Key events
National League: Rochdale 1-0 York City is in its 13th minute of added time!
Championship: Middlesbrough have completed their rout of Watford, closing out a 5-1 win with Tommy Conway’s second goal of the afternoon. West Brom have held Ipswich Town at the Hawthorns, which means they are safe and Ipswich go second on goal difference with a game in hand over Millwall in third. Chartlton are 2-1 up against Hull City in added time and also look certain to stay up. Unless there is a dramatic turnaround at the Valley, Oxford United are relegated along with Leicester City and Sheffield Wednesday.
Rochdale score against York City!
National League: Sound the “limbs” klaxon! Rochdale have scored in the fifth minute of added time in their title and automatic promotion decider against York City. Emmanuel Dieseruvwe with the goal at the Crown Oil Arena.
Full time: Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa
Premier League: Fulham have taken the points at Craven Cottage, where Ollie Watkins and Tammy Abraham missed chances to rescue a point for Villa in front of the watching England head coach Thomas Tuchel.
League One: A tip of the hat to the evergreen Billy Sharp, who has equalised for Doncaster Rovers against Stevenage at the ripe old age of 40. It’s 1-1 at the Eco-Power Stadium.
Championship: Middlesbrough have gone 4-1 up against Watford courtesy of a Tommy Conway penalty, while Charlton have taken a 2-1 lead over Hull City through Jayden Fevrier. It remains scoreless between West Brom and Ipswich Town. As things stand, Oxford United will be relegated this afternoon without kicking a ball, while Ipswich will leapfrog Millwall to go second on goal difference with a game in hand.
WSL: Manchester City have suffered their third defeat of the season, going down 3-2 at Brighton, who stay in sixth place. Andree Jeglertz’s side still look set fair to win the title with two games to go.
Premier League: Fulham looked to have doubled their lead against Aston Villa but Timothy Castagne’s powerful header has been ruled out for a foul on Emi Martinez by Sander Berge, who had a fistful of the goalkeeper’s shirt. Marco Silva is furious.
National League: It remains 0-0 between York City and Rochdale in the decisive final day clash at the top of the table. As things stand, York will win automatic promotion to League Two and Rochdale will be consigned to the playoffs despite amassing 106 points.
Championship: Showcasing some nifty close control in the six-yard box, Morgan Whittaker restores Middlesbrough’s two-goal lead against Watford. It’s 3-1 to the hosts approaching the hour mark at the Riverside Stadium.
WSL: Having shipped a painful looking bang on the head in the first half, Bunny Shaw has recovered sufficiently to reduce Manchester City’s arrears against Brighton. Her side trail 3-2 with four minutes of added time remaining.
Championship: James Abankwah has halved the deficit for Watford, who now trail Middlesbrough 2-1 at the Riverside. Watford are playing for pride, while Middlesbrough are still in the hunt for an automatic promotion spot but look more likely to end up in the playoffs.
WSL: Madison Haley has scored her second goal of the game to extend Brighton’s lead against the league leaders Manchester City. It’s 3-1 the home side at the Broadfield Stadium, against a side who had won 16 of their last 18 games. City need five points from their final three games, including this one, to wrap up the title.
Championship: On the stroke of half-time, John Egan has equalised for Hull City against Charlton with an incredible header from the byline at a corner. It looked impossible for him to score from such a tight,bordering on non-existent angle but the ball just about crept over the line before being cleared. It’s Charlton Athletic 1-1 Hull City at half-time.
Championship: David Strelec sticks out a leg to convert a Morgan Whittaker ball squared his way to double Middlesbrough’s lead over Watford. It’s 2-0 at the Riverside, where Boro could go fourth.
GOAL! Fulham 1-0 Aston Villa (Sessegnon 43)
Premier League: Ryan Sessegnon scores on the follow-up to put Fulham ahead after Raul Jimenez had his initial effort blocked. Tim de Lisle has the latest …
WSL: Well, well. Japanese international Kiko Seike has taken just two minutes of the second half to fire Brighton ahead against Manchester City at the Broadfield Stadium in what could be a major turn-up for the WSL books.
WSL: It’s all square at half-time in today’s only WSL match. League leaders Manchester City went ahead at Brighton through Kerolin, before Madison Haley restored parity for the hostesses in added time at the end of the half. If City can win this game and their next one, they’ll be crowned champions.
Championship: Charlie Kelman has just curled home an absolute purler from distance to put Charlton a goal up against Hull City at The Valley. With West Brom currently holding Ipswich, as things stand Charlton and the Baggies are safe, Oxford are relegated and Hull’s hopes of making the playoffs will take a severe dent.
National League: Rochdale host York City in today’s winner-takes-all decider in the race for the one automatic promotion place available at the top of the table. York are top with an astonishing 107 points, while Rochdale are two points back on a similarly eye-watering 105. A draw will do the Minstermen, while Rochdale have to win to leapfrog their rivals and avoid being forced into the playoffs. It’s currently scoreless in the first-half at the Crown Oil Arena.
Premier League: Fans of both Arsenal and Tottenham Hotspur are feeling similar levels of stress at different ends of the Premier League table, writes Jonathan Liew …
Daniel Farke: ‘I was the slowest striker in Europe’
Leeds United: A self-confessed “football romantic who has learned that romanticism shouldn’t blind you to reality”, Daniel Farke looks to have secured Premier League survival for Leeds United and takes them Wembley for tomorrow’s FA Cup semi-final against beleaguered Chelsea. Words: Louise Taylor.
The Championship
Coventry City have already secured promotion as champions, while Millwall, Ipswich Town, Southampton and Middlesbrough are all chasing the second automatic promotion spot. Ipswich Town and Millwall, who were held by Leicester City last night, are guaranteed playoffspots at least. Wrexham, Hull City and Derby County are also hopeful of making the playoff party.
Needing one point from their final two games to guarantee their safety, Charlton Athletic are currently hosting Hull at The Valley in one of today’s early kick-offs. Following yesterday’s points deduction, West Brom also need a point to guarantee their survival and host Ipswich Town in another.
At the bottom, Sheffield Wednesday and Leicester City have both been consigned to the drop, while Oxford are clinging on with a six-point gap to overhaul and only two games left in which to do so. With Charlton and West Brom already in action, Oxford could be relegated before their basement battle against Sheffield Wednesday kicks off at the Kassam Stadium.
Today’s fixtures
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Charlton Athletic 0-0 Hull City (L)
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Middlesbrough 1-0 Watford (L)
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West Brom 0-0 Ipswich Town (L)
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Birmingham City v Bristol City
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Norwich City v Swansea City
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Oxford United v Sheffield Wednesday
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QPR v Derby County
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Sheffield United v Preston
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Stoke City v Portsmouth
Saturday’s Premier League fixtures
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Fulham 0-0 Aston Villa (L)
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West Ham v Everton (3pm BST)
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Wolves v Tottenham Hotspur (3pm)
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Liverpool v Crystal Palace (3pm)
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Arsenal v Newcastle (5.30pm)
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Manchester United v Brentford (8pm BST)
Welcome to the clockwatch …
Good afternoon and welcome to a Saturday Clockwatch where the stakes could scarcely be higher or the nerves any more frayed. It’s late April and we find ourselves in the upside-down world where two of London’s finest are staring into the abyss.
The focus today centres on a desperate fight for survival. In 18th place and winless since December, Tottenham travel to already-relegated Wolves knowing that anything less than three points would be another disastrous pratfall in the direction of a first relegation since 1977. Just two points above them, West Ham host Everton at the London Stadium in a match that is likely to be every bit as tense. While Nuno’s side are fighting for their lives, Everton still dare to dream of a return to European football.
Meanwhile, at Anfield, Liverpool are facing a bizarre psychological hurdle. They host Crystal Palace today, having already lost to their visitors three times since August – in the Community Shield, the Premier League and the Carabao Cup. Should Palace prevail again, they will become the first side in history to beat Liverpool four times in a single season.
Away from the Premier League drama, we’ll be keeping a sharp eye on the Football League, flagging up promotion clinchers and heartbreak from the Championship down to League Two as the business end of the season reaches boiling point. Stick with us for every goal, every VAR grievance and every existential crisis as it happens.
