Key events
West Brom 3-0 Preston: Josh Maja strokes home his second goal of the game from five yards out after some dogged work by Darnell Furlong, who would almost certainly have won his side a penalty if the ball hadn’t broken to his teammate after he was fouled.
Leeds United 0-0 Blackburn Rovers: It remains scoreless in what is arguably the Championship game of the afternoon, where Blackburn have restricted their hosts to just one shot on target.
Championship: Here’s a round-up of today’s early kick-offs, where QPR beat Watford, Oxford won at Millwall and Plymouth scored a late equaliser against Bristol City.
West Brom 2-0 Preston: Completely unmarked, Callum Styles doubles West Brom’s lead with an audacious right-footed strike through traffic from a slightly weird angle after the ball was played his way from a corner straight off the training ground.
Cardiff City 1-0 Coventry City: The fourth official has had to take over refereeing duties at the Cardiff City Stadium following an injury to the designated whistle-blower Geoff Eltringham. A shout for a replacement fourth official has gone out over the Tannoy.
Portsmouth 2-0 Swansea City: Paddy Lane scores his first goal of the season with a deft flick off the outside of his left foot into the bottom corner.
League Two: Alassana Jata won’t be denied a second time and beats Walsall goalkeeper Tommy Simkin in a one-on-one to give Notts County a 1-0 lead over the runaway league-leaders.
League One: Adam Phillips doubles Barnsley’s lead against second-placed Wrexham at Oakwell with a wonderful strike into the top bin from the edge of the penalty area.
Portsmouth 1-0 Swansea City: With his twin brother Jacob currently on a rich vein of form for Newcastle, Josh Murphy gives Pompey a 22nd minute lead at Fratton Park.
West Brom 1-0 Preston: Josh Maja scores his ninth goal of the season to put West Brom ahead at The Hawthorns. The Baggies are still managerless following the Christmas Eve departure of Carlos Corberan for Valencia and Northern Ireland legend Chris Brunt is in interim charge.
League Two: In the big game in the fourth division, Notts County’s Alassana Jatta has been denied what looked a certain goal by a quite astonishing and entirely intentional backheeled goalline clearance by – I think – Walsall’s Evan Weir. Seek it out, if you can …
League One: Second-placed Wrexham are behind at Barnsley on the back of a fine curled effort into the far corner from Davis Keillor-Dunn, who cuts in from the left to bag his fourth goal in five games.
Sheffield Wednesday 1-0 Derby County: Barry Bannan runs on to a pull-back from the byline and steers the ball into a gaping goal from close range to put the Owls ahead at Hillsborough.
Cardiff City 1-0 Coventry City: Alex Robertson has fired the hosts ahead after just six minutes in the Welsh capital.
League One: Table-topping Birmingham City have taken an early lead against fifth-placed Stockport County courtesy of an excellent curled effort from distance off the left boot of Alfie May.
League Two: Walsall lead the fourth division by 12 points and behind them, a chasing pack of nine teams are separated by just three points. Walsall take on third-placed Notts County in the game of League Two this afternoon.
Our three o’clock kick-offs are very much ahoy! As referees the length and breadth of the UK get the last of the pre-match formalities under way, can I take this opportunity to wish all our readers a very happy 2025. Now, fasten your seatbelts as 3pm looms …
Result: Millwall 0-1 Oxford United The visitors make it three wins on the spin under Gary Rowett, who has masterminded their latest victory over his former club at the Den. Ruben Rodrigues got the only goal of the game to propel Oxford up to the dizzy heights of 17th, while Millwall stay in 13th.
Postponed: The League One match between Crawley and Charlton Athletic at the Broadfield Stadium has been called off just 20 minutes before kick-off. I’m not sure why, exactly, but a waterlogged pitch would be my guess.
Today’s Championship fixtures
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Plymouth Argyle 2-2 Bristol City (R)
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QPR 3-1 Watford (R)
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Millwall 0-1 Oxford United (L)
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Burnley 0-0 Stoke City (3pm)
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Cardiff City 0-0 Coventry City (3pm)
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Leeds United 0-0 Blackburn Rovers (3pm)
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Luton Town 0-0 Norwich City (3pm)
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Portsmouth 0-0 Swansea City (3pm)
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Sheffield Wednesday 0-0 Derby County (3pm)
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West Brom 0-0 Preston (3pm)
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Hull City v Middlesbrough (5.30pm)
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Sunderland v Sheffield United (8pm)
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View the Championship table
Result: QPR 3-1 Watford The full-time whistle goes at Loftus Road, where the win moves QPR up to 15th place in the Championship table. Watford remain just outside the playoff places in seventh, level on points with Middlesbrough who are above them.
Result: Plymouth 2-2 Bristol City It’s finished all square at Home Park, where managerless Plymouth came from behind twice to earn a precious point in their fight against relegation. It’s not enough to move them off the bottom of the table, where they’re level on points with Portsmouth but with a vastly inferior goal difference. A point moves the Robins up to ninth.
Plymouth 2-2 Bristol City: Plymouth have snatched a late equaliser at Home Park, where Julio Pleguezuelo has restored parity for the Pilgrims in the first minute of added time.
Millwall 0-1 Oxford United: Oxford have gone in front at the Den, where Ruben Rodrigues has opened the scoring with a fine looping header after connecting with a Przemysław Płacheta cross. It could be a happy return to his former stomping ground for Gary Rowett, who is on course to win his first three games in charge of Oxford United.
Millwall 0-0 Oxford United: It’s half -time at the Den, where the deadlock remains unbroken.
Plymouth Argyle 1-2 Bristol City: The Robins are back in front at Home Park, with Jason Knight firing them back into the lead.
QPR 3-1 Watford: Kwdwo Baah pulled a goal back for Watford with a deflected shot but QPR immediately restored their two-goal lead when captain Sam Field rose highest to head home a cross from Paul Smyth.
Plymouth Argyle 1-1 Bristol City: Rock bottom of the Championship and without a manager following yesterday’s departure of Wayne Rooney, Plymouth Argyle have equalised in the early stages of the second half in their game against Bristol City. Morgan Whittaker’s cross to the back post was volleyed home from close range by the unmarked Rami Al Hajj to make it 1-1 at Home Park.
Women’s Super League: “Manchester City have moved quickly to fill the void left by the injured Alex Greenwood by signing the German defender Rebecca Knaak from Rosengård on the opening day of the winter transfer window,” writes Suzanne Wrack.
Today’s action so far: QPR have taken advantage of some slack defending from the visitors to lead Watford 2-0 at half-time courtesy of a couple of goals that came on the back of set-pieces.
Swiss striker Michael Frey fired home from a Kieran Morgan pull-back to bag his fifth of the season, while Jimmy Dunne nodded a second from an Ilias Chair cross.
At Home Park, Plymouth’s Ryan Hardie fired over the bar with the goal gaping before his side went behind to a strike from Bristol City’s Anis Mehmeti.
It’s currently all square at the Den between Millwall and Oxford United, but the home side are in the ascendency, should be in front and have also had a decent penalty appeal turned down.
Meanwhile in League One: Wigan Athletic’s home match against Huddersfield Town has been postponed because of “severe localised flooding”. While the pitch at the Brick Community Stadium was deemed playable, overnight rain has left the roads around the ground in a treacherous condition. With local emergency services “unable to provide resources to support the matchday operation”, Wigan have been left with no choice but to call today’s game off.
The Rumour Mill: Paracetamol? Check. Water? Check. Rumour Mill? Check! Welcome to 2025, eerily similar to the end of 2024, save for a new calendar on the kitchen wall and the opening of the January transfer window, writes Michael Butler as he rounds up this morning’s tranfer tittle-tattle …
Rooney leaves Plymouth after 23 games
Wayne Rooney’s time at Plymouth came to a fairly predictable end yesterday after only seven months, with the Championship’s bottom placed club announcing they and the former Manchester United and England striker have “mutually agreed to part ways with immediate effect” .
Kevin Nancekivell, the first-team coach, and the club captain, Joe Edwards have taken temporary charge of the Pilgrims, who are currently in action against Bristol City and losing by the only goal of the game so far.
Today’s Championship fixtures
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Plymouth Argyle 0-1 Bristol City (L)
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QPR 2-0 Watford (L)
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Millwall 0-0 Oxford United (L)
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Burnley v Stoke City (3pm)
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Cardiff City v Coventry City (3pm)
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Leeds United v Blackburn Rovers (3pm)
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Luton Town v Norwich City (3pm)
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Portsmouth v Swansea City (3pm)
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Sheffield Wednesday v Derby County (3pm)
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West Brom v Preston (3pm)
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Hull City v Middlesbrough (5.30pm)
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Sunderland v Sheffield United (8pm)
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View the Championship table
Stoke appoint Mark Robins as manager
“Mark Robins has been appointed as Stoke’s manager on a three-and-a-half-year contract,” it says here. “The 55-year-old will watch Stoke’s game at Burnley on Wednesday from the stands before being in the dugout for the first time at home to Plymouth on Saturday.”
Football League clockwatch
Happy new year, everybody! We have a full card of Championship fixtures to get 2025 under way, with some intriguing fixtures among them. Ten of today’s 12 games kick-off at three o’clock or earlier and we’re here to keep you up to speed with all the major talking points.
We’ll bring you news of goals as they go in and anything else that might crop up on a day when high winds could cause footballers around the UK all sorts of problems ahead of tonight’s potential blockbuster between Sunderland and Sheffield United at the Stadium of Light. However, there’s plenty of action to get throughh first so don’t touch that dial …
