Man City v Sheffield Utd, Villa v Burnley and more: Premier League clockwatch – live

Because I failed so miserably to preview the action north of the border, Simon McMahon has emailed in a handy guide:

In Scotland, Celtic are currently leading 2-1, but hanging on, against 10-man Rangers with just a few minutes left. Later, it’s Aberdeen v St. Mirren and Hearts v Ross County. In the Scottish Championship, Dundee United beat Partick Thistle 3-0 at Tannadice last night to move to within two points of leaders Raith, who host Arbroath today. In Scottish League Two, it’s the one clockwatchers have been waiting all year for, Forfar v East Fife. A nine goal thriller perhaps…?

I simply cannot believe I overlooked Forfar v East Fife on the fixture list. Old Firmers can get the last of the action here:

He’s got his lid done for the big day too:

If you are not across what is going on at Kenilworth Road then I would suggest checking in with Rob Smyth’s MBM:

The BIG news from that lot is that Kevin De Bruyne is back on the bench for City, because they are a down-on-their-luck club in need of a break.

Wolves v Everton

Wolves: Jose Sa, Kilman, Dawson, Gomes, Nelson Semedo, Joao Gomes, Doyle, Ait Nouri, Hwang, Sarabia, Matheus Cunha. Subs: Doherty, Santiago Bueno, Traore, Pedro Neto, Hugo Bueno, Kalajdzic, Bentley, Bellegarde, Hodge.

Everton: Pickford, Patterson, Keane, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko, Harrison, Garner, Onana, McNeil, Calvert-Lewin. Subs: Danjuma, Virginia, Beto, Andre Gomes, Godfrey, Coleman, Chermiti, Hunt, Dobbin.

Manchester City v Sheffield United

Manchester City: Ederson, Walker, Akanji, Ake, Gvardiol, Kovacic, Rodri, Bernardo Silva, Foden, Grealish, Alvarez. Subs: Dias, Phillips, De Bruyne, Ortega, Gomez, Matheus Luiz, Bobb, Lewis, Hamilton.

Sheffield United: Foderingham, Baldock, Robinson, Trusty, Bogle, Vinicius Souza, Norwood, Thomas, Ben Slimane, Brooks, Osula. Subs: Adam Davies, Brewster, McBurnie, Archer, Traore, Osborn, Larouci, Norrington-Davies, Seriki.

Crystal Palace v Brentford

Crystal Palace: Henderson, Clyne, Andersen, Guehi, Mitchell, Lerma, Richards, Eze, Olise, Mateta, Ayew. Subs: Tomkins, Matheus Franca, Schlupp, Hughes, Edouard, Ahamada, Matthews, Riedewald, Ozoh.

Brentford: Flekken, Jorgensen, Collins, Pinnock, Roerslev, Jensen, Norgaard, Janelt, Ghoddos, Lewis-Potter, Wissa. Subs: Maupay, Onyeka, Strakosha, Damsgaard, Peart-Harris, Yarmolyuk, Olakigbe, Brierley, Adedokun.

Aston Villa v Burnley

Aston Villa: Martinez, Konsa, Diego Carlos, Lenglet, Alex Moreno, Bailey, McGinn, Douglas Luiz, Ramsey, Diaby, Watkins. Subs: Torres, Chambers, Zaniolo, Duran, Dendoncker, Marschall, Iroegbunam, Proctor.

Burnley: Trafford, Vitinho, O’Shea, Beyer, Taylor, Odobert, Berge, Brownhill, Gudmundsson, Foster, Amdouni. Subs: Rodriguez, Roberts, Redmond, Ramsey, Ndayishimiye, Bruun Larsen, Delcroix, Obafemi, Muric.

Who is ready for some team news? Well, I am…

It’s not quite ‘new year, new me’ yet, so bust out what’s left of the Quality Street or the remainder of the biscuit selection and strap in for the last Premier League clockwatch of 2023.

We had a full slate of EFL games last night so it is really all about the top flight today. Manchester City v Sheffield United feels like a foregone conclusion and so – to a degree – does Aston Villa v Burnley. Wolves v Everton is more interesting than that fixture has any right to be, a meeting of two smart coaches with upward looking teams – therefore it is sure to be a dud. While Crystal Palace v Brentford is very much a ‘should we be worried about…’ derby. I am not really selling this well, am I?

Do not worry, I will also be sprinkling in a bit of Fitba and some National League to spice things up.

Who’s ready?