Premier League buildup, Champions League draw reaction, and more – matchday live
Key events
About last night: It was a tale of two Gomes’s in Wolverhampton last night as Aston Villa’s blip in form became a dip in form, suffering the ignominy of becoming just the second Premier League team to lose to Wolves this season. Joao Gomes and Rodrigo Gomes were on target in the second half to breeze Wolves past that infamous Derby County points total of 2008. Villa have now firmly been dragged into the battle for Champions League qualification with Manchester United, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Unai Emery was in phlegmatic mood after the defeat, though.
He said: “In September I was worried and the objective was to stay in the Premier League. In December I was so happy and excited to get the top-five position and achieve the Champions League.
“One month ago I was dreaming about maybe winning the Premier League. Now we are in the average to be in the top five.
“Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, they are trying to get to us, for them it is a priority to get into the Champions League.”
Preamble
Good morning and welcome to matchday live, The Guardian’s one-stop-shop for all things weekend football buildup. As well as encouraging your emails and comments – get in touch to let us know how you’re following the football this fine February Saturday – we’ll be spinning through all the headlines and previews, as well as fallout from last night’s action.
There are five Premier League games today, starting with Bournemouth v Sunderland at 12.30pm (all times GMT). Those Black Cats fans will be well on their way down the country to the Vitality Stadium by now. Leeds v Manchester City at 5.30pm looks particularly appealing. And there’s a whole host of games in the EFL and further afield with plenty of promotion and relegation permutations as the season (and the weather, maybe?) begins to heat up.
Let’s get stuck into it all, shall we? Grab yourself a coffee and stay tuned.
