GOAL: Middlesbrough 0-1 Plymouthpublished at 15:09 Greenwich Mean Time 24 February 2024
Matthew Sorinola (7 mins)
![Plymouth celebrate scoring](https://ichef.bbci.co.uk/ace/standard/640/cpsprodpb/vivo/live/images/2024/2/24/f73ffedf-303b-40ac-b279-da9cb1e4bd92.jpg.webp)
Plymouth break the deadlock at the Riverside.
It's Matthew Sorinola who knocks it in after Darko Gyabi's initial shot was saved.
Ipswich come from behind to beat Birmingham
Millwall win at Southampton on Neil Harris' return
QPR & Huddersfield both come from behind to win
Cardiff, Plymouth, Sheff Wed & Swansea also win
Promotion hopefuls Hull and West Brom drew in early game
Sophie Hurcom, Deepak Mahay and Chris Harby
Matthew Sorinola (7 mins)
Plymouth break the deadlock at the Riverside.
It's Matthew Sorinola who knocks it in after Darko Gyabi's initial shot was saved.
Southampton 0-1 Millwall
Adam Blackmore
BBC Radio Solent sports editor
Set-pieces will be their best chance to score, Millwall know that.
Commentary genius/curse of the commentator?
Millwall have scored from a setpiece!
That was not the best bit of goalkeeping we have seen, he really should have taken the ball there.
Watford 0-0 Huddersfield
First chance falls to the visitors.
Delano Burgzorg bumped Wesley Hoedt off the ball and fed Josh Koroma who tested Hornets keeper Ben Hamer with a low shot from a narrow angle.
Japhet Tanganga (5 mins)
Wowzers. Who would have put that on their bingo card!
The goal comes from a free-kick as Saints keeper Gavin Bazunu comes out but blunders and ends up putting the ball straight into the path of Japhet Tanganga, who duly puts it into the net.
Perfect start for new Lions boss Neil Harris.
Southampton 0-0 Millwall
After another loss in their last outing Russell Martin has made a trio of changes up front today.
David Brooks, Che Adams and Ryan Fraser all come in for today's game against Millwall
Watford 0-0 Huddersfield
New Terriers boss Andre Breitenreiter must like a challenge.
He takes over a side who are just two points above the relegation places, having won just one of their last 13 away Championship matches.
But his new charges have been in reasonable nick of late with two wins in their last four.
That’s as many as they managed in their previous 17 league games.
#bbcefl
Here we go then, it's 15:00 GMT which means time to get going with some more football.
Blackburn v Norwich (15:00 GMT)
These two have one thing in common going into today’s game at Ewood Park – they both played Cardiff in their last games. Blackburn drew 0-0 on Tuesday evening and Norwich beat the Bluebirds 4-1 last Saturday.
Blackburn who sit 16th in the league have not won in their last three outings drawing their last two but are looking for their first league double over the Canaries since the 1969-70 season.
Rovers boss John Eustace, is still waiting for his first official win. The former Birmingham City boss had watched from the stands as Rovers beat Stoke in the first game since his appointment earlier on this month but, with Eustace stood in the dugout, his new side had only managed a draw and a defeat so far.
Norwich are aiming to make it three league wins on the bounce going into today’s game.
David Wagner’s side are three points outside the play-off places in 8th and are looking to win three consecutive league games under him for a second time, previously doing so in March last year. The Canaries are also looking to score 4+ goals in three league games in a row for the first time since November 2018.
Sunderland v Swansea (15:00 GMT)
Andrew Sixsmith
BBC Final Score
Where do you start with Sunderland?
The end of the shortest managerial reign in the club’s history?
The fact the club are now looking for their 23rd manager in 14 years…?!
Or, as one fan put it, “that Mike Dodds dons his ‘natty’ gilet” again?
Whatever the case, a turbulent week ends with the visit of Swansea - looking nervously over their shoulders at the drop zone and hoping a 666-mile round trip pays off with a devilish three points
Sunderland v Swansea (15:00 GMT)
Mike Dodds takes the reins as interim head coach as Sunderland continue their search for a third full-time manager of the season following Michael Beale’s exit.
Beale was let go after a run of six defeats in his 12-game league tenure and the Black Cats badly needed to end the season strongly to revive their play-off prospects.
Back-to-back defeats see them start the day in 10th, seven points outside the top six, but they have home comforts on their side today as they hunt an 11th league win of the season at the Stadium of Light.
The visitors’ dugout will be occupied by another boss who may be feeling the squeeze in Luke Williams.
The former Notts County manager has picked up four points and one win from his opening seven games in charge which has left the Swans looking a little wobbly in 18th - four points above the drop zone.
If they’re searching for an omen, then look no further than their recent record on Wearside. They are undefeated in their last six visits to Sunderland.
Middlesbrough v Plymouth (15:00 BST)
Middlesbrough will be looking to build on last Saturday’s impressive away win over league leaders Leicester.
That win came off the back of a four-game winless run that has seen them drop off the pace of the play-off chasing pack.
Michael Carrick’s side have won one of their last seven home league games (D2 L4), a 1-0 win over West Brom in December. They are winless in four at the Riverside.
Plymouth who sit in 17th will be looking to end a run of poor form. It’s three defeats and a draw in their last four league outings losing their last two on the spin.
Only Rotherham have picked up fewer away points in the Championship this season than the Pilgrims (9 – W1 D6 L9). Their only away win came in Wales at Swansea, meaning their last away league win on English soil was at Port Vale back in May.
This is Plymouth’s first away league game against Middlesbrough since October 2009, when they won 1-0 with a goal from Jamie Mackie.
Ipswich v Birmingham (15:00 GMT)
Marc Webber
BBC Final Score
These two sides may have drawn their last three encounters, but they are currently serial winners when it comes to league form.
Ipswich Town are looking for win number four after their pulsating injury time midweek victory against Rotherham. Meanwhile, it could be win number three for the visiting Blues who are climbing away from the bottom half of the table.
They’ll be without manager Tony Mowbray who continues his hospital treatment. His assistant (and former Ipswich Town player) Mark Venus is in charge.
Cardiff v Stoke (15:00 GMT)
Owain Gwynedd Griffith
BBC Final Score
Blue skys above… but there’s a feeling of doom and gloom at Cardiff. Fans increasingly frustated and disappointed with results and performances.
No home goals in six and a half hours for the Bluebirds whilst the Potters average less than one a game. Everyone hoping that something clicks today… three points will be huge both sides.
QPR v Rotherham (15:00 GMT)
If ever there was a chance for Queens Park Rangers to escape the bottom three today may well be the day.
The third-bottom Hoops can climb out of the relegation places if they can better the result of Millwall, or if they win and Huddersfield fail to pick up three points.
An improved run of three wins and one defeat in their last six league matches has earned this tantalising prospect and today they host a side whose travel sickness seems no sign of abating.
The Millers have 13 games left to rescue their season, but having won just three of their previous 33 in the Championship, a great escape needs to begin sooner rather than later.
They start the day 10 points adrift at the bottom and a chasm-like 14 points from safety after five straight defeats and a run of one win in 21 league outings.
More startling is their away record. Rotherham have picked up four points from 16 away league trips this season and are winless on the road in 32 matches since glory at Bramall Lane on 8 November 2022.
But all runs have to end somewhere - and only a goal deep, deep, deep into stoppage-time at Portman Road denied them a point against promotion-chasing Ipswich last time out.
And Rangers’ home form hasn’t been the smartest this season - they have lost eight and won just three times in the league at Loftus Road.
Watford v Huddersfield (15:00 GMT)
Joshua Adu-Donkor
Final Score
New Huddersfield head coach Andre Breitenreiter takes charge for the first time today here at Vicarage Road.
His objective very clear - to stay in the Championship.
He is the third man in the dugout this season for the visitors and they are currently two points above the drop zone.
Watford ended their seven-game winless run last weekend. If they going to make a late push for the play-offs it has to start now.
Lots to play for here in Hertfordshire.
Ipswich v Birmingham (15:00 BST)
Third-placed Ipswich are going into this one with a world of confidence. Three wins in a row and now have the chance to go level on points with second-placed Leeds.
Kieran McKenna’s side kept their automatic promotion hopes alive last time out with a last-gasp 4-3 win over Rotherham on Tuesday.
Birmingham are also in good form going to Portman Road on the back of two wins against Blackburn and Sunderland respectively.
Blues will have interim boss Mark Venus taking charge for the first time when he fills in for Tony Mowbray who is stepping away from managerial duties for approximately six to eight weeks for medical reasons.
The last three league meetings between Ipswich Town and Birmingham City have ended as a draw, with the game earlier this season ending 2-2.
Southampton v Millwall (15:00 GMT)
A familiar face returned to the Millwall dugout this week, with former Lions player Neil Harris appointed as manager for the second time on Wednesday, shortly after Joe Edwards was sacked following only a handful of months in charge.
Millwall's slide down the table has been rapid over the winter and last Saturday's loss to fellow strugglers Sheffield Wednesday proved the final straw for the club hierarchy to make another managerial change this campaign.
Defeat by the Owls was Millwall's seventh in eight games and sees them precariously sit just a point above the relegation zone - and Harris faces a daunting challenge in his first game, with a trip away to promotion-chasers Southampton.
It's not been the best few weeks for Russell Martin's Saints, though, with defeat to Bristol City earlier this month ending their club record unbeaten run, before they lost again to Hull on Tuesday to fall two points behind third-placed Ipswich.
#bbcefl
We're going to turn our attention now to the rest of the Championship action this afternoon and what we've got coming up at 15:00 GMT.
FT: Hull 1-1 West Brom
Jean Michael Seri and Fabio Carvalho have been speaking to Sky Sports and were asked what they think Hull's chances are of reaching the play-offs.
Seri: "I'm taking it game-by-game and then we will see at the end of the season. I believe that we can do something special this year."
Carvalho: "I feel like we're getting better each day that we train together we're staring to know each other's patterns. With time, more games, we'll start to be more consistent."
FT: Hull 1-1 West Brom
The point apiece ensures both Hull and West Brom will end the weekend in the play-off places.
Norwich will be the main ones to watch this afternoon - a win for the Canaries at Blackburn would put them just a point behind the Tigers.