Not football: Joe Root has stepped down as England Test cricket captain after accepting that five years in the job – and a recent 12-month period of flatlining results and off-field change – had come at a personal cost. Ali Martin makes a rare but always welcome appearance in our Friday football blog to bring you more details…
Chelsea takeover – this just in …
Premier League: The battle to buy Chelsea is down to three candidates after the consortium led by the Ricketts family with drawn from the running this morning. Read on…
League Two fixtures and permutations
- Exeter City v Colchester United (1pm)
- Barrow v Forest Green
- Bradford City v Tranmere Rovers
- Bristol Rovers v Salford City
- Harrogate v Swindon Town
- Hartlepool United v Port Vale
- Leyton Orient v Scunthorpe United
- Mansfield Town v Sutton United
- Newport County v Crawley Town
- Oldham Athletic v Northampton Town
- Stevenage v Rochdale
- Walsall v Carlisle United
- View the League Two table
Scunthorpe will be relegated from the Football League if they lose to Leyton Orient, or if their result is matched by any two of Barrow, Oldham and Stevenage.
Three of the top four in League Two still have six games to play, a state of affairs that means nobody will be promoted today. Leaders Forest Green would be assured at least a play-off place if they beat Barrow and any one of Northampton, Bristol Rovers and Sutton drop points. (Staff and PA Sports)
League One fixtures and permutations
- Accrington Stanley v Burton Albion
- Charlton Athletic v Morecambe
- Cheltenham Town v Gillingham
- Crewe Alexandra v AFC Wimbledon
- Doncaster Rovers v Bolton Wanderers
- Fleetwood Town v Oxford United
- Portsmouth v Lincoln City
- Sunderland v Shrewsbury Town
- Wycombe Wanderers v Plymouth Argyle
- View the League One table
Mathematically, seven teams remain in the hunt for automatic promotion and with nine points covering the top four of Wigan, MK Dons, Rotherham and Plymouth, nothing will be decided on Friday.
Wigan are already guaranteed a play-off place at least, and MK Dons would join them if they beat Sheffield Wednesday or match Wycombe’s result against AFC Wimbledon. Rotherham’s top-six place could also be confirmed with victory over Ipswich and a defeat for Wycombe.
At the bottom, Doncaster’s win over Crewe last week sent them down and ensures the remainder of the relegation battle will run at least until Monday. (Staff and PA Sports)
Championship fixtures and permutations
- Luton Town v Nottingham Forest (12.30pm)
- Bournemouth v Middlesbrough
- Birmingham City vs Coventry City
- Hull City v Cardiff City
- Peterborough United v Blackburn Rovers
- Preston v Millwall
- Sheffield United v Reading
- Stoke City v Bristol City
- Swansea City v Barnsley
- West Brom v Blackpool
- Huddersfield Town v QPR
- Derby County v Fulham (8pm)
- View the Championship table
Victory for Fulham over Derby tonight would be enough to secure promotion for Marco Silva’s side should Forest lose at Luton in the lunchtime kick-off.
Back-to-back wins today and on Tuesday against Preston could seal the title should Bournemouth lose against both Middlesbrough and Coventry. Fulham striker Aleksandar Mitrovic remains just two away from the first 40-goal league season in almost 30 years.
No relegations can be confirmed today. However, if Hull better Barnsley’s result three from Reading, the Tykes, Derby and Peterborough will go down this season. (Staff and PA Sports)
Good Friday clock watch …
Good Friday? It’s a great Friday for Football League fans with plenty of action scheduled for the Championship and the two divisions below. Luton Town host Nottingham Forest in the afternoon’s earliest kick-off at Kenilworth Road and a win for the home side would mean Fulham will secure promotion to the Premier League with a win over Derby County at Pride Park tonight.
We’ll bring you all the major talking points and news of the goals as they go on a busy day in which Burnley have done their bit to steal the headlines by sacking Sean Dyche with just eight games of the season left to save their Premier League status.
www.theguardian.com
George is Digismak’s reported cum editor with 13 years of experience in Journalism