Key events
Mikel Merino: In a post-match interview with TNT Sports, the scorer of Arsenal’s two goals dedicates both strikes to his wife, saying he forgot to get her anything for Valentine’s Day. “I think she will appreciate them more than a rose or chocolates,” he says with possibly misplaced confidence. I suppose he’ll find when he gets home.
Match report: Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal
Premier League: On as a second half substitute for Raheem Sterling, Mikel Merino scored two quick-fire goals in the final 10 minutes to secure the points for Arsenal on an otherwise testing afternoon for Mikel Arteta’s side. Ben Fisher reports from the King Power Stadium …
Man United scouting network facing cuts
Exclusive: Manchester United’s department of around 80 scouts is facing considerable cuts as part of Sir Jim Ratcliffe’s next round of up to 200 redundancies, writes Jamie Jackson.
A long overdue and probably unnecessary apology: Martin Keown has said sorry to Ruud van Nistelrooy for his part in the notorious clash between the pair at Old Trafford in 2003 after they renewed acquaintances at Leicester this afternoon.
Championship: Burnley have kept their eighth consecutive clean sheet in drawing with Preston at Deepdale, while Cardiff and Bristol City played out a 1-1 draw in the Welsh capital. Portsmouth currently lead Oxford United by the only goal of the game with a little over 15 minutes to play at the Kassam Stadium.
Full time: Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal
Premier League: Mikel Merino came off the bench to score two goals in the final 10 minutes on an extremely testing afternoon for Arsenal against their struggling hosts.
Championship: Cian Ashford has scored in the 90th minute to restore parity for Cardiff City against Bristol City. It’s the 20-year-old’s fourth goal of the season.
GOAL! Leicester City 0-2 Arsenal (Merino 88)
Arsenal double their lead! Striker crisis? What striker crisis? Off the bench and playing out of position, Mikel Merino shows all the instincts of a cold-eyed No9 to score his second by side-footing home another good cross, this time from Leandro Trossard.
GOAL! Leicester City 0-1 Arsenal (Merino 81)
Arsenal lead! On for the ineffective Raheem Sterling, Mikel Merino peels away from Wout Faes to nod home an inch-perfect cross played his way by Ethan Nwaneri, who has been outstanding for the visitors this afternoon. Follow the action with Rob Smyth …
Championship: Portsmouth have taken a 47th minute lead in their match at Oxford United courtesy of Andre Dozzell. Remember, that game is running behind schedule following a first-half interruption due to a medical emergency in the crowd.
Southampton v Bournemouth line-ups
Southampton: Ramsdale, Bree, Bednarek, Wood-Gordon, Walker-Peters, Smallbone, Aribo, Welington, Fernandes, Onuachu, Sulemana.
Subs: McCarthy, Manning, Sugawara, Archer, Taylor, Ugochukwu, Gronbaek, Dibling, Bella-Kotchap.
Bournemouth: Arrizabalaga, Cook, Zabarnyi, Huijsen, Kerkez, Christie, Adams, Brooks, Kluivert, Semenyo, Ouattara.
Subs: Dennis, Scott, Tavernier, Sinisterra, Jebbison, Akinmboni, Winterburn, Kinsey-Wellings, Rees-Dottin.
Fulham v Nottingham Forest line-ups
Fulham: Leno, Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Robinson, Lukic, Berge, Traore, Smith Rowe, Iwobi, Jimenez.
Subs: Benda, Reed, Rodrigo Muniz, Cairney, Andreas Pereira, Willian, King, Sessegnon, Diop.
Nottingham Forest: Sels, Morato, Milenkovic, Murillo, Aina, Gibbs-White, Danilo, Anderson, Williams, Wood, Elanga.
Subs: Hennessey, Sangare, Hudson-Odoi, Dominguez, Alex, Jota Silva, Yates, Sosa, Boly.
Aston Villa v Ipswich Town line-ups
Aston Villa: Martinez, Garcia, Disasi, Kamara, Digne, McGinn, Tielemans, Malen, Rogers, Ramsey, Watkins.
Subs: Olsen, Zych, Mings, Rashford, Asensio, Maatsen, Bogarde, Jimoh.
Ipswich Town: Palmer, Johnson, Tuanzebe, O’Shea, Greaves, Townsend, Hutchinson, Phillips, Cajuste, Enciso, Delap.
Subs: Muric, Woolfenden, Taylor, Luongo, Hirst, Philogene-Bidace, Broadhead, Godfrey, Clarke.
Manchester City v Newcastle line-ups
Man City: Ederson, Lewis, Khusanov, Stones, Gvardiol, Gonzalez, Gundogan, Foden, Marmoush, Savio, Haaland.
Subs: Ortega, Kovacic, Doku, De Bruyne, Silva, Vitor Reis, Matheus Luiz, O’Reilly, McAtee.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Trippier, Schar, Burn, Hall, Guimaraes, Tonali, Willock, Murphy, Isak, Gordon.
Subs: Pope, Wilson, Barnes, Targett, Krafth, Osula, Livramento, Longstaff, Miley.
West Ham v Brentford line-ups
West Ham: Areola, Wan-Bissaka, Mavropanos, Kilman, Emerson Palmieri, Alvarez, Soucek, Kudus, Lucas Paqueta, Soler, Bowen.
Subs: Fabianski, Cresswell, Ward-Prowse, Luis Guilherme, Rodriguez, Todibo, Ferguson, Irving, Scarles.
Brentford: Flekken, Ajer, Collins, Van den Berg, Lewis-Potter, Norgaard, Janelt, Mbeumo, Damsgaard, Schade, Wissa.
Subs: Valdimarsson, Pinnock, Jensen, Carvalho, Mee, Yarmolyuk, Konak, Maghoma, Kayode.
Championship: Irish midfielder Jason Knight has put Bristol City a goal up at the Cardiff City Stadium on the hour mark.
Leicester City 0-0 Arsenal
The second half is under way at the King Power Stadium and we can but hope it is more entertaining than the extremely boring 45 minutes that preceded it.
Of course Leicester will be happy with the way things are going, but Arsenal have offered next to nothing. You can follow the action with Rob Smyth …
Today’s Championship fixtures
It’s scoreless at half-time in the early matches at the Cardiff City Stadium and Deepdale, while the deadlock also remains unbroken at the Kassam Stadium.
The game between Oxford United and Portsmouth game is running some 25 minutes behind schedule following a break in play prompted by a medical emergency in the ground’s north stand. A fan has been transported to hospital after receiving care from medical staff.
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Cardiff City 0-0 Bristol City (L)
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Oxford United 0-0 Portsmouth (L)
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Preston 0-0 Burnley (L)
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Blackburn Rovers v Plymouth Argyle
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Hull City v Norwich City
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Luton Town v Sheffield United
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Middlesbrough v Watford
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Millwall v West Brom
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Sheffield Wednesday v Coventry City
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Stoke City v Swansea City
Today’s Premier League fixtures
Saturday clockwatch
Hello reader. The weekend’s Premier League action got under way last night at the Amex Stadium, where Brighton ran out easy winners against Chelsea before Leicester and Arsenal took up the top flight cudgels in today’s early kick-off. It’s scoreless at the half-time break at King Power Stadium, where some home fans staged a pre-match protest against the way their club is being run before clicking through the turnstiles.
We have five three o’clock kick-offs to keep tabs on today and we’ll bring you news of all the goals as they go in, while flagging up any other major talking points from the Premier League and beyond. We’ll also have match reports and post-match reaction ahead of today’s late game between Crystal Palace and Everton.
Yup, it’s Saturday clockwatch, your one-stop shop for all the news that’s fit to print and plenty more that almost certainly may not be.
