Full-time: Portsmouth 1-0 Leicester. Pompey fans sing “we are staying up”. Leicester meanwhile, are going down, surely. Scenes of celebration at Fratton Park, and desolation among the Leicester players. They have three games to save themselves, and are requiring the favours of others, too.
Goal! Barnsley 2-2 Bradford (Farrell, 90+6) A huge goal for Cardiff, a bitter blow for the Bantams.
Full-time: Brentford 0-0 Fulham. Not a classic, though a brilliant save from Bernd Leno writes the headlines.
Full-time: Derby 1-0 Oxford. That’s a bad result for Oxford, who are relying on West Brom to lose and in the fulness of time, any points deduction headed the Baggies’ way.
Full-time: Millwall 2-0 QPR. That places the Lions in second, for now.
Huge save from Bernd Leno has just denied Brentford’s Dango Ouatarra, and that means their game with Fulham is headed for a 0-0.
Goal! Barnsley 1-2 Bradford (Roberts, 82 og): Cancel the Cardiff party. For now, at least.
Goal! Barnsley 1-1 Bradford (Powell, 73) Bradford keep their dwindling hopes alive with a goal from veteran Nick Powell. (He’s actually just 32.)
Millwall leading QPR 2-0 means they will climb to second, putting real pressure on the Sunday noon showdown between Ipswich and Middlesbrough.
AS IT STANDS
| Pos | Team | P | GD | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Coventry | 43 | 42 | 86 |
| 2 | Millwall | 43 | 11 | 76 |
| 3 | Ipswich | 41 | 29 | 75 |
| 4 | Southampton | 42 | 23 | 72 |
| 5 | Middlesbrough | 42 | 20 | 72 |
Goal! Bolton 1-3 Huddersfield (Kasumu, 66): Another big goal, with Cardiff on course, with both Bolton and Bradford losing. They need Stockport to slip up later.
Goal! Portsmouth 1-0 Leicester: A huge goal at the bottom, Ibane Bowat nodding in at the far post. Leicester are in a whole heap of mud.
In the Scottish FA Cup, into the second half, it’s 0-0 between Dunfermline and Falkirk, a game at Hampden, though not attended by Premier Sport pundit Michael Stewart, who is broadcasting from the car park, having been banned – and “indefinitely – for his criticism of officiating and Willie Collum, currently head of referee operations at the Scottish FA.
Coverage here of a game falling short of being a classic – at the moment.
From our weekend digest, Louise Taylor’s take on that huge game for Leeds.
Leeds are morphing from relegation contenders to reverse kingmakers with a key role to play in determining the identity of the teams that end up descending to the Championship. Thanks to Monday night’s fully merited 2-1 win at Manchester United – their first league victory at Old Trafford since 1981 – Daniel Farke’s 15th-placed side moved six points clear of the relegation zone with six games remaining. A win against rock-bottom Wolves at Elland Road on Saturday would lift Leeds to the virtual sanctuary of 39 points but it is just the first of four impending matches against the bottom four. With Burnley still to visit West Yorkshire and Leeds facing trips to Tottenham and then, on the final day, West Ham, Farke’s FA Cup semi-finalists will likely have a significant say in who finishes where when the top-tier music stops next month. Louise Taylor
The former RB Leipzig and Gladbach manager will replace Andoni Iraola. That’s a tough act to follow.
Some half-time scores:
PL: Brentford 0-0 Fulham
CH: Derby 1-0 Oxford
CH: Millwall 2-0 QPR
CH: Portsmouth 0-0 Leicester
L1: Barnsley 0-0 Bradford
L1: Bolton 1-0 Huddersfield
L2: Barrow 0-2 Walsall
L2: Swindon 2-1 Accrington
NL: Halifax 1-3 Southend
National League Premier fixtures
Brackley v Aldershot
Braintree Town v Rochdale (5.30pm)
Eastleigh v Tamworth
FC Halifax v Southend
Gateshead v Woking
Hartlepool v Forest Green
Morecambe v Boreham Wood
Solihull Moors v Boston Utd
Sutton Utd v Altrincham
Truro City v Carlisle
Wealdstone v Scunthorpe
York v Yeovil (5.30pm).
EFL League Two fixtures
Barrow v Walsall (12.30pm)
Bromley v Cambridge Utd
Cheltenham v Newport County
Crawley Town v Shrewsbury
Crewe v Milton Keynes Dons
Fleetwood Town v Chesterfield
Gillingham v Grimsby
Harrogate Town v Colchester
Notts County v Barnet
Oldham v Salford
Swindon v Accrington Stanley (12.30pm)
Tranmere v Bristol Rovers.
EFL League One fixtures:
AFC Wimbledon v Plymouth
Barnsley v Bradford (12.30pm)
Bolton v Huddersfield (12.30pm)
Exeter v Stockport County
Leyton Orient v Rotherham
Mansfield v Luton
Northampton v Doncaster
Reading v Cardiff
Stevenage v Lincoln City
Wycombe v Blackpool.
EFL Championship fixtures:
Bristol City v Norwich
Derby v Oxford Utd (12.30pm)
Hull v Birmingham
Millwall v QPR (12.30pm)
Portsmouth v Leicester (12.30pm)
Preston North End v West Brom
Sheff Wed v Charlton
Swansea v Southampton
Watford v Sheff Utd
Wrexham v Stoke.
National League, again via the official channels:
Enterprise National League:
The title: York City will be crowned champions if they beat Yeovil Town and if Rochdale drop points at already-relegated Braintree Town.
The play-offs: Carlisle United go straight to the semi-finals if they beat Truro City, or if Boreham Wood do not defeat Morecambe. Scunthorpe United take home eliminator advantage if they win at Wealdstone and Forest Green fail to defeat Hartlepool United
Relegation: Morecambe, Brackley, Braintree Town and Truro City are already down.
To be decided in the EFL, via the official channels:
League One: Cardiff City will be promoted if they beat Reading on Saturday and Stockport County drop points against Exeter City on Saturday. Cardiff can also go up with a draw on Saturday if Stockport lose on Saturday and Bradford City drop points at Barnsley on Saturday.
Lincoln City will become champions this weekend if they win at Stevenage on Saturday or if Cardiff drop points at Reading.
League Two: Bromley will be promoted if Notts County fail to beat Barnet on Saturday.
Preamble
This is massive for Leeds. Beat Wolves, as expected, and they may well be home and hosed. Though perhaps that expectation is a problem. Monday at Old Trafford went like a dream, now for achieving the reality of safety.
Elsewhere, the long goodbye for Andoni Iraola begins at Newcastle, who languish in 14th but can go above Bournemouth, kicking off in 11th, with a victory.
Both 3pm kick-offs, with a host of EFL action to follow, with much to be decided across the divisons.
Join me.