Wolves 0-0 Brighton, West Ham 2-2 Leicester and more – as it happened

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Chris Hughton talks. “We asked the players for a response and we certainly got that,” he says, after his Brighton side stopped the rot at Wolves, drawing 0-0 at Molineux. “It is very difficult coming here, they have so many good footballers. We could have been better in our link play but we knew if we could get a clean sheet that we would have a chance. I can’t remember a game where we have to defend so many corners. But this hopefully now sets us up for what now will be a very difficult four games.”

Fifteen minutes until kick-off at St. James’ Park:

Mat Ryan speaks about a big point for Brighton. “I think it means a lot in the context of things,” he says. “I think with our superior goal difference to Cardiff, I think that point can go a long way to making a difference. Given our recent run, we wanted to get that solidity at the back and to get a clean sheet, it was crucial for us today. I can only make the saves that the defence allow me to, they were busting a gut, throwing themselves at everything. Every game is a final, we need to leave everything out on the pitch.”

Ah, drat! Weston-super-Mare have been relegated – for the first time – from the National League South. They lost 2-0 at home to Hampton & Richmond this afternoon:

A big win for Manchester City was dampened by this news:

That is a huge point for Brighton! Chris Hughton’s side are three points above 18th-placed Cardiff City with four games to play. They also boast a far superior goal difference. Meanwhile, Fulham bask in back-to-back league wins for the first time this season. Scott Parker punches the air, he’s delighted. After dishing out defeat to Everton, Bournemouth are the victims this time around. Next up for Fulham? Cardiff next weekend.

Bournemouth 0-1 Fulham
Huddersfield 1-2 Watford
West Ham 2-2 Leicester
Wolves 0-0 Brighton

Karlan Grant is already Huddersfield’s top scorer, with four goals. After stepping off the bench, he sends a bullet beyond Foster. Grant, who joined from Charlton in January, should score goals for fun in the Championship. That’s his 18th of the campaign (14 in League One). A shrewd signing with next season in mind.

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A great time for Harvey Barnes to make his mark. That’s his first goal for the club. A sickener for Manuel Pellegrini and co. Youri Tielemans slid in the winger with a wonderful weighted pass and Barnes fires beyond Fabianski.

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We are into stoppage time around the grounds. Five minutes added on at the London Stadium, three at Molineux ...

Another chance for Wolves, another save by Mat Ryan! The Brighton goalkeeper is equal to Dendoncker’s header from close range, after Wolves keep Moutinho’s free-kick alive. Perhaps dangerously, Brighton are sitting in for a point. Will they hold on?

Is that the winner at the London Stadium? Lucas Pérez strikes after Pedro Obiang’s shot rebounds off a post.

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Gerard Deulofeu adds his second of the afternoon, and his 11th goal of the season. The Spaniard is Watford’s joint-top scorer, alongside Troy Deeney. Deulofeu has been directly involved in 10 goals in his last nine appearances in all competitions for Watford (eight goals and two assists). And that is surely game over in Yorkshire. Watford, who will do battle with Manchester City for the FA Cup, appear in fine fettle. They’re heading seventh.

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Dominic Solanke goes close to netting his first Bournemouth goal – but Maxime Le Marchand gets across to make an important block. Eddie Howe has just made his final change, introducing striker Lys Mousset in place of the defender Chris Mepham. Bournemouth thought they had put that wretched run of form behind them with a thumping win at Brighton. But they have flattered to deceive at times this afternoon. Up at Molineux, Wolves are beginning to turn the screw against Brighton. Bruno is on for the visitors. Can the Seagulls hold on for a priceless point?

Newcastle v Southampton team news? Look no further:

Diogo Jota heads against a post for Wolves! Leander Dendoncker then tries his luck with the rebound but Mat Ryan makes a brave save to keep Brighton in it at Molineux. Perhaps Chris Hughton’s luck is changing after five consecutive defeats.

Sergio Rico, the Fulham goalkeeper, requires some attention after injuring himself as he prevents Bournemouth from finding an equaliser! David Brooks slips in Ryan Fraser with a stunning through ball and the latter forces Rico into a smart stop. Harvey Elliott, the 16-year-old midfielder, is warming up down on the touchline for Scott Parker’s side, who still lead 1-0.

Ben Chilwell bombs on down the left, plays a teasing cross in for Jamie Vardy, who beats Balbuena to the ball before poking home at the front post. A deft finish. Since Brendan Rodgers’ first game in charge on 3 March, Vardy has scored seven Premier League goals – more than any other player in that timeframe.

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Some more Bundesliga chat. “Seeing word of Bayern Munich’s game pop up raised my ire as not a word seems to have been expended on Frankfurt’s amazing feat against Benfica in the week,” emails Ian Copestake. “They deserve a moment in our spotlight.” And so, now is the time to appreciate Eintracht Frankfurt reaching the Europa League semi-finals in midweek. They will play Chelsea over two legs next. Bayern, it is worth saying, have wrapped a priceless win over Werder on home soil. They go four points clear at the top of the table – until Easter Sunday at least.

Shane Duffy gets up well to clear a Gibbs-White cross! Brighton have shown a bit more gumption in the second half. Mitrovic’s penalty for Fulham ended his run of nine Premier League games without a goal – he hadn’t scored with any of his previous 36 shots in the competition prior to his penalty.

Aleksandar Mitrovic gets back up from the turf to send Artur Boruc the wrong way. The Serbia striker was fouled inside the box by Jack Simpson, with the defender swinging a boot in an attempted defensive clearance but ending up catching Mitrovic after the striker nipped in. “1-0 to the Championship” sing the upbeat travelling supporters. Fulham are on course for back-to-back wins for the first time this season.

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Brighton go close! Beram Kayal sends a piercing effort goalwards from 30 yards and it zooms inches over the crossbar. Rui Patrício finally had something to think about in the Wolves’ goal.

Niklas Süle nudges Bayern Munich in front! The Germany defender opens the scoring at the Allianz Arena over 10-man Werder Bremen. As things stand, with 10 minutes left to play, Bayern will move four points clear at the summit of the Bundesliga. Second-placed Dortmund are not in action until Sunday, at Freiburg.

We are back under way around the grounds. Brighton mustered only one shot at Molineux in the first half. Can they go one better and register a shot on target in the second? On the south coast, it is a scorcher. Bournemouth dominated the early stages but Fulham have shown glimpses of quality, especially Mitrovic.

Essential half-time reading, courtesy of Sachin Nakrani:

Leon Mann tells a story which, by his own admission, is as depressing as it is amusing. It goes back to his early days at the BBC and when he first found himself in the company of the presenter Damian Johnson.

“I remember asking him which football team he used to play for,” says Mann. “Growing up, all the black people I saw on TV talking about sport were former athletes, so I presumed Damian was the same. But of course he wasn’t. He was – is – a fully-trained, highly-experienced journalist. Damian being Damian, he took it well.”

Bournemouth 0-0 Fulham
Huddersfield 0-1 Watford
West Ham 1-0 Leicester
Wolves 0-0 Brighton

Diogo Jota strikes the crossbar for Wolves! Rúben Neves has a pop from distance, it’s deflected and the striker attempts to divert home the rebound but rattles the woodwork. It would have been a bizarre goal, but Brighton and Mat Ryan happily survive.

Here is a juicy stat, courtesy of Opta as the first halves draw to a close around the grounds: of players to score at least 25 Premier League goals, only John Terry (66%) has scored a higher percentage of his goals via headers than Michail Antonio (15/25, 60%).

Fulham are on the front foot on the south coast. Boruc gets down well to deny Denis Odoi’s header from a Ryan Babel corner at the end of a swell of Fulham pressure. Watford, meanwhile, still lead at Huddersfield courtesy of that fine Gerard Deulofeu strike. “It breaks the heart of an Evertonian to see the word ‘composed’ in the same sentence as Gerard Deulofeu,” tweets Gary Naylor. “We knew it was coming, but we couldn’t wait any longer.”

Michael Antonio heads the Hammers in front, the winger netting his sixth goal of the season after meeting Mark Noble’s cross.

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Ah, that is not good: Mat Ryan has had more touches than any other Brighton player in the opening 30 minutes at Molineux. Ryan is, of course, Chris Hughton’s goalkeeper. Nothing to really report from the London Stadium, where West Ham are slowly beginning to get into their stride against Leicester. Fulham, too, are making a go of it at Bournemouth. If Harvey Elliott steps off the bench for Scott Parker’s side, the teenager will become the Premier League’s youngest-ever player at 16 years and 16 days. The young Fulham midfielder was born in April 2003. For context Artur Boruc, the Bournemouth goalkeeper, is more than double his age.

Stanislas has been forced off through injury, so Bournemouth introduce Jack Simpson, the England Under-21 defender on in his place. Wolves have had 80% of possession at Molineux, which does not bode particularly well for a Brighton team that dare not lose a sixth successive game ...

It is all Wolves at Molineux. They’re camped in the Brighton half and dominating possession. Wolves are yet to truly test Mat Ryan in the Brighton goal but they are in the ascendency. Jota was fed inside the box but Pascal Gross got back to claw the ball away. Would Chris Hughton take a point?

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Another injury for Bournemouth? Junior Stanislas, who was promoted to the starting lineup following an injury to Adam Smith in the warm-up, appears to be in trouble, holding the back of his knee after sending a free-kick high and wide. A reminder this is Eddie Howe’s 500th game in management. He is 41.

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Bournemouth should be ahead! But Rico keeps out Ryan Fraser’s effort – a fine save. A few minutes earlier, Fraser whipped a ball into the box for Joshua King but the Norway striker side-footed over the bar. Fulham, it is fair to say, are on the back foot. It will be interesting whether Shahid Khan ends up entrusting Scott Parker with the gig next season. Steve Clarke is currently the bookies’ favourite, while Fulham are fans of David Wagner.

An early blow for Brighton, with Chris Hughton forced into a change after Davy Pröpper pulls a hamstring hoofing the ball out of play. Beram Kayal is on. Down on the toasty south coast, it is all Bournemouth with Fraser zipping an effort just wide. It could be a very long afternoon for relegated Fulham.

A familiar sight for the hosts, as Gerard Deulofeu wheels away after slotting home a typically composed finish. Kongolo cleared his initial effort but the forward wraps his foot around the ball to curl home the rebound. A win would help Watford back up to seventh if neither Leicester nor Wolves record victory.

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And we’re under way around the grounds.

A last-minute tweak to the Bournemouth lineup: Adam Smith has been forced to withdraw through injury, with Junior Stanislas taking his place at right-back. The highly-rated Nnamdi Ofoborh is promoted to the bench. Bournemouth are already down to bare bones defensively. And a gentle reminder that the Fulham captain Tom Cairney is absent altogether after his partner went into labour.

Spoilt for choice? But why buy a half-and-half scarf when you can snap up one adorned with the faces of the entire Wolves squad?

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There is just no let-up in this title race:

Manchester City have beaten Tottenham, this time without the flurry of first-half goals or late VAR drama. Phil Foden’s early strike was enough for Pep Guardiola’s side to return top of the tree, though there was a bum-note for City with Kevin de Bruyne taken off with a knee injury after 38 minutes. Away from the big leagues, it is a huge afternoon for Weston-super-Mare who require three points and nothing else against Hampton & Richmond Borough in their penultimate home game of the season:

The champagne remains on ice at Celtic Park:

Team news news: the lesser-spotted Jack Wilshere returns to the West Ham bench at the London Stadium, while Manuel Pellegrini recalls Marko Arnautovic to lead the line. Wilshere has featured just five times this season and has not played since aggravating an ankle injury at the start of December. Chris Hughton makes two changes for Brighton’s crunch game at Molineux, with Gaetan Bong and José Izquierdo in for Alireza Jahanbakhsh and Bernardo. Wolves also tweak personnel, with Ryan Bennett recalled to Nuno’s three-man defence while Morgan Gibbs-White also starts.

Casey Stoney’s side have not only secured promotion – but they are going up in style after being crowned Women’s Championship champions following a 7-0 demolition of Crystal Palace. Lauren James scored four times as United cruised to victory that rounds off a fine maiden season since they were reformed last year. They will play in the Women’s Super League next season. United sealed promotion by thrashing Aston Villa 5-0 on Wednesday, but still needed one more win to claim the trophy.

They have now racked up 88 goals in their 18 league games, conceding just seven times. James, Lizzie Arnot and Leah Galton all struck as United breezed into a 3-0 half-time lead. Jess Sigsworth reopened the scoring after the interval, before James pounced three times in succession, completing her treble and then striking again to boot. “I follow them a bit and it’s great for the club to get promoted,” said Ole Gunnar Solskjær earlier this week. “It gives everyone at the club a boost. It was fantastic to see the celebrations and it’s very much onwards and upwards for them.”

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Bournemouth v Fulham

Bournemouth: Boruc; Smith, Mepham, S Cook, Aké; Fraser, Gosling, Lerma, Brooks; Wilson, King

Subs: Begovic, Mousset, Stanislas, Simpson, Surridge, Hyndman, Solanke

Fulham: Rico; Chambers, Ream, Le Marchand, Odoi; Seri, Zambo Anguissa, Bryan; Babel, Mitrovic, Sessegnon,

Subs: Fabri, Christie, Elliott, Kebano, Schürrle, Ayité, Nordtveit

Referee: David Coote

Huddersfield v Watford

Huddersfield: Lössl; Smith, Schindler, Kongolo, Durm; Hogg, Bacuna, Mooy; Kachunga, Mounie, Mbenza

Subs: Coleman, Hadergjonaj, Löwe, Pritchard, Grant, Daly, Stankovic

Watford: Foster; Femenía, Mariappa, Cathcart, Masina; Doucouré, Capoue, Hughes; Sema, Deulofeu, Gray

Subs: Gomes, Kabasele, Janmaat, Navarro, Success, Britos, Chalobah

Referee: Roger East

West Ham v Leicester

West Ham: Fabianski; Zabaleta, Balbuena, Ogbonna, Masuaku; Rice, Antonio, Noble, Snodgrass, Anderson; Arnautovic

Subs: Adrián, Wilshere, Diangana, Pérez, Diop, Obiang, Fredericks

Leicester: Schmeichel; Pereira, Evans, Maguire, Chilwell; Ndidi; Gray, Tielemans, Maddison, Albrighton; Vardy

Subs: Ward, Okazaki, Mendy, Barnes, Fuchs, Iheanacho, Morgan

Referee: Lee Probert

Wolves v Brighton

Wolves: Patrício; Bennett, Coady, Boly; Doherty, Gibbs-White, Neves, Moutinho, Jonny; Jiménez, Jota

Subs: Ruddy, Costa, Traoré, Vinagre, Saïss, Dendoncker, Cavaleiro

Brighton: Ryan; Bruno, Duffy, Dunk, Bong; Groß, Stephens, Pröpper, March; Murray, Izquierdo

Subs: Button, Andone, Locadia, Jahanbakhsh, Bernardo, Kayal, Burn

Referee: Craig Pawson

On the face of it, it is not the most appetising of 3 o’clock action but for Brighton & Hove Albion it really does not matter. Victory at Wolves would leave Cardiff, who host Liverpool on Sunday, with a Pen y Fan-esque peak to climb if they are to avoid relegation, while a sixth successive league defeat would give Neil Warnock’s side plenty of encouragement with four games to play. Brighton’s run-in, it is fair to say, is unkind, with trips to Tottenham and Arsenal to come before a final-day date at home to Manchester City. In short, they need something from Molineux this afternoon. Elsewhere, a 41-year-old Eddie Howe will celebrate his 500th game in management as Bournemouth take on Fulham, while relegated Huddersfield host FA Cup finalists Watford. Then we have Leicester’s trip to West Ham, who themselves need a reaction after three defeats on the bounce. A little further afield, Atlético Madrid take on Eibar in La Liga, while Bayern Munich can establish some breathing space at the top of the Bundesliga by beating Werder Bremen, with Dortmund not in action until Sunday.

Saturday’s Premier League fixtures

Bournemouth v Fulham
Huddersfield v Watford
Manchester City v Tottenham (12.30pm)
Newcastle v Southampton (5.30pm)
West Ham v Leicester
Wolves v Brighton