Fulham have a penalty as Ben White brings down Bobby Decordova-Reid in the area.

What an eventful start at Reading!

The Royals win a penalty in the opening stages of this match and Derby see Scott Malone sent off for bringing down Yakou Meite!

The hosts have a penalty and it's Charlie Adam who stands over it.

Leeds have had to make a very early change as playmaker Pablo Hernandez is forced off with an injury picked up in that early attack.

Ezgjan Alioski is on in his place.

Bright start from Leeds down at Fulham.

A quick attack ends with Helder Costa's shot deflecting into the arms of Marek Rodak in the home goal.

Ding ding.

We are under way across the English Football League and the festive football season has truly begun.

Wall to wall football for the next few weeks starts now, folks.

Gillingham have eased to a 3-1 win over MK Dons in League One to move up to 11th in the table and leave the Dons facing Christmas in the relegation zone.

In League Two, Scunthorpe have taken the bragging rights from their Lincolnshire derby with Grimsby thanks to Kevin van Veen's goal.

The in-form Iron go 12th, while the managerless Mariners remain winless since September.

Image source, Rex Features

Play-off hopefuls Nottingham Forest will be looking to bounce back from their humbling 4-0 home defeat by Sheffield Wednesday last week when they visit Huddersfield.

Hull City host mid-table rivals Birmingham City, with both teams in need of a win to kick-start their season.

Swansea, who ended a six-match winless run last time out, will be looking to boost their own post-season aspirations with victory at struggling Luton.

Millwall's good run of form means they too go into the festive period with a chance of breaking into the top six if they can beat improving Barnsley.

QPR fell to a 5-3 defeat by the Tykes last week and they will be hoping to get back on track at home to out-of-sorts Charlton.

Speaking of lacking form, Reading and Derby meet at the Madejski Stadium, with the two teams boasting just one win from their past 10 games combined.

Image source, Rex Features

Brentford travel to the Black Country today to face Championship leaders West Brom, who have a formidable record against the Bees.

The Baggies have never lost a home league match against Brentford and the west London side haven't beaten West Brom for quite some time.

Their last league win against them came back in February 1948 and they are winless in their six meetings since then.

Brentford have promotion aspirations of their own and travel to the Hawthorns off the back of two league wins. Can they make that three?

Image source, Rex Features

Fulham boss Scott Parker has said his side's confidence has been hit by a run of three successive defeats.

Parker's charges have dropped from third to sixth and now trail second-placed Leeds by 12 points.

The former England international told BBC Radio London: "I do see a bit of self-doubt in the players. Ultimately it is my job and my staff's job to try and get that back."

He added: "There is no denying that West Brom and Leeds are the best two teams in this division.

"They have been the most consistent quality-wise, and squad-wise they are good and mature."

Leeds are looking to bounce back after their run of seven straight wins came to a shock end last week when they threw away a three goal lead to draw 3-3 with Cardiff.

Image source, Rex Features

It has been another eventful week for Macclesfield off the pitch.

With a winding-up petition issued against the Silkmen dismissed by the High Court for the ninth time before they were given a six-point deduction with another four suspended on Thursday.

Yesterday, after the club suspended ticket sales for today's game against Plymouth when the local Safety Advisory Group served a "zero-capacity notice", the match was eventually called off.

If the suspended four-point deduction is applied, it could mean they would drop into the League Two relegation zone.

You can read more about what's going on at the club here.

It's 1-0 to Scunthorpe in the Lincolnshire derby against Grimsby at the moment, with 10 minutes of normal time remaining.

In the 15:00 GMT kick-offs League Two leaders Swindon Town, for whom striker Eoin Doyle is looking to score for the 10th successive game, visit play-off hopefuls Forest Green.

Second-placed Exeter City host Walsall, while third-placed Cheltenham visit Port Vale.

At the bottom of the table Morecambe host Newport County and 23rd-placed Stevenage start life under Graham Westley for the FOURTH time with a home game against Crewe.

Here's the full list of today's 15:00 GMT kick-offs:

• Bradford City v Salford City
• Cambridge United v Leyton Orient
• Colchester United v Carlisle United
• Exeter City v Walsall
• Forest Green Rovers v Swindon Town
• Mansfield Town v Northampton Town
• Morecambe v Newport County

• Oldham Athletic v Crawley Town
• Port Vale v Cheltenham Town
• Stevenage v Crewe Alexandra

Image source, Rex Features

It's currently 3-1 in the early kick off in the third tier between Gillingham and MK Dons.

In the 15:00 GMT kick-offs, leaders Wycombe travel to Oxford, with the U's looking to build on their strong performance in defeat by Manchester City on Wednesday.

Second-placed Ipswich visit play-off hopefuls Portsmouth and it's fourth v third as managerless Bristol Rovers, who saw boss Graham Coughlan leave for Mansfield this week, host Peterborough.

At the wrong end of the table, Sol Campbell's 23rd-placed Southend visit bottom side Bolton.

Here's the full list of today's League One 15:00 GMT kick-offs:

• Blackpool v Shrewsbury Town
• Bolton Wanderers v Southend United
• Bristol Rovers v Peterborough United
• Burton Albion v Rochdale
• Coventry City v Lincoln City
• Doncaster Rovers v Accrington Stanley
• Oxford United v Wycombe Wanderers
• Portsmouth v Ipswich Town
• Rotherham United v Fleetwood Town
• Tranmere Rovers v AFC Wimbledon

We've got eight games in the Championship this afternoon.

There's all sorts of short-term permutations but the biggest one is that if Leeds win at Fulham and West Brom beat Brentford at home then the top two will lead the chasing pack by at least 10 points.

Here's a rundown of this afternoon's card, with all games kicking off at 15:00 GMT:

• Fulham v Leeds
• Huddersfield v Nottingham Forest
• Hull City v Birmingham City
• Luton v Swansea
• Millwall v Barnsley
• QPR v Charlton
• Reading v Derby
• West Brom v Brentford

Image source, Rex Features

Thanks for that chaps!

If that early match is anything to go by, we're in for another cracking Saturday afternoon of football in the English Football League.

Now, let's see what we have to come this afternoon..

It was no Christmas classic in Cardiff, but Preston maintain momentum by making it three games unbeaten and the Bluebirds put another point on the board.

Thanks for joining us. Let's hope for a few goals elsewhere this afternoon.

We now hand the reins to Ian Woodcock and Jay Freeman, who will take you through today's action in the EFL 15:00 GMT kick-offs.

Jason Perry
Former Cardiff player on BBC Radio Wales

Image source, Getty Images

I thought Jazz Richards did very well, he didn't look short on energy, he was fine defensively, he could do more going forward. I felt like he was playing to the gameplan today.

The final whistle goes and in truth that was a game which will not live long in the memory.

Preston looked the more likely winners for the most part - especially before the break - but in the end it is hard-earned point for both sides.

Preston came closest to finding a winner but lacked a clinical edge, while Cardiff huffed and puffed but probably did not create enough for Neil Harris' liking.

There is a fright for Preston as the clock ticks down as goalkeeper Declan Rudd is forced to push Lee Tomlin's harmless-looking chip over the bar.

Will that be that?