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8 hours ago
16
FULL TIME: Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End. Bolton hold on for their first win over Preston since the glory days of Sam Allardyce.
GOAL! Notts County 1-1 Leicester City (Grant 81). Leicester may not have bottomed out quite yet. Conor Grant levels for the hosts at Meadow Lane.
GOAL! Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Preston North End (Erabi 86). Jusef Erabi heads home with time running out, and Preston’s long unbeaten run against Bolton, stretching back to 2001, isn’t snapped just yet.
The 3pm teamsheets
Bristol City: Tickle, Tanner, Dickie, Eissat, Atkinson, Knight, Randell, Hirakawa, Ballard, Greenwood, Tolaj.
Subs: Collins, Cardines, Williams, Yah, Wallace, Eile, Twine, Bell, Jakobsen.
Millwall: Jensen, Leonard, Taylor, Cooper, Sturge, De Norre, Metcalfe, Azeez, Neghli, Arconte, Coburn.
Subs: Crocombe, Baggott, Dykes, Kelly, Sykes, Lisbie, Batth, Cundle, Bangura-Williams.
Charlton Athletic: Mannion, McNamara, Jones, Koumetio, Bell, Coventry, Chalobah, Campbell, Carey, Ahearne-Grant, Godden.
Subs: Brooks, Knibbs, Leaburn, Mesik, Alli, Rankin-Costello, Sichenje, Apter, Nwamba.
Derby County: Zetterstrom, Langas, Sanderson, Taylor, Ward, Clark, Travis, Fraulo, Forsyth, Szmodics, Morris.
Subs: Vickers, Brewster, Bilbija, Salvesen, Mowatt, Johnston, Nyambe, Blackett-Taylor, Eames.
Middlesbrough: Vitek, Brittain, Ayling, Malanda, Borges, Kante, Berhalter, Whittaker, Castledine, Lankshear, Joseph.
Subs: Brynn, Jones, McGree, Peart-Harris, Sarmiento, Arfsten, Edmundson, Ibeh, Cartwright.
Lincoln City: Wickens, Darikwa, Hamer, Towler, Elerewe, Reach, Jefferies, McGrandles, Varfolomeyev, Draper, House.
Subs: Gauci, Coubis, Hackett, Bayliss, Melia, Street, Olaofe, Honohan, Elder.
Norwich City: Kovacevic, Fisher, Darling, Cordoba, Chrisene, Mattsson, McLean, Brooks, Ben Slimane, Maghoma, Toure.
Subs: Grimshaw, Stacey, McConville, Wright, Diallo, Field, Bruno Alves, Schwartau, Kvistgaarden.
West Bromwich Albion: O’Leary, Galves, Phillips, Campbell, Styles, Whitwell, Diakite, Myhre, Price, Heggebo, Morgan.
Subs: Ingram, Williams, Mepham, Bielik, Townsend, Johnston, Molumby, Stewart, Nzingoula.
Portsmouth: Schmid, Devlin, Poole, Shaughnessy, Swanson, Segecic, Adams, Shein, Brooke-Smith, Bishop, Kamara.
Subs: Bielica, Arthur, Dia, Swift, Le Roux, Bailey, Murphy, Milovanovic, Kavuma-McQueen.
Queens Park Rangers: Charles, Mbengue, Dunne, Clarke-Salter, Kemper, Vale, Edwards, Poku, Chair, Burrell, Saito.
Subs: Ward, Adamson, Morrison, Smyth, Lloyd, Kamara, Kone, Varane, Alemayehu.
The 2015-16 Premier League champions Leicester City are now slumming it in League One, having suffered successive relegations. Now they’ve got Russell Martin as manager, and things have to bottom out at some point, so having been seriously examined by Notts County during the first half at Meadow Lane, the Foxes have taken the lead thanks to Jayden Joseph. Ten years, though.
Down in League One, there’s a real humdinger going on at the Madejski Stadium. Reading were 3-1 up against Luton Town at the break, thanks to a Jack Marriott hat-trick – Jake Richards had given the Hatters an early lead, as well – but since the break, the visitors have hit back hard. Two goals in as many minutes from Kasey Palmer, and it’s 3-3 with more than half-an-hour still to play. I was going to while away the time until the 3pms with the Preston-Bolton game, but plans change. The big M4-M1 showdown it is.
During that aforementioned – well, alluded-to – first season of the Football League, Preston had the measure of their county rivals Bolton. They won 3-1 at home, and 5-2 away. But it’s not going so well for them today. First-half goals from Sam Dalby (14) and Thierry Gale (25) have seen the Trotters bolt out of the gate, and as it stands, Steven Schumacher’s newly-promoted side are top of the Championship. Too early to go with the table? Ah, let’s start as we mean to go on.
Preamble
The 2026-27 Championship race started dramatically last night …
… but it really gets going now. Bolton Wanderers and Preston North End are already partying like it’s 1888-89, having kicked off an hour ago, and we’ll have more of that Victorian-adjacent malarkey in a minute. But! Wait!! Here’s the 3pm card!!!
Bristol City v Millwall
Charlton Athletic v Derby County
Middlesbrough v Lincoln City
Norwich City v West Bromwich Albion
Portsmouth v Queens Park Rangers
Stoke City v Swansea City
Other important news from elsewhere will be mentioned*, as a new season opens out before us, to a world of possibilities. It’s on!
* not necessarily
