Key events
Nottingham Forest also made the decision to sack their head coach this week, with Sean Dyche dismissed in the early hours of Thursday morning – shortly after the club’s 0-0 draw with Wolves.
Vítor Pereira is now set to be announced as Forest’s new head coach – and their fourth of the season.
Speaking of Spurs, they have agreed to appoint Igor Tudor on an interim basis until the end of the season. The move opens the door for ex-manager Mauricio Pochettino – who is currently head coach of the US men’s national team – to make a return to the club.
As just mentioned, Thomas Frank was sacked by Tottenham on Wednesday following a 2-1 loss to Newcastle which left the club 16th in the Premier League table.
Here’s what Barney Ronay has to say about the topic…
Feel free to email in at matchday.live@guardian.co.uk with any thoughts, feelings or predictions ahead of today’s fixtures. Did Spurs make the right decision by sacking Thomas Frank? Did Nottingham Forest make the right decision by sacking Sean Dyche? More on those shortly…
It looks like Igor Tudor is Tottenham-bound, but Forest fans, who do you want to see take over at the City Ground?
Let me know!
From Arsenal’s midfield conundrum to Newcastle’s misfiring attack, here are 10 things to look out for in the FA Cup this weekend.
Paris St Germain’s Ligue 1 title hopes suffered a blow with a 3-1 defeat by managerless Rennes at Roazhon Park. Luis Enrique’s side moved back into top spot ahead of Lens last weekend with a 5-0 hammering of Marseille, their seventh success in a row in the league, but they were swiftly brought back down to earth in Brittany.
Mousa Al-Tamari gave Rennes a half-time lead and, although Ousmane Dembele pulled one back straight after Esteban Lepaul had made it two midway through the second half, it was the home side who found another goal through Breel Embolo. It was a dream first outing as interim head coach for Sebastien Tambouret, who was given the reins after Habib Beye was sacked on Monday following a run of four defeats in a row.
Monaco boosted their hopes of European football with a 3-1 victory over struggling Nantes. All Monaco’s goals came in five first-half minutes, with Simon Adingra scoring twice and Denis Zakaria once. Fabien Centonze pulled one back for Nantes just before the break but they could not make a second-half breakthrough despite Aleksandr Golovin’s red card.
Serhou Guirassy scored twice as Borussia Dortmund moved within three points of Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich, beating Mainz 4-0. Maximilian Beier also scored for Dortmund, while the fourth was an own goal from Dominik Kohr.
AC Milan needed a late goal from Luka Modric to defeat lowly Pisa 2-1.
Ruben Loftus-Cheek opened the scoring late in the first half but Felipe Loyola equalised with 19 minutes left, while Milan also had Adrien Rabiot sent off. PA
Phil Parkinson wanted to savour the moment after guiding Wrexham into the FA Cup fifth round for the first time in 29 years. Josh Windass scored the winner as the ambitious Welsh side edged a tight contest with Championship promotion rivals Ipswich 1-0 at Stok Cae Ras.
It was another notable victory for the Red Dragons as their rise under the ownership of Hollywood actors Ryan Reynolds and Rob Mac continues.
Manager Parkinson said: “We spoke before the game about our chance to create a bit of history. We’ve done it and I’m so pleased because it was always going to be a tough game against a very good side.
“Every season in football is special and you’ve got to savour it. This season, with the challenge of being in the Championship and now an FA Cup run, we want to enjoy it, and tonight we certainly did.”
This week marked the fifth anniversary of Wrexham’s takeover, which took place when the club were in the National League.
They have been promoted in the past three seasons and, currently sixth in the Championship, they now have a shot at reaching the Premier League.
Parkinson said: “I think it’s great for our owners, to get them into the fifth round. We can really look forward to the draw on Monday night when we’ll be in a hotel in Bristol.
“We’ll savour that but, obviously, it’s the back-burner now for the FA Cup and we’ll concentrate on the league.” PA
In the WSL last night, Manchester City got back to winning ways with a dominant 6-0 victory against Leicester City, who currently sit at the bottom of the table.
Vivianne Miedema scored twice, with Khadija Shaw, Yui Hasegawa, Kerolin and Aoba Fujino also adding to their goal tallies.
Leicester now find themselves struggling in a relegation battle, with rivals Liverpool finding some form.
League Two fixtures (3pm GMT unless stated otherwise)
Barnet v Cheltenham Town
Oldham Athletic v Fleetwood Town
Chesterfield v Harrogate Town
Crewe Alexandra v Gillingham
Bromley v Notts County
Tranmere Rovers v Crawley Town
Barrow v Colchester United
Shrewsbury Town v Swindon Town
MK Dons v Newport County
Cambridge United v Bristol Rovers
League One fixtures (3pm GMT unless stated otherwise)
Reading v Wycombe Wanderers
Stevenage v Huddersfield Town
Lincoln City v Bolton Wanderers
Bradford City v Peterborough United
Barnsley v Wimbledon
Cardiff City v Luton Town
Exeter City v Northampton Town
Blackpool v Plymouth Argyle
Championship fixtures (all 3pm GMT)
QPR v Blackburn Rovers
Sheffield Wednesday v Millwall
Derby County v Swansea City
Preston North End v Watford
Portsmouth v Sheffield United
Pedro Neto scored a hat-trick as Chelsea cruised to a 4-0 win over Hull in the FA Cup last night. Elsewhere, Wrexham progressed to the fifth round with a narrow 1-0 victory against Ipswich Town.
Today’s FA Cup fixtures (3pm GMT unless stated otherwise)
Burton v West Ham (12:15pm)
Norwich City v West Brom
Southampton v Leicester City
Burnley v Mansfield Town
Manchester City v Salford City
Aston Villa v Newcastle (5:45pm)
Liverpool v Brighton (8pm)
Preamble
Hello, good morning and welcome to another Matchday live! It’s all happening this weekend, with Championship, League One, League Two and FA Cup fixtures to look forward to.
Manchester City, Burnley, West Ham, Aston Villa, Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton are among the clubs involved in fourth-round action today, with the likes of Millwall, Derby and Preston all featuring in the Championship.
We’ll also be reacting to last night’s FA Cup meetings and discussing the biggest talking points of the week – from the Nations League draw to managerial switch-ups.
I’ll be with you all morning – join me!
