“Afternoon Simon,” writes our voluntary temporary Scotland correspondent Simon McMahon. “Full SPFL card this afternoon with all six matches kicking off at 3pm. Some fans being allowed into Pittodrie and the Global Energy Stadium, where Aberdeen host Kilmarnock and Ross County welcome Celtic. Table toppers Rangers will be looking to break a century-old record by recording a seventh consecutive clean sheet at the start of the season. Bad news is they face Micky Mellon’s Dundee United at Ibrox, and the Tangerines have last seasons top scorer Lawrence Shankland on the bench as he makes his return from injury.”
There have been three early goals there: Livingston scored against Hamilton Accies in the first minute, while Motherwell took the lead against St Johnstone and Celtic went ahead at Ross County in the fourth.
GOAL! Josh Windass signed for Sheffield Wednesday from Wigan earlier this month, and he’s just scored quite a smart goal to put his new side ahead at Cardiff. Every Championship game so far (well, all three of them) has finished 1-0 - who’s going to claim the top of the table today?
GOAL! Sunderland may be the favourites for the League One title, but it might not be entirely straightforward: they’re a goal down at home to Bristol Rovers.
Luke Leahy of Bristol Rovers opens the scoring from the penalty spot. Photograph: Richard Lee/BPI/Shutterstock
Peeeeep! Kick-off! Action is under way, at Crystal Palace and indeed elsewhere.
“I half-watched the Fulham v Arsenal match just now,” writes Bruce Jackson. “We couldn’t help noticing that Little Scotty Parker appeared to have a nasty bruise/scuff on his right cheekbone in the second half that we hadn’t spotted in the first. Bit of a ‘lively’ half-time team talk in the Fulham dressing room?”
Now this is curious. Here’s a photograph of Scott Parker in the first half:
Fulham’s manager, Scott Parker, gestures during the Premier League match against Arsenal at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Clive Rose/AFP/Getty Images
And here’s a photograph of Scott Parker in the second half. There us a clearer photo that I’m not allowed to use, but there’s definitely a cut or graze on his right cheek:
Fulham’s manager, Scott Parker, watches from the touchline during the Premier League match against Arsenal at Craven Cottage. Photograph: Clive Rose/AFP/Getty Images
Birmingham also beat Brentford 1-0 on the first day of last season. Here’s a weird thing: Blues didn’t win any of their last 15 league matches last season, so they haven’t exactly been world-beaters in recent times, but in their last 10 games against teams whose names also start with the letter B they have won seven and not lost any at all. Big fans of alliteration, are Birmingham.
Final whistle! Birmingham City have beaten Brentford 1-0, their first competitive victory since February.
Birmingham’s Jeremie Bela heads home the only goal of the game. Photograph: Ryan Browne/BPI/Shutterstock
There has been a 92nd-minute goal at Wycombe, and it’s gone to Rotherham United, for whom Michael Ihiekwe has headed in a corner! The final whistle has swiftly followed, and it’s all over!
Bookmakers make Sunderland favourites for the League One title, followed by Peterborough, who of course have to cope without last year’s top scorer Ivan Toney, who has gone to Brentford. Rochdale are odds-on to be relegated, with Wimbledon and Northampton next in line, making the match between the latter pair the season’s first relegation six-pointer. These are all 3pm BST kick-offs:
Accrington Stanley v. Peterborough
Crewe v. Charlton
Doncaster v. Milton Keynes Dons
Fleetwood Town v. Burton Albion
Gillingham v. Hull
Lincoln City v. Oxford Utd
Northampton v. AFC Wimbledon
Plymouth v. Blackpool
Portsmouth v. Shrewsbury
Sunderland v. Bristol Rovers
Swindon v. Rochdale
League Two
Bolton are favourites to go up, followed closely by Salford City, with Exeter the best of the rest. And as it happens Exeter head to Salford this afternoon in one of the day’s key fixtures. Oldham and Morecambe are considered likely to be battling it out at the wrong end of the table come May, but there’s a lot of water to flow under a lot of bridges before that.
Barrow v. Stevenage
Bolton v. Forest Green
Bradford v. Colchester
Cambridge Utd v. Carlisle
Cheltenham v. Morecambe
Mansfield v. Tranmere
Oldham v. Leyton Orient
Port Vale v. Crawley Town
Salford City v. Exeter
Scunthorpe v. Newport County
Southend v. Harrogate Town
Walsall v. Grimsby
Today’s Championship fixtures look like this (all 3pm BST kick-offs unless stated). The early kick-offs have been goal-light so far, but Birmingham look like they might provide the season’s first upset, leading Brentford as they do by a goal to nil with 12 minutes remaining. At Wycombe it’s resolutely goalless:
Bournemouth v. Blackburn
Barnsley v. Luton
Birmingham v. Brentford (KO 12.30)
Bristol City v. Coventry
Cardiff v. Sheff Wed
Derby v. Reading
Huddersfield v. Norwich
Millwall v. Stoke
Preston North End v. Swansea
QPR v. Nottm Forest
Wycombe v. Rotherham (KO 12.30)
It might seem like the Premier League has never been away and the truth is: it hasn’t. The opening day of the season is here and what better way to remind ourselves about the English top-flight than watching the teams which finished 14th and 11th respectively last season?
Palace only scored 31 goals last season, so will be desperate to improve on that. The arrivals of Batshuayi and Eze should help with that. Southampton, on the other hand, have bolstered their defence with the permanent arrival of Walker-Peters and Salisu coming in from Real Valladolid.
Further down the pyramid, it’s a big day for Barrow and Harrogate who get to call themselves Football League clubs, so there is plenty to keep an eye on.
Anyway, let’s all enjoy another year of top football action.
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