Fin. So after all that, here’s how the Premier League looks ahead of this evening’s game between Nottingham Forest and Everton – which you can follow here with Luke McLaughlin – and tonight’s big clash of Newcastle and Manchester United. Thanks for reading this Clockwatch.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 | 18 | 33 |
| 2 | Man City | 13 | 20 | 29 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 13 | 17 | 28 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 13 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 8 | 26 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 13 | 0 | 24 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 13 | 17 | 23 |
| 8 | Brighton | 13 | 5 | 22 |
| 9 | West Ham | 13 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 | Brentford | 14 | 3 | 19 |
| 11 | Chelsea | 13 | 2 | 16 |
| 12 | Crystal Palace | 13 | -5 | 15 |
| 13 | Wolverhampton | 14 | -6 | 15 |
| 14 | Fulham | 13 | -9 | 15 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 13 | -5 | 13 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 13 | -14 | 12 |
| 17 | Luton | 14 | -13 | 9 |
| 18 | Burnley | 14 | -17 | 7 |
| 19 | Sheff Utd | 14 | -28 | 5 |
| 20 | Everton | 13 | -6 | 4 |
Arsenal 2-1 Wolves. Ed Aarons was at a freezing Emirates Stadium to witness Martin Ødegaard putting on yet another show.
Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United. Jay Rodriguez netted after 15 seconds and Burnley never looked back against the increasingly blunt Blades, whose manager Paul Heckingbottom is now under serious pressure.
Brentford 3-1 Luton Town. Simon Mail was at the Gtech Stadium to see Brentford ram home their superiority over a limited Luton team.
Scottish Premiership results
Kilmarnock 0-1 Hearts
Livingston P-P Ross County
Motherwell 3-3 Dundee
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Celtic | 14 | 27 | 36 |
| 2 | Rangers | 13 | 20 | 28 |
| 3 | Hearts | 14 | 2 | 23 |
| 4 | St Mirren | 14 | 0 | 22 |
| 5 | Hibernian | 14 | -1 | 18 |
| 6 | Dundee | 14 | -2 | 18 |
| 7 | Kilmarnock | 15 | -1 | 17 |
| 8 | Motherwell | 15 | -6 | 14 |
| 9 | Ross County | 14 | -9 | 14 |
| 10 | Aberdeen | 12 | -6 | 13 |
| 11 | St Johnstone | 13 | -11 | 11 |
| 12 | Livingston | 14 | -13 | 10 |
Championship results
Birmingham 0-0 Rotherham
Hull City 1-2 Watford
Ipswich 2-1 Coventry
Leeds 3-2 Middlesbrough
Millwall 1-1 Sunderland
Plymouth 2-1 Stoke
Sheffield Wed 3-1 Blackburn
Southampton 2-0 Cardiff
Swansea 1-1 Huddersfield
WBA 1-2 Leicester
Premier League results
Arsenal 2-1 Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brentford 3-1 Luton Town
Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United
Meanwhile at the bottom, life suddenly looks a lot rosier for Burnley.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 13 | -14 | 12 |
| 17 | Luton | 14 | -13 | 9 |
| 18 | Burnley | 14 | -17 | 7 |
| 19 | Sheff Utd | 14 | -28 | 5 |
| 20 | Everton | 13 | -6 | 4 |
FULL TIME: Arsenal 2-1 Wolves
Wolves pressed for an equaliser during injury time, but the Gunners have managed to hold on. Harder for the leaders than it looked at 3.15pm.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 14 | 18 | 33 |
| 2 | Man City | 13 | 20 | 29 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 13 | 17 | 28 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 13 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 8 | 26 |
FULL TIME: Ipswich 2-1 Coventry
FULL TIME: Leeds 3-2 Middlesbrough
FULL TIME: Southampton 2-0 Cardiff
The pack keep up the chase of Leicester City.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester | 19 | 22 | 46 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 19 | 16 | 45 |
| 3 | Leeds | 19 | 14 | 38 |
| 4 | Southampton | 19 | 4 | 37 |
| 5 | West Brom | 19 | 11 | 32 |
FULL TIME: Brentford 3-1 Luton
Brentford win their fourth game in six, snapping a two-game losing run. There goes Luton’s one-in-a-row winning sequence.
FULL TIME: Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United
A huge win for Burnley and Vincent Kompany. It could be a significant result for Paul Heckingbottom as well; that’s United’s third big humping of the season, and they’re only off the bottom as a result of Everton’s points deduction. They could be bottom for real in a couple of hours if Everton get anything at Forest.
FULL TIME: Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-2 Raith Rovers. Aw Dunc. It was nice while it lasted.
GOAL! Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-2 Raith Rovers (Gullan 90+4 pen). The Duncan Ferguson Highland honeymoon is over.
Let the record state that, 54 minutes ago, Charles Antaki sent me this: “It’s a good job that Zinchenko is, on the whole, a likeable character, capable of some absolute zingers – he’s made at least three outstandingly bad giveaways near his own penalty box this last half. Fortune continues to smile on him as none of them actually led to anything, but it feels like it’s only a matter of time, this match or next.”
GOAL! Arsenal 2-1 Wolves (Cunha 86)
Oleksandr Zinchenko ships possession, allowing Matheus Cunha to curl home and set Arsenal nerves jangling.
Updated
Tahith Chong blasts a header home at Brentford. But it won’t cut Luton’s deficit. He’s offside. It’s still 3-1 to the Bees.
GOAL! Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-1 Raith Rovers (Vaughan 86). Duncan Ferguson’s unbeaten start to life as Caley Thistle manager is suddenly in a little peril.
GOAL! Burnley 5-0 Sheffield United (Josh Brownhill 80)
… so the all-new Kompany-era Burnley we were promised has finally arrived. Josh Brownhill the latest to notch. The Blades have now been put to the sword by five goals twice this season, and there’s that 8-0 home defeat to Newcastle to factor in as well.
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 3-1 Luton (Baptiste 81)
Shandon Baptiste puts paid to any notion of a Luton comeback.
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 2-1 Luton (Brown 76)
Ross Barkley sets Luton on the attack, and Jacob Brown halves the deficit. Luton still in it!
Updated
GOAL! Burnley 4-0 Sheffield United (Koleosho 75)
Luca Koleosho scores his first goal for Burnley, and Sheffield United are on the end of another thrashing. Paul Heckingbottom’s coat hangs from a shoogly peg.
GOAL! Burnley 3-0 Sheffield United (Amdouni 73)
An unmarked Mohamed Amdouni crashes home from close range and it really is game over at Turf Moor now.
Updated
A couple of big Premier League games still to come tonight. It’s the big Newcastle v Manchester United clash this evening, and the 5.30 clash is pretty sweet too. Luke McLaughlin has all the news of Forest-Everton.
RED CARD: Dijksteel (Middlesbrough). A second yellow for Anfernee Dijksteel and Leeds, who had already seemed the more likely to score the next goal, will look to press home their advantage now. They’re 3-2 up.
Oli McBurnie, then. Here’s Justin Madson: “McBurnie spent so much time talking at the ref after his first yellow for elbowing someone in the face, it’s frankly incredible that he threw an even worse elbow five minutes later AND STILL tried to talk to the ref as if he wasn’t wrong. What were they even talking about? McBurnie’s training next week: how to jump without throwing elbows.”
GOAL! Inverness Caledonian Thistle 1-0 Raith Rovers (McKay 61). Duncan Ferguson’s Highland honeymoon continues apace!
It’s perhaps no surprise that Luton have folded. Their captain and defensive lynchpin Tom Lockyer didn’t come out for the second half. He’d picked up a back injury early in the game.
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 2-0 Luton (Mee 56)
Ben Mee scores his first goal of the season, and all of a sudden it looks game over at the Brentford Community Stadium.
Updated
GOAL! Brentford 1-0 Luton (Maupay 49)
It’s that man again! Neal Maupay slams home from close range. Two in four now, though, not bad going after that 14-month drought.
Updated
A reminder that there’s some hot admin action going on here this afternoon. Join John Brewin for the big draw. And since you’re asking for a prediction: France, Hungary, Scotland, Italy. It’s inevitable.
Championship half-times.
Birmingham 0-0 Rotherham
Hull City 1-1 Watford
Ipswich 2-0 Coventry
Leeds 3-2 Middlesbrough
Millwall 1-0 Sunderland
Plymouth 1-1 Stoke
Sheffield Wed 1-0 Blackburn
Southampton 2-0 Cardiff
Swansea 0-1 Huddersfield
WBA 1-2 Leicester (FT)
Updated
That big Caley Thistle v Raith clash, then. “No goals yet at Inverness, and the home side without a single attempt during the first 45 minutes,” writes Simon McMahon. “Maybe Big Dunc will need to knock a few heads together during the interval.”
Premier League half-times
Arsenal 2-0 Wolves
Brentford 0-0 Luton
Burnley 2-0 Sheffield United
RED CARD: McBurnie (Sheffield United)
The Blades are already two goals down at Burnley; they’re now a man down as well. Oli McBurnie, having learned nothing from his close escape a few moments ago, gets elbow-happy in another aerial challenge and is awarded a second yellow.
Updated
GOAL! Leeds United 3-2 Middlesbrough (Latte Lath 45). “Leeds are now in full control at Elland Road.” Yes, well, scrub that. Emmanuel Latte Lath heads home for a corner, and the game is on again.
Updated
GOAL! Ipswich 2-0 Coventry (Wes Burns 41). A curler into the top corner. This year’s Championship promotion race is shaping up to be an awful lot of fun.
At Turf Moor, Oli McBurnie pops his elbow into Dara O’Shea’s startled coupon. Just a yellow card, say both referee and VAR. O’Shea then responds with a tackle on McBurnie that flips the big striker into the air like an old sock. He’s booked too … and so is Vincent Kompany, who isn’t best pleased with the non-dismissal of McBurnie. It’s still 2-0 to the Clarets.
Updated
GOAL! Leeds United 3-1 Middlesbrough (Piroe 38 pen). Matt Clarke goes in clumsily on Georginio Rutter. Penalty. Joel Piroe slots, and from one down early doors, Leeds are now in full control at Elland Road and staying on Leicester and Ipswich’s shoulder.
Just to confirm that Brentford v Luton hasn’t been postponed, it’s not fallen foul of the weather. There’s just nothing happening in it, so there’s nowt to report. You’ll thank me for tempting fate if the goals immediately start flying in from here.
It’s gone from bad to worse for Wolves at the Emirates. Jose Sa has tweaked his back and Dan Bentley comes on to replace him. More on this subject from Kári Tulinius: “I had entirely forgotten Bentley, formerly the number one at Bristol City and Brentford, was now at Wolves. Honestly, having to come on as a goalkeeper against this Arsenal seems like a stress dream in real life.”
GOAL! Burnley 2-0 Sheffield United (Bruun Larsen 29)
The Clarets have lost all seven of their home matches so far this season. It looks like they’ll be snapping that unwanted run today. A simple ball over the top is enough to undo Sheffield United, who right now are losing this relegation battle in the meekest way possible. Jacob Bruun Larsen slots.
Updated
Arsenal continue to give Wolves the Lens treatment. The away side can’t get a touch. On that subject, here’s Kári Tulinius: “When I thought that Bukayo Saka had reached the outer limits of wholesomeness, he celebrates a goal by clicking his heals, twice, like that other charming London boy, Charlie Chaplin.”
Tom Brady is apparently in the building today at St Andrew’s for the Birmingham-Rotherham game. It’s currently 0-0. Meanwhile his old boss Bill Belichick is currently on the hot seat at the New England Patriots. That it’s come to this.
GOAL! Southampton 2-0 Cardiff City (A Armstrong 15). Make that 12 goals this season for Adam Armstrong, who heads home from close range. Today’s goals have been his 100th and 101st in league football.
Updated
GOAL! Arsenal 2-0 Wolves (Odegaard 13)
Over to Paul Merson on Sky’s Soccer Saturday: “The football is phenomenal! One-touch football! Zinchenko, Jesus, Zinchenko, Odegaard, game over.” Yep, Arsenal are flying right now all right.
Updated
GOAL! Southampton 1-0 Cardiff (A Armstrong 11). Adam Armstrong scores his 11th goal of the season, a gorgeous curler into the top corner, and Saints join that piping-hot pursuit of Leicester.
GOAL! Ipswich 1-0 Coventry (Hirst 6)
GOAL! Leeds 2-1 Middlesbrough (Summerville 7)
George Hirst and Crysencio Summerville score for the second and third-placed teams in the Championship, and the pursuit of leaders Leicester City is now officially HOT.
Updated
GOAL! Arsenal 1-0 Wolves (Saka 6)
Bukayo Saka combines with Gabriel Jesus and Takehiro Tomiyasu, and Arsenal are absolutely flying right now. That late Kai Havertz goal at Brentford last weekend is beginning to look quite the fuse-lighter.
Updated
GOAL! Leeds United 1-1 Middlesbrough (James 5). Well that didn’t take long. Dan James, of all people, wins a header in a crowded box and Leeds are quickly back on terms.
GOAL! Leeds United 0-1 Middlesbrough (Latte Lath 3). Third-placed Leeds are unbeaten in five but Boro are coming off the back of a 4-0 rout of Preston. Emmanuel Latte Lath curls home to stun Elland Road early doors.
Updated
GOAL! Burnley 1-0 Sheffield United (Rodriguez 1)
Straight from the kick-off, Burnley launch it long. Jay Rodriguez heads home a cross after 17 seconds! The spirit of Dycheball not yet totally eradicated from Turf Moor, it would seem.
Updated
A reminder of the Premier League standings as we go into the weekend.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 13 | 17 | 30 |
| 2 | Man City | 13 | 20 | 29 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 13 | 17 | 28 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 13 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 8 | 26 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 13 | 0 | 24 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 13 | 17 | 23 |
| 8 | Brighton | 13 | 5 | 22 |
| 9 | West Ham | 13 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 13 | 2 | 16 |
| 11 | Brentford | 13 | 1 | 16 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 13 | -5 | 15 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 13 | -5 | 15 |
| 14 | Fulham | 13 | -9 | 15 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 13 | -5 | 13 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 13 | -14 | 12 |
| 17 | Luton | 13 | -11 | 9 |
| 18 | Sheff Utd | 14 | -23 | 6 |
| 19 | Burnley | 14 | -22 | 5 |
| 20 | Everton | 13 | -6 | 4 |
All over the country, the teams are out. Brentford have been forced into a late change ahead of the visit of Luton: Kristoffer Ajer has gone over his ankle in the warm-up, so Saman Ghoddos takes his place.
Updated
No Everton team news yet, because their match at Nottingham Forest doesn’t kick off until 5.30pm. But we do already know that Andy Burnham, mayor of Greater Manchester and staunch Evertonian, has gone out to bat for them. “This feels significant,” says Gary Naylor. This is going to run and run, isn’t it.
I have replied to the letter I received from the @premierleague.
— Andy Burnham (@AndyBurnhamGM) December 2, 2023
If anything, I am now MORE concerned about the handling of @everton’s case.
Read my full response here. 👇🏻 pic.twitter.com/0XZiAz1AXu
It’s time for Simon McMahon’s weekly letter and scene-setter from Scotland, and once again he proves himself a man after my own heart. “Dundee United’s trip to Morton is one of many to have fallen victim to the weather up here, so I’ll be keeping a close eye on the goings-on at Inverness. Big Dunc’s boys would be doing his old Tannadice mates a big favour if they could continue their unbeaten run against Raith, who are four points behind United at the top of the Scottish Championship with a game in hand. Older readers will remember it was an unfortunate incident whilst playing against Raith Rovers at Ibrox that resulted in the fiery forward spending three months in the big hoose at Barlinnie. Let’s hope for more none of that type of nonsense in the Highlands today, eh?”
FULL TIME: West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Leicester City. So Leicester go four points clear after all. For a couple of hours at least: Ipswich kick off at Portman Road against Coventry in just over half an hour. Leeds and Southampton also have home fixtures coming up, against Middlesbrough and Cardiff respectively. We’ll keep you posted on those.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester | 19 | 22 | 46 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 18 | 15 | 42 |
| 3 | Leeds | 18 | 13 | 35 |
| 4 | Southampton | 18 | 2 | 34 |
| 5 | West Brom | 19 | 11 | 32 |
GOAL! AND SURELY THE WINNER! West Bromwich Albion 1-2 Leicester City (Winks 90+4). West Brom pile forward looking for the winner. They load the Leicester box. Jannik Vestergaard crashes a clearing header upfield. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Harry Winks tear off on a two-versus-one break. The former feeds the latter, who slides into the bottom-right corner of the net. Pandemonium at the Hawthorns. Enzo Maresca is booked for celebrating too wildly.
Updated
Back to the Premier League team news, and Burnley make one change from the side that started the spirit-sapping late defeat by West Ham United. Jacob Bruun Larsen replaces Johann Berg Gudmundsson, who drops to the bench. Sheffield United respond to their 3-1 home defeat at the hands of Bournemouth by switching out Jayden Bogle, Vini Souza and James McAtee for Anel Ahmedhodzic, John Fleck and Oli McBurnie.
GOAL! West Bromwich Albion 1-1 Leicester City (Maja 88). A good old-fashioned stramash in the Leicester six-yard box. The ball drops to Josh Maja, who whistles into the bottom left from close range. It’s his first goal for West Brom and one that changes the look of the top of the Championship table.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester | 19 | 21 | 44 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 18 | 15 | 42 |
| 3 | Leeds | 18 | 13 | 35 |
| 4 | Southampton | 18 | 2 | 34 |
| 5 | West Brom | 19 | 12 | 33 |
Updated
Brentford were unfortunate to lose 1-0 against Arsenal last weekend, so it’s not surprising that Thomas Frank makes just one change. Neal Maupay comes in for Saman Ghoddos. Luton Town meanwhile make two changes after last Saturday’s win over Crystal Palace: Tahith Chong and Issa Kabore replace Andros Townsend, who drops to the bench, and Alfie Doughty, who misses out together.
Updated
Back to the Premier League team news, and let’s take it from the top. The leaders Arsenal make one change from the XI that started the 6-0 rout of Lens in the Champions League. Leandro Trossard comes in for Kai Havertz, who drops to the bench. Wolves make four changes to the side in the wake of their controversial 3-2 loss at Fulham. Boubacar Traore, Tommy Doyle, Hugo Bueno and Craig Dawson are in; Joao Gomes and Mario Lemina are suspended, Rayan Ait-Nouri is injured, and Santiago Bueno drops to the bench.
GOAL! West Bromwich Albion 0-1 Leicester City (Dewsbury-Hall 72). A late goal in the early Championship kick-off. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall heads home a Wilfred Ndidi cross, and as things stand, Leicester will consolidate their position at the top of the table. The Baggies had been hoping to go third. Still time for the hosts to turn it around at the Hawthorns.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Leicester | 19 | 22 | 46 |
| 2 | Ipswich | 18 | 15 | 42 |
| 3 | Leeds | 18 | 13 | 35 |
| 4 | Southampton | 18 | 2 | 34 |
| 5 | West Brom | 19 | 11 | 32 |
Premier League teams
Arsenal: Raya, Tomiyasu, Saliba, Gabriel, Zinchenko, Odegaard, Rice, Trossard, Saka, Jesus, Martinelli.
Subs: Ramsdale, White, Nketiah, Kiwior, Soares, Jorginho, Nelson, Elneny, Havertz.
Wolverhampton Wanderers: Sa, H Bueno, Kilman, Dawson, Gomes, Semedo, Bellegarde, Traore, Doyle, Hwang, Cunha.
Subs: Bentley, Doherty, S Bueno, Silva, Kalajdzic, Sarabia, Chirewa, Whittingham, Hubner.
Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Mee, Pinnock, Janelt, Onyeka, Norgaard, Yarmolyuk, Mbeumo, Maupay, Wissa.
Subs: Goode, Jorgensen, Ghoddos, Strakosha, Lewis-Potter, Peart-Harris, Baptiste, Roerslev, Olakigbe.
Luton Town: Kaminski, Mengi, Lockyer, Osho, Kabore, Mpanzu, Barkley, Bell, Chong, Ogbene, Morris.
Subs: Berry, Adebayo, Clark, Brown, Krul, Giles, Townsend, Johnson, Nelson.
Burnley: Trafford, Vitinho, O’Shea, Beyer, Taylor, Bruun Larsen, Berge, Brownhill, Koleosho, Rodriguez, Amdouni.
Subs: Gudmundsson, Redmond, Ekdal, Ramsey, Vigouroux, Ndayishimiye, Massengo, Obafemi, Odobert.
Sheffield United: Foderingham, Baldock, Robinson, Trusty, Ahmedhodzic, Norwood, Fleck, Thomas, McBurnie, Hamer, Archer.
Subs: Adam Davies, Lowe, Traore, Bogle, Vinicius Souza, Ben Slimane, Larouci, McAtee, Osula.
Preamble
Hello and welcome to Every Game Every Goal Clockwatch. There are three big Premier League games kicking off at 3pm, and they are …
Arsenal v Wolverhampton Wanderers
Brentford v Luton Town
Burnley v Sheffield United
… so there’s plenty to play for at both the top and bottom of the table. And the middle, which is where Wolves and Brentford reside, but that doesn’t sound quite so dramatic or sexy. We’ll also keep you up to date with any scores of note in other leagues, an admittedly random and partial service which may or may not skew heavily towards Inverness Caledonian Thistle, who have still not lost a game since the beloved Big Dunc took over as manager in September. Premier League teams when we have them.
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Arsenal | 13 | 17 | 30 |
| 2 | Man City | 13 | 20 | 29 |
| 3 | Liverpool | 13 | 17 | 28 |
| 4 | Aston Villa | 13 | 13 | 28 |
| 5 | Tottenham Hotspur | 13 | 8 | 26 |
| 6 | Man Utd | 13 | 0 | 24 |
| 7 | Newcastle | 13 | 17 | 23 |
| 8 | Brighton | 13 | 5 | 22 |
| 9 | West Ham | 13 | 0 | 20 |
| 10 | Chelsea | 13 | 2 | 16 |
| 11 | Brentford | 13 | 1 | 16 |
| 12 | Wolverhampton | 13 | -5 | 15 |
| 13 | Crystal Palace | 13 | -5 | 15 |
| 14 | Fulham | 13 | -9 | 15 |
| 15 | Nottm Forest | 13 | -5 | 13 |
| 16 | AFC Bournemouth | 13 | -14 | 12 |
| 17 | Luton | 13 | -11 | 9 |
| 18 | Sheff Utd | 13 | -23 | 5 |
| 19 | Everton | 13 | -6 | 4 |
| 20 | Burnley | 13 | -22 | 4 |
