Blackburn closed out a 1-0 win against QPR thanks to Reda Khadra’s 77th-minute strike. They move third in the Championship table as a result, above QPR, who are now fourth.
The weather was a trifle chillier than Antonio Conte might have wanted but, in so many ways, this trip to West Yorkshire proved every bit as restorative as a week in the sun at the Tottenham manager’s favourite resort hotel in Sardinia.
Brentford v Newcastle teams
Brentford: Raya, Ajer, Jansson, Pinnock, Dasilva, Janelt, Jensen, Norgaard, Henry, Mbeumo, Wissa. Substitutes: Canos, Ghoddos, Onyeka, Toney, Eriksen, Jorgensen, Baptiste, Roerslev, Lossl.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Krafth, Schar, Burn, Targett, Willock, Shelvey, Joelinton, Fraser, Wood, Murphy. Substitutes:Dummett, Lascelles, Fernandez, Manquillo, Almiron, Darlow, Gayle, Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)
Brighton v Aston Villa teams
Brighton: Sanchez, Lamptey, Veltman, Dunk, Cucurella, March, Moder, Bissouma, Mac Allister, Trossard, Maupay. Substitutes: Gross, Alzate, Welbeck, Steele, Duffy, Caicedo, Leonard, Offiah, Ferguson.
Aston Villa: Martinez, Cash, Konsa, Mings, Digne, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey, Watkins, Ings, Coutinho. Substitutes: Sanson, Buendia, Chambers, Young, Olsen, Hause, Bailey, Iroegbunam, O’Reilly.
Referee: John Brooks (Leicestershire)
BT Sport’s Des Kelly just asked the Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa if it’s time to make his team less open, given their poor form.
“Were you at the game?” Bielsa deadpans, through his interpreter. Lovely stuff.
Crystal Palace v Burnley teams
Crystal Palace: Butland, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Milivojevic, McArthur, Gallagher, Olise, Schlupp, Zaha. Substitutes: Kouyate, Ayew, Eze, Hughes, Guaita, Mateta, Benteke, Edouard, Kelly.
Burnley: Pope, Roberts, Tarkowski, Mee, Pieters, Lennon, Cork, Brownhill, McNeil, Weghorst, Rodriguez. Substitutes: Lowton, Taylor, Barnes, Hennessey, Westwood, Cornet, Collins, Bardsley, Long.
Referee: Jon Moss (W Yorkshire)
Man Utd v Watford teams
The Manchester United interim boss Ralf Rangnick makes four changes to his starting lineup for the clash with Watford at Old Trafford. The changes from Wednesday’s 1-1 Champions League draw at Atlético Madrid see Anthony Elanga, who has scored in each of the last two games, Nemanja Matic, Aaron Wan-Bissaka and Alex Telles come in as Marcus Rashford, Jadon Sancho, Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw drop to the bench. Watford boss Roy Hodgson’s starting team showed one change from the 4-1 defeat by Crystal Palace, Jeremy Ngakia replacing the injured Kiko Femenia. (PA)
Man Utd: de Gea, Wan-Bissaka, Lindelof, Varane, Alex Telles, Fred, Matic, Elanga, Bruno Fernandes, Pogba, Ronaldo. Substitutes: Jones, Maguire, Mata, Rashford, Lingard, Dalot, Shaw, Sancho, Henderson.
Watford: Foster, Ngakia, Cathcart, Samir, Kamara, Sissoko, Louza, Cleverley, Sarr, King, Dennis. Substitutes: Troost-Ekong, Joao Pedro, Masina, Sema, Bachmann, Kabasele, Hernandez, Kucka, Kayembe.
Referee: Kevin Friend (Leicestershire)
🗣 Bring on United! 💯#MUFC | #MUNWAT
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) February 26, 2022
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On BT Sport, Rio Ferdinand and Peter Crouch are pouring praise on Harry Kane for the display against Leeds: “We were sitting here just screaming at times because it was so good,” says Ferdinand. “He was playing on another planet today.”
“We was all frustrated [about the loss at Burnley],” says Kane. “We had to bounce back today against a tough side who are fighting for their lives.”
Full-time: Leeds 0-4 Tottenham
After five matches in which they’ve failed to muster a single Championship goal, Blackburn lead QPR by a goal to nil in stoppage time!
Ralf Rangnick believes Marcus Rashford can draw inspiration from Jadon Sancho as the forward tries to lift himself out of a run of poor form.
This afternoon’s fixtures from across all the European league can be viewed here.
If you have any pre-3pm musings, or any comments as the action unfolds, feel free to send me an email or a message on Twitter.
Tottenham have just gone 4-0 up thanks to a delightful take and finish by Son Heung-min. Hapless Leeds missed an open goal, more or less, a few minutes ago.
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“War in Europe was unthinkable for me for a long period ... It’s pretty unreal, it’s clouding our minds, it’s clouding excitement towards the [Carabao Cup] final and it brings huge uncertainty.”
The thoughts of the Chelsea head coach, Thomas Tuchel, before Sunday’s Carabao Cup final against Liverpool:
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Andy Hunter and Jamie Jackson with some more Ukraine-related news:
Everton are expected to silence the air-raid siren that sounds before matches at Goodison Park when Manchester City visit on Saturday out of consideration for the Ukraine internationals Vitalii Mykolenko and Oleksandr Zinchenko. The move comes amid support from several Premier League clubs for players affected by Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
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Some breaking news – Poland will refuse to play Russia in their scheduled World Cup playoff next month following the invasion of Ukraine:
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What will the top of the Premier League look like on the final day, 22 May? And what will the bottom look like? It is all up for grabs at both ends of the division, now with just three points between the once-runaway leaders Manchester City and second-placed Liverpool going into this weekend’s matches.
At the bottom, Leeds and Everton – 15th and 16th as it stands – are officially right in the relegation scrap, with Newcastle and Burnley enjoying some positive recent results that have boosted their hopes of survival. Eddie Howe’s Magpies would overtake today’s opponents Brentford and move up to 14th place if they can triumph away in south-west London, while Manchester United will aim to close the gap to third-placed Chelsea with a win at home to Watford this afternoon.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are currently enduring another painful afternoon, against Tottenham, with Burnley, Everton and Watford all in action later today ... I’ll bring you as much news as possible from all the 3pm kick-offs across the Premier League and Football League, with the Championship leaders Fulham away to Cardiff City, and second-placed Bournemouth at home to Stoke. Let’s do this.
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