Saturday Soccer Roundup: The Reds vs Brighton, The Blues vs Everton and Further Action
Live Game Information
Good day from London, where the sunshine is actually beaming, though by the moment we're at the interval, darkness will be descending. Talking of which, can there be a positive farewell for Mohamed Salah? And, that does not have to be a departure forever, of course. The player, like many players will be heading to the Africa Cup of Nations, whatever happens. We await the team news from Liverpool's game with Brighton.
Here are this afternoon's 15:00 UK time fixtures.
- Chelsea v Everton
- Liverpool v Brighton
There's a complete schedule of EFL action, as well.
Confirmed Team Elevens
Chelsea versus The Merseyside Blues
Chelsea Starting XI: Sanchez, Gusto, Fofana, Chalobah, Cucurella, James, Fernandez, Pedro Neto, Palmer, Garnacho, Joao Pedro.
Chelsea Substitutes: Jorgensen, Adarabioyo, Badiashile, Bynoe-Gittens, Santos, Hato, Acheampong, Guiu, Estevao.
Everton Lineup: Pickford, O’Brien, Tarkowski, Keane, Mykolenko, Garner, Gueye, Ndiaye, Dewsbury-Hall, Grealish, Barry.
Everton Substitutes: Travers, Patterson, McNeil, Beto, Dibling, Alcaraz, Aznou, Iroegbunam, Campbell.
Match Referee: Thomas Bramall.
Anfield v The Albion
Liverpool Lineup: Alisson, Gomez, Konate, van Dijk, Kerkez, Gravenberch, Jones, Szoboszlai, Mac Allister, Wirtz, Ekitike.
Liverpool Substitutes: Mamardashvili, Isak, Salah, Chiesa, Robertson, Ramsay, Ngumoha, Lucky.
Brighton Lineup: Verbruggen, Wieffer, van Hecke, Dunk, Kadioglu, Baleba, Hinshelwood, Minteh, Gruda, Gomez, Rutter.
Brighton Bench: Steele, Welbeck, Kostoulas, Milner, Boscagli, Mitoma, Ayari, De Cuyper, Veltman.
Game Official: Craig Pawson.
Salah starting from the substitutes for the Reds. So is Alexander Isak. More selection details is imminent but it appears like Florian Wirtz playing behind Hugo Ekitike in attack.
Afternoon EFL Scores
Big result in the fourth tier, where it's a regional clash of Bristol Rovers v Swindon; relatively local. Swindon are ahead 3-0.
In the Championship, three early kick-offs at the break:
- Norwich 0-0 Southampton
- Oxford 0-1 Preston
- Stoke 1-0 Swansea
League One Scores:
- Huddersfield 1-0 Wigan
- Wimbledon 0-0 Mansfield
League Two Updates:
- Bristol Rovers 0-3 Swindon
- Salford 1-1 Colchester
Later Scores have come through, and it's now Huddersfield 1-1 Wigan, Oxford 1-2 Preston, Salford 1-2 Colchester, Norwich 1-1 Southampton. At Norwich, whose goal came from Jovon Makama, Southampton missed a first-half penalty and have now equalised through Ryan Manning.
Norwich have gone back in front, the decisive strike coming from Jovon Makama, his second.
Other Football News
Reports from La Liga, where Real Madrid coach Xabi Alonso said Kylian Mbappe is available to play on Sunday against Alaves. Mbappe missed the Champions League defeat by Manchester City. Alonso stated, "We've got Kylian back, he's ready to play, and tomorrow we'll see and decide if he starts." Real Madrid are without several injured players including Trent Alexander-Arnold, Dani Carvajal and Eduardo Camavinga.
Regarding the Bristol Rovers v Swindon game, one fan reported: "Hi. Bristol Rovers 0 Swindon 3 doesn't tell the half of it. Ten League defeats in a row incoming, which is one club record. Five home losses in a row is another club record... It's not much fun being a Gashead these days." For Swindon, Aaron Drinan has followed Rovers' Kacper Lopata in being shown a red card.
Full Afternoon Fixture List
English Football League Second Division 3pm kick-offs
- Birmingham v. Charlton
- Coventry v. Bristol City
- Leicester v. Ipswich
- Middlesbrough v. QPR
- Millwall v. Hull
- Portsmouth v. Blackburn
- Wrexham v. Watford
Third Division 15:00 kick-offs
- Barnsley v. Leyton Orient
- Blackpool v. Lincoln City
- Bolton v. Exeter
- Bradford v. Reading
- Burton Albion v. Wycombe
- Cardiff v. Doncaster
- Luton v. Port Vale
- Peterborough v. Northampton
- Plymouth v. Rotherham
- Stockport County v. Stevenage
League Two 3pm kick-offs
- Accrington Stanley v. Bromley
- Cheltenham v. Harrogate Town
- Chesterfield v. Barnet
- Crawley Town v. Oldham
- Gillingham v. Barrow
- Grimsby v. Notts County
- Milton Keynes Dons v. Cambridge Utd
- Newport County v. Fleetwood Town
- Tranmere v. Crewe
- Walsall v. Shrewsbury
Only two games in the Scottish top flight, as well.
- Dundee Utd v. Motherwell
- Livingston v. Dundee
