT

Burnley have done a comprehensive number on the champions!

9.51pm GMT

90 min +4: Alexander-Arnold and Minamino earn a corner out on the right. Alisson comes up again. Robertson takes, Pope claims, and that’s surely that!

9.50pm GMT

90 min +3: Barnes goes down and his treatment eats up a few precious seconds. Burnley are so close now!

9.50pm GMT

90 min +2: Liverpool win a fortunate corner, a ricochet from long distance. Alisson comes up. There’s a bit of bedlam, but Burnley hold firm. Alisson heads back.

9.49pm GMT

90 min +1: McNeil has a lash from 25 yards. It flies wide left.

9.47pm GMT

90 min: Nothing comes of the corner. There will be four minutes. Four minutes for Liverpool to save a long unbeaten home record in the league that stretches back nearly four years!

9.46pm GMT

89 min: When it’s not your day ... Alexander-Arnold shoots low from the right. The ball flies toward Firmino, who flicks cleverly towards goal. The ball ricochets off Mee and out for a corner. That could have gone anywhere!

9.45pm GMT

88 min: Liverpool continue to toil. Burnley look extremely comfortable.

9.44pm GMT

87 min: Matip is booked for a cynical handball as Burnley attempt to break upfield.

9.43pm GMT

86 min: Liverpool haven’t responded to that shock at all. On the touchline, Klopp looks resigned to defeat.

9.42pm GMT

84 min: Minamino comes on for Shaqiri. Too late to have any sort of effect?

9.41pm GMT

Barnes whips his 100th senior club career goal into the bottom right! Alisson went the right way, but had no chance. Liverpool’s long unbeaten run at Anfield is now in serious peril!

9.40pm GMT

82 min: Barnes barges his way past Fabinho down the inside-right channel and into the box. He’s free! Alisson races off his line and spreads himself. Barnes needs no invitation. Over he goes, and that’s a penalty!

9.38pm GMT

81 min: It’s attack versus defence now, though Liverpool don’t have any idea how to break through the deep Burnley block. Dinks on the edge of the box and nothing any further.

9.35pm GMT

79 min: ... Pope punches clear with calm confidence.

9.35pm GMT

78 min: Salah runs slap-bang into the back of Pieters, and this is a free kick just to the right of the Burnley box. Alexander-Arnold curls it in, and ...

9.34pm GMT

76 min: Liverpool scored seven at Palace before Christmas. They haven’t won in the league since. They’ve only scored once since then. Minamino hasn’t played in the league since. It’s a bit strange that he’s not been given any chance to break the logjam.

9.33pm GMT

74 min: Alexander-Arnold reaches the byline and whips in from the right. The ball hits Pieters on the arm, but neither referee nor Mr VAR is interested. That was in seen-them-given territory, but there was certainly no clear and obvious error, so the decision stands.

9.29pm GMT

72 min: Firmino snaffles a Pope roll-out and aims for the bottom right. He shanks it well wide.

9.29pm GMT

71 min: McNeil again gets the best of Alexander-Arnold down the left. He cuts back for Gudmundsson, arriving late. Gudmundsson sidefoots wide left from a tight angle. That was a decent chance.

9.26pm GMT

69 min: Shaqiri shovels a diagonal pass towards Firmino on the left-hand edge of the six-yard box. Firmino can’t guide an effort goalwards with a telescopic leg. Pope likely had the angle covered anyway.

9.25pm GMT

67 min: From a deep position on the right, Lowton loops a huge diagonal pass towards Barnes, who enters the box free! He whips a shot towards the bottom left. Alisson palms it away, a fantastic save, though the flag eventually goes up for offside. Alisson wouldn’t have known that. It was another great stop. Both keepers are playing very well. Just look at that scoreline!

9.22pm GMT

65 min: A second change for Burnley, and their first tactical one: Gudmundsson comes on for Brady.

9.21pm GMT

64 min: Alexander-Arnold snatches the ball off McNeil and sends Salah off down the right. Salah pulls back for Mane on the spot. Mane’s under pressure from Lawton, and skies his shot.

9.20pm GMT

63 min: So having said that, Liverpool drop the tempo again. Burnley hold their shape, and the hosts go nowhere.

9.18pm GMT

61 min: Nothing comes of the corner, but Liverpool have picked up the tempo a bit. They already look better since their double change.

9.17pm GMT

60 min: Wijnaldum turns just to the left of the centre circle and embarks on a sensational diagonal run to the edge of the box. He slips the ball to Salah, who fires towards the bottom right. Pope, having another fine game at Anfield, claws out at the expense of a corner.

9.15pm GMT

58 min: Klopp has seen enough. Salah and Firmino are sent on, in place of the ineffectual pair Origi and Oxlade-Chamberlain.

9.14pm GMT

56 min: McNeil drifts past Alexander-Arnold down the left with ease. Matip steps across to put a stop to his gallop, a fine reading of the situation.

9.13pm GMT

55 min: Shaqiri floats one in from a deep position on the right. Another doddle for Pope.

9.11pm GMT

54 min: Westwood hoicks a dismal effort miles over the heads of everyone in yellow and yards right of the target. On the touchline, Dyche seethes silently. The scariest type of seethe.

9.10pm GMT

53 min: Alexander-Arnold swings a couple of crosses in from the right. Easy for the Burnley defence. Barnes goes up the other end. He’s heading down a dead end, but Thiago foolishly slides in to concede a free kick, out on the left. Burnley load the box.

9.08pm GMT

51 min: Alexander-Arnold cuts in from the right and has a bash. Pope does well to stop the vicious shot, which was heading into the bottom right. He can’t hold on, though, and the ball breaks loose. Mane is lurking, but Pope adjusts his prone body to whip-kick clear just in time. That results in a corner; the corner leads to another, then to nothing.

9.06pm GMT

49 min: He can’t continue. Pieters comes on in his place. Taylor did the damage while stretching to complete a clearance under pressure from Origi.

9.05pm GMT

48 min: Taylor is down with what looks like a muscle injury.

9.04pm GMT

47 min: Mee hangs out a leg to stop Oxlade-Chamberlain marauding down the middle. He’s slightly fortunate not to be booked.

9.03pm GMT

46 min: Liverpool are instantly on the front foot, but Alexander-Arnold’s cross from the right is far too close to Pope, who gathers quietly.

9.02pm GMT

Liverpool, kicking towards the Kop now, get the ball rolling for the second half. Neither team have made a half-time change.

8.59pm GMT

Half-time entertainment. That’s been provided by footage of the Klopp-Dyche dialectic. A proper eyeball-to-eyeball row, Klopp chasing his opposite number down the tunnel, Dyche turning to give as good as he got. Not entirely sure what sparked that, as neither manager appeared to witness the Fabinho-Barnes non-event. We don’t like to see it, though we do. The post-match interviews are going to be something.

8.52pm GMT

VAR nonsense complete. Mike Dean shows Fabinho a yellow card for kneeing Barnes in the arse. It looked nothing more than a garden-variety coming together, but VAR checks for a possible red. However the on-field decision stands. Just a yellow, though Fabinho appears genuinely confused that anything’s been given at all. Robertson may well have been aggrieved at Barnes going down, but it didn’t look as though the Burnley man did anything wrong either. And while all that was going on, Klopp and Dyche were exchanging philosophical ideas in the tunnel! It could be a fun second half.

8.49pm GMT

The whistle goes for the break. Klopp runs off down the tunnel, then turns back. There’s a stramash on the field! Fabinho and Barnes had come together under a high ball, just before the whistle. Barnes went down. Robertson isn’t happy. This one’s going to VAR, despite the half being over!

8.47pm GMT

45 min +1: The ball’s tapped to the right by Thiago. A wee bit too much on it. Alexander-Arnold aims for the top right. He just about finds the top right of the Anfield Road Stand.

8.45pm GMT

45 min: Mane is clipped to the floor by Brownhill, on the left-hand edge of the Burnley D. A free kick in a dangerous position. Liverpool have one added minute in which to take it.

8.45pm GMT

44 min: Mee, the last man, takes an absurd fresh-air swipe at a simple ball - think Gerry Young in the 1966 FA Cup final, kids! - allowing Origi to race clear. He’s one on one with Pope! He reaches the edge of the box and powerfully sidefoots past the keeper ... but his rising shot, meant for the top right, caroms off the junction of post and bar! Pope claims the rebound with a smile.

8.42pm GMT

42 min: Liverpool have enjoyed 90 percent possession during the last ten minutes. Much good it’s done them. Origi dinks a cross from the right towards Mane, who is caught offside. Origi should have taken a shot himself; his decision making has been very poor so far.

8.41pm GMT

40 min: Alexander-Arnold drops a shoulder and shoots from a tight angle on the right. Taylor blocks and deflects out for a corner. Nothing comes of that.

8.40pm GMT

39 min: Robertson is sent into the Burnley box on the left. He tries to beat Pope at his near post with pace, but the keeper stands firm. Then Barnes is booked for scything through the back of Thiago earlier in the move. With industrial quantities of chutzpah, he complains about the decision, but it’s as clear a yellow card as you’ll ever see.

8.38pm GMT

38 min: Alexander-Arnold has a look from the best part of 30 yards. That one’s heading off towards Goodison.

8.37pm GMT

37 min: Burnley are knocking the ball around confidently. Liverpool not so much.

8.35pm GMT

35 min: Shaqiri brings Taylor down on the left wing with a forward’s challenge. He walks off shaking his head. The resulting free kick finds Brady on the right-hand corner of the box. He has a whack but it’s soft and an easy gather for Alisson.

8.34pm GMT

34 min: In the Liverpool dugout, Jurgen Klopp sits back in his chair with arms tightly folded and a face on. No wonder. Liverpool have been abysmal so far.

8.32pm GMT

32 min: Origi is clearly operating a shoot-on-sight policy. He has another dig from the edge of the box. It’s a vicious strike, but straight at Pope.

8.32pm GMT

31 min: Alisson plays a pinpoint pass through a four-man Burnley press with the outside of his boot. Liverpool may be lacking confidence up front, but their keeper is as calm as ever.

8.30pm GMT

29 min: Origi goes on a decent dribble down the middle. He’s got options either side, but shoots towards the bottom right from the edge of the D instead. It’s another easy claim for Pope.

8.28pm GMT

27 min: A Liverpool free kick to the left of the Burnley box. Robertson swings it in. There’s a load of pushing and shoving, and the whistle sounds for a foul. On the touchline, Klopp screams with great feeling, annoyed more at his players than that particular decision, I’ll be bound.

8.26pm GMT

25 min: Wood scampers down the left and slips the ball to McNeil, who crosses. Wood had wheeled off to the centre, and he tries to meet the low cross, only to clip Fabinho instead. Another fine move, this time stopped by a well-positioned defender drawing a foul.

8.24pm GMT

24 min: Wijnaldum and Thiago one-two in from the left. Thiago curls right towards Alexander-Arnold, who fires low and hard into the middle. Origi is waiting on the edge of the six-yard box to sweep home, but Mee hooks away sensationally. That’s a lovely move ended by some mighty fine defending.

8.23pm GMT

23 min: Oxlade-Chamberlain follows Shaqiri’s lead, sending a speculative effort goalwards from 25 yards. It’s easy pickings for Pope.

8.22pm GMT

21 min: A couple of corners for Liverpool out on the right. Neither are any good. But then their first shot in anger, Shaqiri bustling in from the right and sending a fierce riser towards the top right. It’s just wide, and Pope probably had it covered, but that’s better from Liverpool, who have otherwise been their usual 2021 selves so far: timid and unsure.

8.20pm GMT

19 min: The first test for Matip, who sticks to Wood like glue as the Burnley striker barges down the left. The defender wins the battle and the whistle goes before Wood can carve out a shot.

8.19pm GMT

18 min: McNeil and Taylor combine crisply down the left. McNeil’s eventual cross is blocked and loops harmlessly into Alisson’s arms, but Burnley are looking the more coherent side here. They’re giving as good as they’re getting. Perhaps even a little more.

8.16pm GMT

16 min: Another Burnley long ball drops to Lowton, on the edge of the box. His shot is blocked, then the offside flag eventually springs up. This diktat really is absurd.

8.15pm GMT

15 min: Burnley will be happy enough with this start. They’ve asked Liverpool a couple of questions, while Pope has only had to seriously intervene on one occasion so far.

8.14pm GMT

13 min: Shaqiri backheels in the Burnley box and finds Wijnaldum, but Liverpool’s stand-in captain can’t sort his feet out. Burnley go up the other end and launch it high. Alisson falls over Wood in the slapstick style as he tries to claim. The ball breaks to Barnes, who shoots from the edge of the box, but Alisson has sprung up immediately and blocks brilliantly. From the ridiculous to the sublime.

8.12pm GMT

11 min: ... and then the flag finally goes up for offside. This is a preposterous edict.

8.11pm GMT

10 min: Wood returns the favour, only his pass is down the left, and better. Barnes is free on goal! He doesn’t have the pace, though, and Alexander-Arnold catches up, then shepherds him to the left. Barnes turns and tonks a hopeful effort goalwards from a tight angle, but it’s an easy smother for Alisson.

8.09pm GMT

9 min: Barnes slips a ball down the right in the hope of releasing Wood. A better pass would have split Liverpool open, with Wood in acres, but it’s too heavy and Alisson is able to rush to the edge of his box to claim.

8.07pm GMT

7 min: Nothing comes of the next corner.

8.07pm GMT

6 min: Alexander-Arnold curls in from the right, forcing Tarkowski to concede a corner on the right. Mane meets the corner, his header forcing Pope into a fine reaction save. The ball pinballs around, and Pope has to tip over under pressure from Fabinho.

8.05pm GMT

5 min: Origi has a speculative swipe from 25 yards and nearly clears the Anfield Road Stand.

8.04pm GMT

4 min: A free kick for Burnley near the halfway line, out on the left. It’s launched into the Liverpool box. Tarkowski wins a header, but it’s directionless and allows Alexander-Arnold to clear.

8.03pm GMT

3 min: The corner’s worked to the right flank. Shaqiri whips into the mixer. Fabinho wins a header, ten yards out, but can only glance it harmlessly wide. A half-chance.

8.02pm GMT

2 min: Burnley are kicking towards the Kop in this first half. They quickly send the ball sailing into it, giving Liverpool the opportunity to stroke it around a bit. Mane looks to release Robertson down the left, forcing Brady to toe-poke behind for the first corner of the match.

8.00pm GMT

Burnley get the ball rolling ... but only after taking the knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.

7.56pm GMT

The teams are out! Liverpool wear their famous red, while Burnley sport third-choice neon yellow. We’ll be off after a blast of You’ll Never Walk Alone. “I think the Brummie bard best sums up my current state of mind regarding my team: ‘I have of late wherefore I know not [due to lack of activity in the transfer window to get a defender to release Fabinho back into midfield] lost all my mirth.’” What a piece of work is a fan! In this instance, it’s

Prince Hamlet


Withnail
Ian Copestake. As for this most excellent canopy, the air: it’s currently cold and dry after an earlier rainstorm.

7.46pm GMT

Sean Dyche’s turn. “We have settled down the defensive side of things, and look more solid, but then you’re looking for that balance. We have created some chances, better chances, because that’s the key to it, it’s the quality of chance. And in some games we haven’t taken those chances. From the last nine games we’ve got 14 points, so that’s a good return after a tough start.”

7.43pm GMT

Jurgen Klopp talks to BT Sport. “We play every three days, and that’s why we have to make changes. Hendo is not in the squad because he felt a little bit ... it’s not serious but he couldn’t make it tonight. It will be a very intense game tonight.”

7.09pm GMT

Liverpool make three changes to the side that drew 0-0 at home to Manchester United. Joel Matip returns from injury, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain comes into the midfield, and Divock Origi is given a rare start up front. Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firmino drop to the bench, while captain Jordan Henderson isn’t in the squad at all. Georginio Wijnaldum is captain for the evening, at least until James Milner comes on.

Burnley make two changes to the team that went down 1-0 at West Ham. Charlie Taylor and Dwight McNeil replace Erik Pieters and Johann Gudmundsson.

7.01pm GMT

Liverpool: Alisson, Alexander-Arnold, Matip, Fabinho, Robertson, Oxlade-Chamberlain, Thiago, Wijnaldum, Shaqiri, Mane, Origi.
Subs: Milner, Firmino, Salah, Jones, Minamino, Tsimikas, Phillips, Kelleher, Neco Williams.

Burnley: Pope, Lowton, Tarkowski, Mee, Taylor, Brady, Westwood, Brownhill, McNeil, Wood, Barnes.
Subs: Cork, Gudmundsson, Peacock-Farrell, Stephens, Rodriguez, Pieters, Bardsley, Vydra, Long.

5.24pm GMT

It’s not quite do-or-die time for Liverpool. But it’s getting close. Having stumbled through a relatively benign run of fixtures, they’ll soon be facing the likes of Tottenham, West Ham, Manchester City, Leicester and Everton. So if they fancy retaining their title, not only do they need to rediscover their form, they also can’t be dropping too many more points in games they’re expected to win.

Are they expected to win against Burnley? You’d think so, yes, given the relegation-haunted Clarets have lost three of their last four, and have only scored nine goals all season. Liverpool on the other hand, for all their current travails, are still only six off Manchester United’s lead with a game in hand. But the champions haven’t won in four, and haven’t scored in three. Confidence is currently low ... and they’ll surely not have forgotten that Burnley were the only team to take points off them at Anfield last season. So nothing’s certain.

Continue reading...

Manchester City 2-0 Aston Villa: Premier League – as it happened

A wildly entertaining game was somehow heading towards a goalless conclusion, until Bernardo Silva’s late, decisive - and controversial - strike

8.14pm GMT

No word from the managers, as the television coverage switches breathlessly to Craven Cottage. You can go there too, with our old pal John Brewin. Should anything of interest be said - and Dean Smith’s interview promises to be lively - you can be sure to read all about it later on this very website. But no need to worry, because Jamie Jackson’s verdict has landed! You know what to do: click, click, click! Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe, healthy, dry and warm, everyone. Nighty night!

Related: Silva and Gündogan send Manchester City top as Aston Villa rue luck

8.06pm GMT

The Premier League have explained why Silva’s decisive goal stood. Rodri was trotting back from an obvious offside position, but once Mings chested it down and attempted to make a pass, he effectively played Rodri back onside. Here’s the relevant law: “A player in an offside position, receiving the ball from an opponent who deliberately plays the ball, is not considered to have gained an advantage.” Is the law an ass? Well, Mings wouldn’t have played the ball had Rodri not been where he was in the first place. You can understand why Villa are aggrieved, but it would seem City have the laws of the game on their side. A long evening of heated debate stretches out ahead on social media, which is one of the many reasons your humble MBM hack doesn’t go on it.

7.59pm GMT

The win puts City top of the Premier League! That’s the first time they’ve got there all season, and they’re now the ninth team to take pole during this wild and wonderful season. Now on 38 points after 18 games, they depose Leicester City (played 19) on goal difference. United (played 18, 37 points) have the chance to regain top spot by winning at Fulham. John Brewin is all over the 8.15pm kick-0ff. Villa meanwhile remain in 11th position on 26, though they’ve only played 16 matches so far.

Related: Fulham v Manchester United: Premier League – live!

7.55pm GMT

It could have ended 8-3, 2-4, or anything in between. But this is how it ends. What a sensationally entertaining game of football. Just a shame there’s a whiff of controversy over Bernardo Silva’s winner, Rodri getting away with interfering from an offside position. But on balance, it would be tough to argue that City didn’t deserve the win over the piece. Villa can be proud of their performance, though.

7.52pm GMT

90 min +2: Four extra minutes. Most of the first two are taken up with celebratory faff. Villa are understandably deflated. They gave this everything.

7.50pm GMT

Gundogan has missed tonight from four yards, and two yards, but he makes no mistake from 12. Batter! City are going top, for a couple of hours at least!

7.49pm GMT

Cancelo has a batter from distance. It’s tipped round the post by Martinez. Villa deal with the corner, but City are quickly coming back at them. Jesus wins a header, just to the left of goal. It’s going wide, but hits Cash’s arm. Penalty, as his arm was miles out of position.

7.48pm GMT

87 min: More admin: Taylor is booked for some transgression or other, while Walton explains that Dean Smith wasn’t shown a second yellow; after the yellow was shown, Smith must have offered some trenchant analysis that deserved a straight red. What a ride this game has been.

7.46pm GMT

85 min: If you thought this game hadn’t been weird enough already, BT Sport refereeing expert Peter Walton has disagreed with the officials over the goal! His view: Rodri was interfering with play, and the goal shouldn’t have stood. And you know what, he’s exactly right. Rodri came back from an offside position, miles off, then hassled Mings, whose mistake Silva capitalised from.

7.43pm GMT

83 min: Mahrez breezes down the right with Villa short at the back. Mahrez thinks there’s somebody with him on the overlap, and plays a pass to nobody. Martinez gratefully receives the gift.

7.41pm GMT

81 min: Villa claim that Rodri was offside during that move. He wasn’t interfering with play, according to both the ref and VAR. Dean Smith takes the protest too far, and is first given a yellow card, then a red. He stomps off towards the dressing room muttering words beginning with eff and cee.

7.40pm GMT

It’s gone in no! Mings fails to deal with a long ball. Silva picks it up, advances down the inside-right channel, drops a shoulder to move back infield, and curls an unstoppable shot into the top left! To be fair, that had been coming.

7.38pm GMT

77 min: This is beyond absurd now. This is positively psychedelic. This is four-years-of-Trump trippy. Mahrez romps in from the right. The ball deflects off Mings and somehow squirts across the face of goal and inches wide of the left-hand post. Then from the resulting corner, Jesus swings one in from the left, the ball shaving the right-hand post. How is this ball not going in?

7.36pm GMT

76 min: McGinn doesn’t have his shooting boots on tonight. A cute roll-back and flick by Grealish tees up McGinn, free on the spot. Fresh-air swipe. Oh my.

7.35pm GMT

75 min: Now it’s City’s turn to escape! McGinn slips Watkins into space down the left. He crosses low. Ramsey is waiting to tap in, but Dias, aquaplaning across the turf, somehow hooks it away just in time!

7.33pm GMT

74 min: Targett has picked up a knock, and he’s replaced at left-back by Taylor.

7.33pm GMT

72 min: City must be wondering how the hell they haven’t scored. Gundogan has missed two absolute sitters, from a combined distance of about five yards. Pep responds by rolling the dice, swapping Sterling for Mahrez.

7.30pm GMT

70 min: A positively absurd miss by Gundogan! More box bagatelle, and the ball breaks to Gundogan on the edge of the six-yard box. He heads goalwards. It’s blocked. Martinez is out of position, and the ball’s back to Gundogan, who merely has to poke home from a couple of yards ... but he can’t sort his feet out, somehow missing it, the ball magically whistling between his legs! Villa hack clear.

7.28pm GMT

68 min: Luiz is booked for a cynical tug on Silva. Before play restarts, Villa make a double change, El Ghazi and Ramsey coming on for Traore and Barkley.

7.28pm GMT

67 min: Watkins is released down the left. His low shot-cum-cross is half cleared by City. The ball breaks to Luiz, who hits a screamer through a thicket of players. Ederson pulls off a marvellous parry in the circumstances. Chances are the flag would have gone up for offside had that gone in, with Barkley lurking behind the last man.

7.25pm GMT

66 min: Luiz slaps the free kick witlessly into the wall. What a dangerous position that was. What a waste for Villa.

7.25pm GMT

65 min: Barkley, to the left of the D, slips a ball infield for McGinn, who purchases a cheap free kick from an over-committed Gundogan. A free kick in a central position, just outside the D.

7.24pm GMT

64 min: Luiz sends a 25-yard riser straight down Ederson’s throat. Tell you what, not much of this game has been played in the middle third. I’d quite like to see the stats for that. It must be some sort of Premier League outlier.

7.22pm GMT

63 min: Some penalty-box pinball down the other end now, as Foden fizzes one in low from the left. Jesus can’t control. Gundogan can only slash wide left from close range.

7.22pm GMT

61 min: After some penalty-box pinball, McGinn slices a shot from the edge of the box so badly that it ends up behind him, curling through 180 embarrassing degrees. Above the piped-in crowd noise, you can hear a cruel, but perfectly timed, “hoo hoo” of laughter.

7.20pm GMT

60 min: Space for Foden down the left. He rolls inside for Jesus, but there’s to be no instant impact for the City sub. He’s swarmed and Villa break, Grealish grooving his way down the left and winning a free kick off Cancelo. A free kick just to the left of the City box.

7.19pm GMT

59 min: De Bruyne makes way for Jesus. He gestures towards the ankle he hurt against Palace. City fans will hope this is just precautionary.

7.17pm GMT

58 min: Foden bullies Traore off the ball and barges in from the left. Foden enters the box and goes for the curler towards the top right, but gets the spin all wrong and it sails miles wide.

7.15pm GMT

56 min: De Bruyne is on the turf again, but only because Grealish has slid in on him late. Grealish offers his apologies immediately. He’s slightly lucky to get away without a yellow, but the referee is probably taking the slippery conditions into consideration.

7.14pm GMT

54 min: De Bruyne reverts to type, his wily pass finding Cancelo, who sashays in from the right, enters the box, and lashes a rising shot off the top of the crossbar! How on earth is this still goalless? It’s been a brilliant game, with chances aplenty.

7.13pm GMT

52 min: This is one-way traffic. Down the left, Foden wins a corner off Konsa and takes the set piece himself. Martinez claims, and launches long for Traore down the right. Traore brings it down from the sky and dinks it infield with one touch, sending - of all people - De Bruyne sprawling on the wet turf! Traore’s away! He races down the right, cuts inside past Zinchenko, but doesn’t quite get enough purchase on his curler towards the bottom left. Ederson claims. That would have been goal of the season, not least because the Premier League’s most consistently brilliant player over the last few seasons was the hapless victim!

7.10pm GMT

51 min: Gundogan, out on the left, rolls a pass infield for Foden, who cushions a return. Gundogan opens his body and looks for the curler into the top right. Not quite; too high.

7.08pm GMT

49 min: Cancelo drives down the right and whips a cross in. Easy for Martinez this time, but Villa are struggling to get out.

7.07pm GMT

48 min: Sterling plays an elegant long-distance one-two with De Bruyne down the right, but his cross, intended for Foden at the far post, is way too heavy.

7.06pm GMT

47 min: City are quickly on the attack again. Sterling opens his body to shoot, having cut in from the right, but Mings blocks.

7.04pm GMT

Villa - who had been happy to keep their hosts waiting in the rain - eventually get the second half underway. No changes.

7.00pm GMT

More half-time entertainment. You lucky people.

Look at that touch from Dean Smith... ✨ pic.twitter.com/Jeyr4jf83q

6.51pm GMT

Half-time entertainment. For your aural pleasure.

Related: Leicester go top, Lampard feels the heat and Milan march on – Football Weekly

6.50pm GMT

An extremely entertaining half comes to an end. City have posed more threat; Villa have defended staunchly and will be the happier of the teams as everyone goes in to wrap themselves in hot towels and pop on some fresh kit. Don’t go anywhere!

6.48pm GMT

45 min +2: Now some heroics from Villa’s other full back, as Targett smashes the ball away just in time, De Bruyne waiting for a Foden pull back to arrive.

6.48pm GMT

45 min +1: City go up the other end and should take the lead. De Bruyne, out on the right, somehow spots, then threads a pass towards, Foden, free in the box on the left. Foden smacks a shot goalwards, but it’s blocked by Cash.

6.46pm GMT

45 min: Barkley advances on the City box again. He’s got Grealish to his left, and Watkins to his right, but opts for the curler towards the bottom right again. It’s deflected out for a corner, reward his poor shot didn’t really deserve. Nothing comes of the set piece.

6.45pm GMT

43 min: City probe this way and that, but Villa hold their shape well. Rodri eventually flings a long cross in from the right. Foden meets it with a header, but there’s no power on it, and Martinez snaffles with ease.

6.43pm GMT

41 min: Foden and Zinchenko combine well down the left, but the substitute isn’t causing Cash as many problems as Cancelo did. Zinchenko is forced to turn tail, and the move peters out.

6.41pm GMT

39 min: City’s eighth corner of the match leads to a ninth, out on the right. Martinez comes out to claim number ten, flaps like a swan, and is fortunate to be awarded a free kick for clanking into Stones. Keepers always get those.

6.39pm GMT

37 min: Barkley advances into the City box and tries a curler towards the bottom right. Ederson holds on well in these sodden conditions, and good thing too for City, because Traore was sniffing around in the hope of picking up any rebound.

6.38pm GMT

36 min: Mings takes his own sweet time over a free kick. The City bench spring up as one, incensed at the perceived time-wasting. Dean Smith, on the other hand, views it as professional clock management. The referee has a word with Mings. For a second, it looks as though Smith and Guardiola are going to lock horns, but what initially looks like a full and frank exchange of views ends in broad smiles and low fives.

6.36pm GMT

34 min: Foden wheechs a glorious ball across the face of the six-yard box from the left. Any toe-poke and it’s in. But nobody in sky blue has bothered to take a gamble. Villa escape again.

6.34pm GMT

33 min: Incidentally, Zinchenko has taken up his position at left-back. Cancelo has moved over to the other flank to deputise for poor Walker.

6.33pm GMT

31 min: Rodri has a belt from distance. Sterling becomes the victim of friendly fire, and the deflection goes out for a goal kick.

6.32pm GMT

30 min: City apply some pressure on the pedal. De Bruyne has a whack from just inside the area. His powerful sidefoot is blocked out for a corner. From the set piece, the ball’s worked to Sterling on the right. He fizzes into the six-yard box, but that one’s blocked out too. The third corner leads to nothing.

6.30pm GMT

28 min: Dr MBM is vindicated! Walker does indeed limp to the bench, after trying his best to run that thigh injury off. Zinchenko comes on to replace him. The good doctor’s hard-won reputation restored!

6.29pm GMT

27 min: Grealish slips Traore into the City box down the left, but with options in the middle, Traore flashes an ambitious effort from a tight angle into the side netting.

6.28pm GMT

26 min: Corner for Villa out on the right. Grealish’s delivery is no good, and City are quickly breaking upfield. Villa are light at the back, but De Bruyne plays an uncharacteristically clumsy pass down the left, hoping to release Sterling but only managing to clump it out for a goal kick.

6.26pm GMT

25 min: Dr MBM is a right quack. Walker, at death’s door a couple of minutes ago according to this report, is running freely again. Zinchenko, who had been warming up with a view to replacing him, has sat back down again.

6.24pm GMT

23 min: De Bruyne heads a pass down the right for Sterling, who skitters into the Villa box and wins a corner off Targett. De Bruyne takes. The ball clanks off Konsa and tees up Rodri on the penalty spot. Rodri gets a shot off, but it’s weak and straight at Martinez.

6.22pm GMT

21 min: It doesn’t look as though Walker is going to be able to continue. A problem with his thigh? His hamstring? He’s down getting treatment, though he springs back up quickly enough and appears determined to play on. Not sure how long he’ll last, as he’s still jogging around very gingerly.

6.20pm GMT

19 min: More space for Cancelo, who is having a whale of a time out on this left wing. He reaches the byline yet again and whips through the six-yard box. Sterling can’t get anywhere near, blocked off cleverly by Mings.

6.18pm GMT

17 min: Although to be fair to Walker, he’s hobbling a bit and grimacing quite a lot. After another phase of play, Grealish comes over again and puts his arm around his England team-mate’s shoulder. All friends again. The tussle itself looked innocuous.

6.17pm GMT

15 min: Grealish and Walker tussle under a high ball out on Villa’s left touchline. Walker ends up in a heap on the floor and isn’t too happy about it. The referee comes over and reminds both that they’re grown men.

6.15pm GMT

14 min: Another corner for City, on the left. Gundogan challenges at the far post. Villa get it clear, after a minor stramash in the six-yard box. There is absolutely no way this match is going to end goalless.

6.14pm GMT

12 min: Cancelo throws a couple of shapes down the left and confuses Cash. He breaks into the box and tees up Foden, whose shot is blocked by Konsa. Barkley over-elaborates with a back-heel as Villa try to clear their lines, but City can’t capitalise on the mistake. Out since November, the rusty Barkley got away with one there.

6.12pm GMT

10 min: And now it could easily be 2-2, and should be 0-1. Villa have a man over on the break. Grealish is in acres to the right of the D. Barkley, driving upfield, slaps the pass straight at Cancelo. Now it’s Villa’s turn to wonder how they haven’t converted a fine opportunity into a goal. This is great entertainment.

6.11pm GMT

9 min: Foden shimmies in from the left, dropping one shoulder then the other, and makes his way into the box. He releases a pearler of a shot, but it’s blocked and deflected out for a corner, which comes to nothing. Just the nine minutes gone, yet this could easily be 2-1.

6.09pm GMT

8 min: Foden dances along the byline to the left of goal. His cutback is cleared. This is breathless.

6.09pm GMT

7 min: Grealish diddles his way down the left and reaches the byline, before fizzing a dangerous low ball into the mixer. There’s nobody in black to receive the cross, so City clear and go up the other end again.

6.08pm GMT

6 min: ... then pour up the other end, Barkley finding Traore in space out on the right. He sails past Cancelo with ease and dribbles into the box. Serious danger for City here! But Traore over-elaborates, torn between shooting from an angle and teeing up Grealish in the middle, and is eventually crowded out. Great start, this.

6.06pm GMT

5 min: Nothing comes of the next corner. Villa relax ...

6.06pm GMT

4 min: A free kick for City out on the right. De Bruyne knocks it in. Grealish concedes a corner. From the corner, the ball drops to Silva, a couple of yards out. He’s got to score, but somehow Martinez gets in the way to block. What a save! Stones tries to poke home the rebound, but Cash deflects over the bar for another corner. What an escape by Villa!

6.04pm GMT

2 min: It already feels like City have made over 200 passes. Villa haven’t touched it yet. Ah now they have, Gundogan spraying a diagonal ball towards Silva on the right, Targett chesting it down to intercept.

6.01pm GMT

Here we go, then. Manchester City get the ball rolling ... but only after the knee is taken. No room for racism. Kick it out.

5.58pm GMT

The teams are out! Manchester City wear their sky blue, while Aston Villa are in second-choice black. Jack Grealish looks in a very chipper mood, exchanging cheery patter with the officials. Some breaking news: it’s raining in Manchester. We’ll be off in a minute or two.

5.50pm GMT

I missed a tinder-dry zinger from Dean Smith: “We’re unbeaten in 18 days.” He’s here all week, ladies and gentlemen. Try the egg.

5.49pm GMT

Pep’s up next. “We still haven’t finished the first leg. We have many games to play for all the teams, so many things can happen. This is the toughest period, the weather conditions are tough, you don’t see the light, you don’t see the sky. Our life is training and go home. Another game, go. That’s just what we will have to do.”

5.47pm GMT

Dean Smith talks to BT Sport: “It’s nice to be out of the house! We haven’t played since New Year’s Day. Hopefully the lads will be fresh but we’ve had the Covid situation and players who have been suffering, so hopefully they will be OK. There’s a little bit of the unknown, but we’re not making any excuses and hopefully this is a team that can compete tonight.”

5.07pm GMT

Manchester City make three changes to the team sent out to batter Crystal Palace 4-0 on Sunday. Phil Foden, Rodri and Joao Cancelo come in; Gabriel Jesus, Fernandinho and Oleksandr Zinchenko drop to the bench.

Aston Villa’s last fixture was the FA Cup tie against Liverpool. They were forced to send out the whippersnappers for that one, so let’s look back to the New Year’s Day match at Old Trafford instead. Just the one change to the team that was unfortunate to go down 2-1: Ross Barkley comes in for Anwar El Ghazi, who is named today as a sub.

5.01pm GMT

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Stones, Dias, Joao Cancelo, De Bruyne, Rodri, Gundogan, Bernardo Silva, Sterling, Foden.
Subs: Gabriel Jesus, Zinchenko, Steffen, Torres, Mendy, Fernandinho, Mahrez, Garcia, Bernabe.

Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Targett, Douglas Luiz, Barkley, Traore, Grealish, McGinn, Watkins.
Subs: Heaton, Taylor, Nakamba, El Ghazi, Engels, Guilbert, Elmohamady, Davis, Ramsey.

2.47pm GMT

Welcome to our coverage of the second phase of an elegant game of leapfrog. Last night Leicester City hopped over Manchester United and Manchester City to hit the top of the Premier League table. Now it’s City’s turn to attempt the leap from third to first, which they’ll do this evening if they see off Aston Villa. The third manoeuvre comes later, when Manchester United visit Fulham, but let’s not get too far ahead of ourselves.

City are hot favourites to beat Villa. They’re bang in form, having won their last five in a row, while Villa’s Premier League squad haven’t played since New Year’s Day thanks to an outbreak of this damn virus. Villa’s players can be forgiven if they lack some match sharpness, then, and of course who can predict the effect on anyone who has had Covid-19. There’s also the small matter of Villa’s historical record at City: they’ve lost on 14 of their last 15 visits, and are on the wrong end of an aggregate score of 33-4.

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Leicester City 2-0 Chelsea: Premier League – as it happened

Leicester went top of the Premier League after a thoroughly deserved victory over misfiring Chelsea

10.41pm GMT

Paul Doyle’s report has landed. You know what to do: clickity click! Thanks for reading this MBM. Stay safe and healthy. Nighty night!

Related: Leicester go top of Premier League after Ndidi and Maddison cut down Chelsea

10.40pm GMT

Frank speaking. “We were beaten by a better team. They were sharper than us, ran more than us, showed moments of quality, they look a team in form, we look a team out of form. Sleeping moments. The sharpness wasn’t there. Sometimes that relates to poor form, but those are moments where you have to dig in, and the basics are to run and to sprint and to cover ground, and too many of our players didn’t do it. The basics off the ball are important. Our game on the ball was OK at times. I thought it was a penalty, I’ve seen them given, but I’m not going to lean on that decision, our game wasn’t there. It’s a loss. It’s a small step backwards. I’m worried. We should be better than five losses in eight. It takes character to turn from that. But we had quite a young team today. They won’t be feeling nice. I’m not against the lads in the dressing room there, because they’re disappointed and learned a lesson. You’ve got to get yourself out of that hole.”

10.31pm GMT

Brendan Rodgers’ verdict. “It was a very good performance. As a team collectively we were excellent. A real threat. Harvey Barnes was sensational, really exciting. Last 15, 20 minutes of the first half, they started getting some combinations, so we changed our defensive shape in the second half and still looked very dangerous in moments. I thought we really deserved it. The players have won a lot of games against the big opponents. They showed a lot of maturity. It was a really good, professional performance.”

10.19pm GMT

Leicester’s man-of-the-match James Maddison speaks to Sky. “It sounds nice, the top of the Premier League! Probably for only 24 hours, but it’s a good one psychologically because we’ve worked hard and it’s halfway through the season now and we’re sitting top. It’s one we can build on. I don’t think you’ve seen a better performance from us this season. It’s had everything. Tactical nous, a bit of quality when needed, we worked hard to stifle the opposition’s threat, I thought we did that brilliantly. You don’t play for Brendan Rodgers if you don’t do the dirty work. You can’t carry anyone in this league. We want to stay up there. That team spirit will continue, and we’ll try to stay up there.”

10.15pm GMT

A thoroughly deserved victory for Leicester, who must be considered serious title contenders now. They are top, after all. For those who like omens, it’s their first win in this particular fixture since the season they won the league. From Chelsea’s point of view, that was the match that ended their second Mourinho era. Hmm. They drop to eighth after today’s fixtures, three points behind West Ham, who leapfrogged them after their victory against West Brom.

10.06pm GMT

Leicester go top of the Premier League! Chelsea meanwhile head back down the M1 in a pensive mood.

10.05pm GMT

90 min +2: Some space for Ziyech on the right. He works it back onto his left foot, but that gives Leicester a little time to close him down, and his eventual shot squirms harmlessly into the arms of Schmeichel.

10.04pm GMT

90 min +1: Chelsea get out of their final third. But, well, y’know.

10.03pm GMT

90 min: Nothing comes of the resulting free kick, but Chelsea can’t get out of their final third. There will be three added minutes.

10.02pm GMT

89 min: Justin spins Ziyech down the left, a brilliant turn that has his opponent floundering. Ziyech is forced to take a booking for the team, clipping his heel just before he makes it into the box.

10.01pm GMT

88 min: Vardy is replaced by Iheanacho.

10.01pm GMT

87 min: Nope, it’s no goal. It was a lot closer than it looked to the naked eye, but the VAR rulers confirm the luckless Werner was a few millimetres offside. His luck will turn sometime, he’s too good for it not to.

10.00pm GMT

86 min: Ziyech whips an inswinger into the box. Werner sticks out a leg and guides cleverly into the bottom right. But when your luck’s out, it’s really out, and the flag goes up for offside. VAR will double-check, though.

9.58pm GMT

85 min: Pulisic turns on the jets and makes good down the left. He cuts inside, forcing Fofana to bundle him over. A booking, a free kick, and a chance for Chelsea to put it into the mixer.

9.57pm GMT

84 min: Perez battles and wins a free kick out on the right. The hosts load the box. Tielemans takes. Chelsea clear, but only after passing up three separate chances to do so. The lack of confidence is apparent.

9.55pm GMT

82 min: Another wasted corner for Leicester. It’ll happen one day.

9.55pm GMT

81 min: Castagne rolls a delicious pass down the inside right to split the Chelsea defence and give Vardy something to chase. Vardy enters the box, drops a shoulder to see off Rudiger, but then takes a heavy touch that denies him a shooting opportunity, Mendy coming out to claim.

9.53pm GMT

79 min: If Leicester close this out, it’ll be the first time Brendan Rodgers, who earned his coaching stripes at Stamford Bridge, has got the better of his alma mater. His current record: 15 games, zero wins, eight draws, seven defeats.

9.51pm GMT

77 min: Leicester make a double change. Off go Maddison and Albrighton, on come Perez and Ricardo.

9.50pm GMT

75 min: On the touchline, poor Frank, now resembling a drowned rat because managers aren’t allowed the benefit umbrellas ever since the great Steve McClaren debacle, continues to grimace in existential pain. On that subject, here’s Ian Burch: “As someone who went to every one of Chelsea’s 20 odd game winless streak in the 1987-88 season, I can remember the clamour for the removal of the then manager, Chelsea legend, John Hollins. The chorus of ‘Hello, hello, Holly must go’ was being sung before, during and after each game. Unsurprisingly, Ken Bates turned a deaf ear to all of this even though the manager was clearly not up to the task. There’s every chance Lampard will be shown the door when Chelsea inevitably tumble out of the Champions League next month, however Hollins still kept his job after a 4 -0 defeat at Swindon in the Simod Cup so there’s still hope for Frank.”

9.47pm GMT

73 min: Werner and Kovacic work the ball at speed, left to right, releasing Ziyech into space. Ziyech runs clap-bang into Justin, and it’s a free kick to Leicester. Nothing’s working for Chelsea.

9.46pm GMT

71 min: Werner dances down the left and feeds Pulisic, who enters the box before going over under pressure from Castagne. The referee points towards the spo... no, he’s signalling a goal kick. Castagne had played the ball off Pulisic, who subsequently fell to earth.

9.42pm GMT

69 min: The world’s biggest rain cloud breaks over the King Power. All of a sudden, it is lashing down.

9.41pm GMT

67 min: Hudson-Odoi drops a shoulder to gain a yard on Justin down the right, but his cross is an easy pluck for Schmeichel. That’s his last act of the evening: he’s replaced by Ziyech, while Havertz makes way for his compatriot Werner.

9.39pm GMT

66 min: Chelsea continue to hog the ball. Leicester continue to hold their shape.

9.38pm GMT

64 min: Fofana channels his inner Beckenbauer and sashays down the inside-right channel, eating up about 60 yards in elegant style. He eventually runs out of space, but consider it art for art’s sake. There’s so much potential in this young defender.

9.37pm GMT

62 min: Vardy is currently giving poor Silva an old-school working over. A nudge in the back as they contest a high ball in mid-air; a deliberate, snide nick on the heel to remove a boot. Silva is incensed that the referee is clocking none of it. Depending on your footballing philosophies and moral outlook, it’s either despicable behaviour or highly amusing slapstick. Both opinions are valid.

9.33pm GMT

60 min: The visitors have had 72 percent of possession since the break, but it’s Leicester who have gone closer to scoring.

9.32pm GMT

59 min: Chelsea stroke it around in the middle of the park. Leicester seem quite happy to leave them to it.

9.30pm GMT

57 min: Leicester again go close to a third, breaking up a Chelsea attack and countering, Vardy romping down the right, then slipping a diagonal ball to release Tielemans into the box. Tielemans takes a touch that makes the angle a little difficult for himself, but take nothing away from Mendy’s subsequent block. It’s kept Chelsea in this game.

9.29pm GMT

55 min: After some penalty-box pinball and a cute Maddison dink, Leicester have the ball in the net again, Albrighton swivelling on the penalty spot and lashing a Vardyesque shot into the bottom left. But he knew he was offside, and there’s no surprise when the flag goes up.

9.28pm GMT

54 min: James curls in from the right. Fofana reads the danger well, eyebrowing out for a corner with Mount, Havertz and Abraham lurking. Mount swings the corner in from the left. It hits James, standing in the six-yard box, and drops into Schmeichel’s arms. Fofana is a proper talent.

9.26pm GMT

53 min: Chilwell bowls over Albrighton on the right. Maddison takes the free kick. Evans wins a header, but can only send the ball looping into the arms of Mendy.

9.25pm GMT

52 min: Kovacic is booked for an overly forceful lunge at Maddison, who was in the process of breaking upfield at speed.

9.24pm GMT

51 min: Chelsea go up the other end, Abraham making a determined run down the right, and seeing his low drive deflected by Fofana’s magnificent last-minute slide. Abraham meets the resulting corner, but plants his header straight at Schmeichel.

9.23pm GMT

50 min: It should be 3-0. Albrighton curls deep from the right. James is on walkabout, and Justin is free on the edge of the six-yard box. He heads down, unchallenged, but sends the ball inches wide of the left-hand post.

9.22pm GMT

49 min: Lampard prowls the touchline. Arms folded tightly, and a hard stare that Paddington would be proud of.

9.20pm GMT

47 min: Some sterile midfield possession for Chelsea. Baby steps as they attempt to work their way back into this game.

9.19pm GMT

The second half begins. Leicester get the ball rolling again. No changes by either side. “The NBC crew is tearing at Frank’s carcass during half-time, even chipper Rebecca Lowe,” reports Mary Waltz. All of which might explain why fellow US resident Rob Coughlin asks: “Quick question, who will be out of a job sooner, Trump or Frank?”

9.16pm GMT

(Non) controversy corner. A few folk wondering why Jamie Vardy wasn’t penalised for his initial role in the second goal, when he came back from what looked like an offside position to contest Kasper Schmeichel’s goal kick. To quote the laws of the game: “There is no offside offence if a player receives the ball directly from: a goal kick; a throw-in; a corner kick.” (To those who emailed: don’t worry, there’s no name-and-shame culture on the MBM, in fact we’ve already forgotten about it.)

9.03pm GMT

The thin lines between success and failure, huh. Chelsea thought they had a penalty to equalise at 1-0, only for Mr VAR to get the magnifying glass out and spot that the foul was just outside the box. After the free kick was wasted, Leicester went straight up the other end and doubled their lead. Leicester are heading for the top, Chelsea destined for yet another frustrated journey home. One way or another, the second half could be very interesting indeed. No flipping!

9.00pm GMT

45 min: Chilwell sticks one into the mixer from the left. Fofana overpowers Abraham in the middle to clear. There will be two added minutes.

9.00pm GMT

44 min: That was astonishingly poor from Chelsea. Schmeichel’s goal kick caused a midfield stramash, and when the ball broke to Barnes, they were all over the shop and all bets were off. On first view, it looked like Vardy threw an elaborate dummy, but in fact he was pushed in the back by Rudiger, and there’s a fair chance he’d have won a penalty had Maddison not put the chance away.

8.58pm GMT

What a double whammy for Chelsea ... and what dreadful defending. Barnes loops a pass down the middle, hoping to release Vardy down the middle. Vardy ducks, confusing Rudiger behind him, and the ball bounces through to Maddison, in the box and just to the left of goal. Maddison opens his body and sidefoots confidently past Mendy.

8.56pm GMT

41 min: There’s an awful lot of faffing about as the Leicester wall is edged back to the regulation ten yards. Mount eventually takes. It’s a dismal hoick miles over the bar. Leicester breathe a huge sigh of relief, and then ...

8.55pm GMT

39 min: Evans’ boot was just in front of the white line, so the penalty decision is overturned by VAR. Just a free kick, albeit one in a very dangerous position, near the right-hand corner of the D, inches outside the box.

8.54pm GMT

38 min: Mount slips a ball down the inside right channel for Pulisic. Evans sticks his leg out. Pulisic goes over, and the referee points to the spot. Penalty ... though VAR will check, because this is right on the line.

8.53pm GMT

36 min: A replay of the Vardy run. It looked, to the naked eye, that he’d gone early, and any goal would have been chalked off for offside. But Rudiger was lurking deep infield, and we’ve been surprised before this season when Mr VAR gets his ruler out. Anyway, it’s all immaterial.

8.51pm GMT

34 min: Vardy is released down the inside-right channel. He’s free on goal! He opts to chip Mendy, but doesn’t get quite enough on it, the keeper parrying with his fingertips, the ball squirting wide left. So close to doubling Leicester’s lead.

8.48pm GMT

33 min: Some space for Hudson-Odoi down the inside-right channel. He’s got options in the middle, but decides to go for it himself, and ripples the side netting.

8.48pm GMT

31 min: Another Leicester corner. It’s now 0 goals from 98 for the season. Mendy launches long, hoping to release Pulisic on the counter. But Schmeichel has come all the way out to the edge of the centre circle (!) and clears with a spectacular diving header. That’s one for the showreel.

8.45pm GMT

29 min: Havertz is booked for a tug on Barnes’ shoulder, a mixture of cynicism and frustration.

8.44pm GMT

27 min: But Leicester almost immediately come back at Chelsea, Castagne pressing hard and forcing a mistake out of Chilwell. Another corner. It is - thanks again to Sky for this - the 97th corner of Leicester’s season. After the set piece comes to nothing, their goals from corners stat reads: 0 from 97. That’s the worst in the entire division. Like they’ll worry about that if they go top tonight.

8.41pm GMT

26 min: Albrighton, the best part of 30 yards out, isn’t closed down so decides to have a dig. He sends a rising, swerving shot straight at Mendy, who tips over in slightly uncertain style. Nothing comes from the resulting corner.

8.40pm GMT

24 min: Justin steals the ball from Hudson-Odoi and glides down the left. His deep cross nearly drops to Vardy, but Silva is well positioned and clears. A little more height on that cross and Chelsea were in a world of pain.

8.38pm GMT

22 min: Chilwell dribbles down the left and slips the ball inside for Havertz, who can’t quite control in the box, allowing Evans to step in and shepherd the ball back to Schmeichel. Chelsea appear to have steadied the ship.

8.36pm GMT

21 min: But then James plays a cute one-two with Hudson-Odoi down the right and bursts into the box. James reaches the corner of the six-yard box and has a whack from a tight angle. Schmeichel tips it over the bar, then deals with the resulting corner, punching clear. Much better from Chelsea, and a first shot across Leicester bow.

8.35pm GMT

19 min: This is better from the visitors, a nice spell of possession in the Leicester final third. They work the ball efficiently from flank to flank and back, but can’t find the killer pass.

8.34pm GMT

18 min: Leicester are first to absolutely everything at the minute. The first couple of minutes seem an awfully long time ago.

8.31pm GMT

16 min: Maddison is afforded way too much time to line up a shot from 25 yards, having been teed up by Castagne. He aims for the top right, and clips the top of the bar. Mendy wasn’t getting there had it been on target.

8.30pm GMT

14 min: A worrying stat for Chelsea flashed up by Sky: Leicester have scored first in the Premier League on nine occasions this season ... and have gone on to win all nine.

8.29pm GMT

12 min: Chelsea’s heads are addled. Chilwell and Mendy hesitate over a ball that rolls slowly towards the Chelsea box. Mendy is reluctant to come out and get it, but Chilwell, back on his old stomping ground, freezes. Mendy is forced to hack clear. The ball is intercepted by Tielemans, and Chelsea are very fortunate that the Leicester midfielder wastes the opportunity to advance on goal with a poor pass upfield.

8.26pm GMT

11 min: Maddison whips a dangerous corner into the mixer. Abraham is on point to send the ball away from danger.

8.26pm GMT

10 min: Chelsea’s early verve is suddenly gone. Barnes wins a corner down the left. Chelsea desperately need to hold out here and regroup.

8.25pm GMT

8 min: If this game ends like this, Leicester go top. I’m willing to bet there haven’t been too many better goals scored since 1888 that have sent a team to the summit of English football.

8.23pm GMT

The free kick’s sent down the left to Barnes, whose deep cross is chested out for a corner on the right by Abraham. Leicester play it short between Maddison and Albrighton, the latter cutting back for Ndidi, who from the edge of the box creams a sensational first-time shot off the left-hand post and into the net. What a goal! Mendy had no chance, and was rooted to the spot.

8.21pm GMT

5 min: Maddison drives down the inside-left channel and draws a cynical heel clip from Mount, who can consider himself fortunate not to go into the book. Too early in the game for the referee’s liking perhaps. But no matter, because from the free kick ...

8.20pm GMT

4 min: Barnes backs himself in a footrace with James down the left. He very nearly makes it into the box but loses control. The ball threatens to break to Justin, haring in from behind on the underlap, but Silva is on hand to intercept and knock clear. Both sides have come out on the front foot.

8.18pm GMT

2 min: Chelsea hog the ball in the opening exchanges. They knock it long. Justin clears. They knock it long again, Silva hoping to release Pulisic down the middle this time. Castagne does well to come across and nip the danger in the bud. A positive start from the visitors.

8.15pm GMT

Chelsea get the ball rolling ... but only after everyone takes the knee. There’s no room for racism. Kick it out.

8.15pm GMT

The teams are out! Leicester in their blue shirts, Chelsea sporting a change strip of very light blue. We’ll be off in a minute! Meanwhile here comes Neal Butler, mistiming his run by a couple of minutes: “Havertz/Kovacic/Mount really doesn’t seem like a terribly sturdy midfield. I’m beginning to worry that Lampard may not actually know what he’s doing. Still, at least Hudson-Odoi starts, though why Pulisic - who saw a lot of the ball, but did very little with it against Fulham - keeps his place is beyond me.”

8.12pm GMT

Frank Lampard: a triptych. “That Chelsea line-up really looks like they’re going for it,” writes Keith Hennigan. “Not a deep lying midfielder to be seen! I know Kovacic and Mount get about a bit, but really. Let’s hope for their sake Leicester are no good in attack. Oh.”

Julian Menz adds: “So Lampard changes his forward line yet again, and that really doesn’t help any of his forwards find their rhythm. Halfway through the season, and he is still no closer to knowing his best team. That’s no good for him, his players, and Chelsea’s chances of securing a top-four place.”

8.07pm GMT

Frank Lampard talks to Sky. “We’re coming to a really tough place, they’re playing really well. They’re a very accomplished team with a very good coach. But we have to believe in ourselves. We have a lot of energy in the team, different quality. Callum is effecting games more than ever, and that’s his development as a young player. His confidence is there. Kai as well. There’s clearly an adaptation period at such an age, but he’s playing really well in training. Some of our control against Fulham was a little bit safe, we didn’t do enough. There may be more space for us today. We have to be at our best.” Lampard also confirms that Olivier Giroud is out injured, having taken a “bang on the ankle” against Fulham.

7.54pm GMT

Some added incentive for Chelsea, should they require any. London rivals West Ham have just beaten West Brom 2-1, a result that sees the Hammers leapfrog them into seventh place. Chelsea need to win tonight to reclaim that spot on goal difference. Simon Burnton was watching that one; here’s how it unfolded in real time.

Related: West Ham v West Brom: Premier League – live!

7.52pm GMT

Brendan Rodgers speaks to Sky. “The team is in good form and we haven’t had to change it too much of late. But we know we will still need the squad this season, and it’ll be a really tough game tonight, and a quick turnaround in games, so we’ll definitely need the players on the bench. If you can be close to the top or at the top, it shows you deserve to be there and have been playing well. Tonight Chelsea are a talented team with good players, but we want to continue with our momentum. From an attacking perspective they look really strong, but we can play football as well. The players have shown real flexibility to play different games in different ways.”

7.21pm GMT

Leicester are unchanged from the 2-0 win over Southampton. Jamie Vardy has recovered from a hip problem picked up against Saints and starts.

Chelsea make four changes to the side named for the 1-0 win at Fulham. Reece James, Kai Havertz, Callum Hudson-Odoi and Tammy Abraham take the places of Cesar Azpilicueta, Jorginho, Hakim Ziyech and Olivier Giroud. Misfiring striker Timo Werner once again has to make do with a place on the bench. Giroud is missing altogether.

7.16pm GMT

Leicester City: Schmeichel, Castagne, Fofana, Evans, Justin, Ndidi, Tielemans, Albrighton, Maddison, Barnes, Vardy.
Subs: Soyuncu, Ward, Iheanacho, Perez, Amartey, Under, Choudhury, Ricardo Pereira, Thomas.

Chelsea: Mendy, James, Thiago Silva, Rudiger, Chilwell, Havertz, Kovacic, Mount, Hudson-Odoi, Abraham, Pulisic.
Subs: Arrizabalaga, Christensen, Jorginho, Werner, Zouma, Ziyech, Gilmour, Azpilicueta, Emerson Palmieri.

2.50pm GMT

Leicester City, champions of England in 2016, can leap back to the top of the Premier League this evening. All they have to do is beat Chelsea, who before an uncertain win against ten-man Fulham the other night, had lost their previous three away fixtures. The Foxes by comparison have their tails up, currently on a three-match winning run, and with seven wins and two draws in their last ten.

But the head-to-head gives Leicester something to think about. They’ve not lost any of their last five matches against Chelsea. However, four of those were draws, while Chelsea have won on five of their last seven visits to the King Power. It’s very much swings and roundabouts. Good luck calling it!

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The Fiver | Fixtures every minute of every day, so everyone and everything is a nightmare

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It was always heading this way, the coronavirus has merely accelerated the process: the entire world is now nothing more than one long, rolling, never-ending managerial press conference. The Fiver is trapped inside it, the doors locked, chairs wedged under the outside handles by The Man just to make sure. There are fixtures every minute of every day, and so everyone and everything and everywhere is a nightmare. Although to be scrupulously fair, yesterday’s appearance at The Presser by Neil Lennon was fairly interesting, the incandescent Celtic boss angrily jabbing both index fingers in the air while rounding on critics of his club’s trip to Dubai. “Agadoo, doo, doo,” he blasted. “Push pineapple. Shake the tree. Agadoo, doo, doo. Push pineapple. Grind coffeeeee.”

Related: Pep Guardiola says Aymeric Laporte can decide own future at Manchester City

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