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Fulham v Aston Villa: Premier League – live | Premier League
Key events
10 min Proper chances at both ends! First Lukic takes a shot from the edge of the box, well struck but too close to Martinez. Then Watkins, cutting in from the left, can only follow suit.
8 min Half-chances at both ends! First Sessegnon curls in a good cross to Jimenez, whose header goes straight at Martinez, though it might have been offside anyway. Then Villa break and Buendia has a blast from distance that goes wide.
6 min Another Villa corner. Digne swings it in but Leno clasps it calmly.
5 min The free kick brings Villa a corner, taken short and then messed up as Jimenez is easily able to clear.
4 min Villa make it into Fulham’s half, where Tielemans wins a free kick 40 yards out.
3 min From the free kick, Fulham make it into the box, where Smith Rowe slips through … and plays a poor square ball that doesn’t find Jimenez.
2 min The first foul is committed by Morgan Rogers, needlessly, on Sander Berge – they were in the centre circle.
1 min Fulham kick off and play the ball around at the back. They’re in all white, so they bear a very slight resemblance to Real Madrid. Villa are in a lot of claret and a little blue.
The teams line up as a drone camera swoops across the Thames. It’s at its sparkling best in the spring sunshine.
Also today, at 5.15pm, there’s an FA Cup semi-final with giant-killing possibilities. Can Southampton knock out the mighty Man City? It may seem far-fetched, but they managed it in the League Cup only three years ago.
The first email of the day has landed, and it’s from a Fulham fan. “We almost never beat Villa and we never beat Emery,” says Richard Hirst, “so my hopes aren’t high.” That’s the spirit!
“But we’ll always have the 2018 play off final to cling to: just a shame John Terry isn’t still Villa’s centre back.”
True, but next time you face Chelsea, he may well be their manager.
So what else is happening today? Quite a lot, as the Premier League takes a Sunday off tomorrow, perhaps in an attempt to show younger fans what life was like in the Seventies.
There are three games at 3pm today. Liverpool entertain Palace, who are 13th and still not out of the race for Europe as they have a game in hand on everyone above them. Liverpool have actually won their last two league games, while crashing out of every other competition. West Ham welcome Everton for the David Moyes derby, which has “hard-fought” written all over it. And Wolves host Spurs in a game Roberto de Zerbi surely has to win if Spurs are to sneak past West Ham to safety.
Then, at 5.30, Arsenal try to remember how to win against Newcastle, who have fallen apart but still look dangerous on paper – and better-equipped than most teams to cope with Arsenal’s manhandling at corners.
Teams in full
Marco Silva, who may be wondering why his team have become so toothless, has gone for an attacking bench, with Issa Diop as the only defender bar Antonee Robinson, who loves to bomb forward. But among all the subs, Tammy Abraham still looks like the best bet for a late goal.
Fulham (4-2-3-1) Leno; Castagne, Andersen, Bassey, Sessegnon; Lukic, Berge; Wilson, Smith Rowe, Chukwueze; Jimenez.
Subs: Lecomte, Diop, Robinson, Cairney, Reed, King, Bobb, Muniz, Kusi-Asane.
Aston Villa (4-2-3-1) Martinez; Cash, Konsa, Torres, Digne; Bogarde, Tielemans; McGinn, Buendia, Rogers; Watkins.
Subs: Bizot, Mings, Lindelof, Maatsen, Douglas Luiz, Barkley, Sancho, Bailey, Abraham.
Teams in brief: no Onana for Villa
Unai Emery makes four changes. One looks enforced as Amadou Onana is missing altogether, presumed injured: his place at the back of midfield goes to Lamare Bogarde. Behind him, Pau Torres and Lucas Digne come in for Tyrone Mings and Ian Maatsen. Further forward, Emi Buendia replaces Ross Barkley.
Teams in brief: three changes for Fulham, Iwobi out
After the stalemate at Brentford this time last week, Marco Silva shuffles the pack. Sander Berge is back to join his partner in the pivot, Sasa Lukic, for the first time in ages. Raul Jimenez edges out Rodrigo Muniz as the spearhead and Samuel Chukwueze comes in on the left to replace Alex Iwobi, who has an injured hamstring.
Preamble
Morning everyone and welcome to the first Premier League game of the day. For both these clubs, it’s all about the European places.
Aston Villa, fourth in the table, are almost a shoo-in for the Champions League. They will go back up to third if they do better against Fulham today than Manchester United do against Brentford on Monday. And they have another route to the top table if they need it – winning the Europa League, something at which their manager, Unai Emery, is the world expert.
Marco Silva’s Fulham, who are 12th, are a long shot for Europe but still in a position to dream. If they win this game, they will clamber up to tenth, with perhaps only one more win needed to lift them to sixth. And, just to add sauce, a win today will leave them level on points with their chaotic neighbours, Chelsea.
But first Fulham have to remember where the goal is. They’ve drawn five blanks in their past seven games, scoring only against doomed Burnley and tottering Spurs. While Fulham have yet to break their duck for April, Villa have scored 12 times in the past 16 days. Last Sunday, in a rip-roaring fun-fest at Villa Park, they became the first team to score four against Sunderland this season (though not the last). After a slump that brought only 12 points from 12 league games, Villa have just collected seven from three – and, as a bonus, demolished Bologna.
The formbook fancies Villa, who won the reverse fixture 3-1 in September. But then Fulham win more often at home than Villa do away. They don’t have to rotate, they badly need the points, and the gods surely owe them a few goals, so it should be a good contest. Back soon with the teams.
Hundreds of people are protesting against the UK military base being used in the Iran conflict.
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Key events
38 min: Wales once again kick the ball away after showing some neat work in midfield. But they get it back soon after as England spill in contact. Wales are up inside England’s half. De Vera, who has had a good game, is heavily involved. Joyce does well out in the left tram to keep the ball alive until she spills it right at the last. Good ball retention from Wales, but they’re finding out that this England team is not easily breached. England will have the scrum between their 22 and halfway all the way on the right.
36 min: Three Welsh line-outs. Three Welsh penalties. It’s another trick play – a short throw to the front of the line, straight to the prop who wasn’t there to lift, but instead turned around and grabbed the bullet pass. That caught England off guard and they swarmed around the ball carrier illegally.
35 min: David, who was off for a HIA, has failed her test so Breach will remain out there. A harsh end for David on debut, but at least she bagged a try.
TRY! England 24-12 Wales (Jones, 33)
Oh so crafty! That is right off the training pitch. They go to the front of the line-out. But rather than maul, they pop a short pass for Tuipulotu who was on a blind run down the blindside. She then passed for Jones who was hanging in the tram after throwing to the line-out and she did well to wrestle the ball down under supervision from two English defenders. Lovely stuff. The conversion is missed but that’s a lovely bit of work from the Welsh.
32 min: Another maul, another penalty for Wales. This time it’s inside the England 22 so they can kick a little closer. Five out.
31 min: Wales win a penalty from a maul off a line-out shortly after the restart. George crossfield kicks and finds Singleton on the right wing. Wales keep the ball but fail to make any ground. Soon they spill it but will come back for the penalty, which is hoofed out of touch about 18 metres short of the England line on the left.
TRY! England 24-7 Wales (Jones, 28)
How cruel for Wales! Marlie Packer gets away with deliberately spoiling Wales’ ball. On her back, refusing to roll away. England play to the whistle and they’re away. They hammer the line with strong carries until the cracks emerge. Jones, who was born in Cardiff, gets a flat pass from Aitchison before standing up her defender and then putting the after burners on, ghosting upfield to finish from about 30 metres out.
TRY! England 19-7 Wales (M Packer, 25)
Ruthless! This time they get the maul sorted and Marlie Packer dots down off the back of a mighty shove from the pack. A mere minute ago Wales had a line-out inside England’s patch. But they overcooked the throw and now they’re a further seven points adrift after Rowland nudges the extras.
25 min: England nick a line-out in their own half and in a flash they’re screaming down field with Kildunne round a defender and charging in the left tram. She passes short to Moloney-MacDonald to her outside but the winger runs out of room. She flings a hopeful ball back infield that doesn’t find a mate, but there’s a Welsh infringement so England get a penalty.
23 min: Wales keep the ball after the scrum and hold onto the ball. Until Bevan hoofs a pretty ordinary box kick that is easily marked in the backfield by Kildunne.
22 min: A tearful Kabeya leaves the field. She really doesn’t want to go but she has to as her shoulder looks in real trouble.
22 min: Wales win a penalty in midfield. This came off England having a scrum all the way on the left wing and failing to find a hole anywhere in the line. Great defence from Wales who look up for this. They’re doubling up in the tackle and England just haven’t been able to get their off-loading game away. So the hosts lose patience and go searching for quicker ball, committing an infringement on the floor. Kudos to the Welsh.
20 min: Kildunne launches an attack from deep and spirals a pass for Rowland hovering on the lefft wing. But she’s tackled out of touch.
This much-changed England side is not quite delivering. Wales have come to play. Good game so far.
TRY! England 12-5 Wales (Bevan, 18)
Wales hit back! Bevan deserves that after making all that ground from the turnover ball. Rather than go for a driving maul, as everyone expected, they set up a big carry off first phase. Then Bevan picked and went and found a hole to score. The tough conversion is made from the left and Wales are back in this.
17 min: Off the scrum, England make a mess and get in a tangle in the midfield. The ball goes loose and Bevan grabs it and canters a full 40 metres. She looks destined for the line before she’s cut down. Jones tries to steal it but the Welsh support is up and they wrestle the ball back. Wales have the advantage. George goes for a cross-kick to the corner. David catches and makes the mark, but Wales will have the advantage to play with. Phew, hectic period that. They kick to the corner and will line-out from five out.
15 min: George overcooks the restart and hands possession straight back to England, who will have the scrum on halfway.
TRY! England 12-0 Wales (David, 13)
Fairytale! Millie David, on debut, in front of her home fans, scores a try! And what a try. England too slick after recycling from the line-out. Packer finds Aitchison who finds Rowland. Then a floated skip pass finds David who still had some finishing to do, but she made it look pretty easy. Great step off her right boot before bursting round the last defender on the right wing. Rowland can’t convert.
12 min: England win a kick battle. L Packer collects the ball at the breakdown and immediately rakes a box kick, knowing there is no one covering the Welsh backfield. George runs around and mops up before returning the kick. But she can’t find much ground. England with a promising line-out position.
10 min: England just win the small moments more often than not. Wales set the maul from the line-out but they couldn’t get the ball out the back. England’s maul defence swamped the ball carrier and stalled momentum. So they’re rewarded with a scrum feed on their 22.
9 min: Better from Wales. Off a line-out on the left, they go down the line and suck in two defenders with a clever dummy. Powell, up from fullback creating the overload, has time to send a grubber into the left corner. It’s a lovely touch finder that had her chasing winger interested for a second.
England, though, have no problem exiting from a line-out five out from their own line.
Wales will come again with a maul from a line-out of their own between the halfway and the 22m lines.
TRY! England 7-0 Wales (Feaunati, 7)
Brilliant from start to finish! England’s No. 8 got things going and she dots down. Off the line-out, England set up a midfield ruck and then went back to the right, down the blind where Feaunati brushed off two tacklers in the wide channel. Bern continued momentum with a strong carry and then it was a matter of time. L Packer played the right pass and Feaunati hit the line on an angle at pace. Rowland adds the extras. England up and running.
5 min: Wales win the line-out but M Packer, who has exploded into this game, charges down George’s exit kick. She can’t get there before it’s dotted down safely over the try line by a Welsh hand. But that was great work from the veteran Rose.
4 min: Wales win a scrum penalty. Excellent set and they get the chance to clear their lines. Well done to the Welsh pack.
If there’s one area that England aren’t head and shoulders above the rest it’s the scrum.
3 min: Off the line-out, M Packer charges through the guts and almost finds the line. L Packer recycles and finds Kabeya who spills in contact as Metcalfe and Aiono double up and force the knock-on five metres out. Wales will have the scrum feed.
2 min: Kildunne’s first touch is a beauty. On her tip-toes she holds onto a kick that looked destined to find touch on England’s right wing. She grabbed it and then went on a mazy run, making 10 metres. Soon after England sent it down the line and won a scrum as a Welsh hand caused a knock-on in contact. England will have the scrum inside Welsh territory.
Oh, hang on. It’s been upgraded to a penalty for a deliberate knock-on so England will get the line-out inside the Welsh 22.
Kick-off
Ella Goldsmith blows her whistle and we’re off in glorious sunshine!
It was remiss of me not to mention that Metcalfe is 19-years-old!
19! Nineteen! My goodness. What a moment.
Anthems now. A few tears. Love seeing that. Loads of passion.
The players are lining up in the tunnel.
Not long to go now.
Sean Lynn, Wales’ head coach, was speaking to the BBC:
We are playing the world champions and Grand Slam champions in front of a sold out Ashton Gate. It doesn’t get bigger than that.
England are the trailblazers in the women’s game. They have been professional longer than us and have their own domestic league – that is the reality of the challenge.
This is all about us building our performances and developing our identity as a team. We need to show the same intensity and resilience that we have shown in the opening two games and do it for longer. The grit and ability to dig deep is an attribute we will need against England.
Another yarn from Sarah.
In this one she hears from young Millie David who makes her Red Roses debut on the wing today.
Good to know I’m on the same page as Sarah Rendell.
Here she argues that the Red Roses are doing things few teams, if any, have ever done:
How about some stats, eh?
These have been pulled straight from the WRU website.
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England have won 22 out of 24 meetings against Wales, their only defeats coming in 2015 and 2009
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England have won each of their last 50 international matches on home soil, their last defeat in England coming in November 2016. They have never lost at home to Wales in Test rugby, winning all 20 meetings
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Wales’ Bethan Lewis has made the most tackles of any player in the Women’s Six Nations this year (37) with team-mate Kate Williams making the most dominant tackles (4), while Gwen Crabb has won the most breakdown turnovers
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England’s Sarah Bern is the top try scorer (4), crossing twice in each of the opening two rounds, while team-mate Zoe Harrison has scored the most points (24), not missing a single one of her 12 conversion attempts against Scotland
Wales team
As if the job wasn’t tough enough, Wales will have to do without two of their more senior players as ex-captain Hannah Dallavalle, as well as captain Kate Williams are out injured.
That means Jenna De Vera, who made her Test debut against France off the bench last week, starts at inside centre.
Flanker Alex Callender is still out so much will depend on Branwen Metcalfe who wears the number 6 jersey in her first appearance for her country.
Alongside her in the back row, Bethan Lewis takes over the captaincy.
Wales: Kayleigh Powell; Seren Singleton, Jenna De Vera, Courtney Keight, Jasmine Joyce; Lleucu George, Keira Bevan; Gwenllian Pyrs, Kelsey Jones, Sisilia Tuipulotu, Jorja Aiono; Gwen Crabb, Branwen Metcalfe, Bethan Lewis, Byronie King.
Repalcements: Molly Reardon, Maisie Davies, Donna Rose, Georgia Evans, Alisha Joyce, Seren Lockwood, Freya Bell, Catherine Richards.
England team
20-year-old Millie David, who plays her club rugby for Bristol, makes her Test debut in front of her home crowd.
She’ll start on the wing which means Ellie Kildunne slots back to her usual position at fullback. Emma Sing, who impressed last week, misses out of the match-day 23.
Holly Aitchinson starts at fly-half, replacing Zoe Harrison, while props Mackenzie Carson and Sarah Bern, lock Delaney Burns and back-row Marlie Packer enter the scene from the off.
England: Ellie Kildunne; Millie David, Meg Jones (c), Helena Rowland, Claudia Moloney-MacDonald; Holly Aitchison, Lucy Packer; Mackenzie Carson, Amy Cokayne, Sarah Bern, Abi Burton, Delaney Burns, Sadia Kabeya, Marlie Packer, Maddie Feaunati.
Replacements: Connie Powell, Kelsey Clifford, Maud Muir, Haineala Lutui, Demelza Short, Flo Robinson, Zoe Harrison, Jess Breach.
Preamble
Hi everyone! Welcome to the third round of a Women’s Six Nations that is pretty much going as expected.
England are top of the tree with having scored 17 tries (five more than France) and look unbeatable.
They weren’t at their best against Ireland but still had enough oomph from third gear. Then they revved their engines and pulverised Scotland by a hefty score.
Today they face Wales who were denied at the death by Scotland but got spanked on home soil by France. They’re a team on the rise, no question, but they’re rising from a long way down from where England currently reside. Expect plenty of support, though, for the visiting side as they’re playing just across the River Severn in Bristol.
Is there a more dominant sports team in the world than the Red Roses? Not for my money. If they fail to add to their unbeaten run of 35 Tests I’ll eat my hat. And my shoes. And my leather belt.
Kick-off at 2:15pm.
Teams and other updates, including some cracking reads from around the G, to come.
Laura Kuenssberg travels to Wales and Scotland to speak to candidates and voters ahead of May 7 polls.
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