GOALFLASHES AND MAJOR INCIDENTS (all times GMT)
606: DEBATE
Your thoughts on the action
To get involved use 606 or text us your views & comments on 81111. (Not all contributions can be used)
By Chris Bevan
a_rage on Twitter:](http://twitter.com/a_rage)“As Avrant Grant isn’t appointed as Portsmouth boss until Tuesday, can the board change their mind if Man Utd thrash them Going for a 4-1 win to United by the way.”**1431: TEAMS Wigan v Sunderland **
Wigan: Kirkland, Melchiot, Bramble, Boyce, Figueroa, N’Zogbia, Thomas, Scharner, Diame, Rodallega, Scotland. Subs: Pollitt, Amaya, Cho, Koumas, Gomez, Sinclair, McCarthy.
Sunderland: Fulop, Bardsley, Da Silva, Turner, McCartney, Malbranque, Henderson, Cana, Richardson, Reid, Bent. Subs: Carson, Nosworthy, Ferdinand, Mensah, Campbell, Healy, Zenden.
Referee: Martin Atkinson (W Yorkshire)From Mike in Bristol, via text on 81111: “To top last years team talk I think Hull boss Phil Brown should group all his players in a goal at half-time and shout at them from the penalty spot. That I would pay to see.”
1429: TEAM NEWS Man City v Hull
Robinho makes his first start for Manchester City in three months following his recovery from an ankle injury as one of three changes to the side that drew with Liverpool last time out. Gareth Barry misses out entirely, while Craig Bellamy drops to the bench, with Carlos Tevez and Micah Richards recalled to the starting XI. Hull City make just the one change to the side that beat Everton in midweek, the rested Jimmy Bullard starting in place of George Boateng.1426: TEAMS Portsmouth v Man Utd
Portsmouth: Begovic, Ben-Haim, Kaboul, Wilson, Hreidarsson, Piquionne, Yebda, Boateng, Brown, O’Hara, Dindane. Subs: Ashdown, Utaka, Vanden Borre, Smith, Hughes, Kanu, Belhadj.
Man Utd: Kuszczak, Neville, Brown, Vidic, Evra, Fletcher, Carrick, Scholes, Giggs, Valencia, Rooney. Subs: Foster, Owen, Anderson, Berbatov, Park, Nani, De Laet.
Referee: Mike Dean (Wirral)1425: Manchester City manager Mark Hughes on the return of Robinho against Hull after three months out with an ankle injury: “Robinho is an outstanding player. If anyone is out for a long period sometimes you can forget how accomplished they are. Having worked with him this week and seen him back in the group, we can see the qualities that he can bring to the side. We are delighted that he is back and fit and well because he will have a real influence for us this year I am sure.”
1424: TEAM NEWS: West Ham v Burnley
West Ham make three changes with Jonathan Spector, Herita Ilunga and Radoslav Kovac coming in for Matthew Upson, Julien Faubert and Valon Behrami. Burnley are unchanged for a fifth-successive week.1423: TEAMS Man City v Hull
Man City: Given, Richards, Toure, Lescott, Bridge, De Jong, Ireland, Wright-Phillips, Tevez, Robinho, Adebayor. Subs: Taylor, Onuoha, Johnson, Santa Cruz, Kompany, Bellamy, Weiss.
Hull: Duke, McShane, Gardner, Zayatte, Dawson, Bullard, Marney, Garcia, Geovanni, Hunt, Altidore. Subs: Myhill, Barmby, Kilbane, Mouyokolo, Boateng, Ghilas, Vennegoor of Hesselink.
**Referee: **Lee Probert (Wiltshire)1421: Hull’s assistant manager Brian Horton on Phil Brown’s infamous half-time team-talk at Eastlands last season, after the Tigers had conceded four first-half goals: “It will probably stay in the history of football what he did. But is that a bad thing It’s a good thing. We just felt they (the players) had let us down.”
1420: TEAMS West Ham v Burnley
West Ham: Green, Spector, Da Costa, Gabbidon, Ilunga, Collison, Kovac, Parker, Stanislas, Cole, Franco. Subs: Kurucz, Noble, Jimenez, Faubert, Nouble, Tomkins, Hines.
Burnley: Jensen, Mears, Carlisle, Caldwell, Jordan, Eagles, Alexander, Bikey, Blake, Elliott, Steven Fletcher. Subs: Penny, Kalvenes, Duff, McDonald, Gudjonsson, Nugent, Thompson.
**Referee: **Chris Foy (Merseyside)From Daz ‘I’m very cold indeed’, in Gloucester, via text on 81111: “Maybe Fergie will resort to the lastest technology to keep in touch with his right-hand man… Twitter.”
1416: Thanks to everyone who has pointed out that Tottenham are fourth and Aston Villa are fifth. Not the other way round, which I wrote earlier (now changed). Apologies for that - but, in my defence, I might be right later… if Villa win 4-0.From Lads_FC on 606:](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A60111451)“Pompey will surprise everyone if they manage to simply limit the scoring to two or three nil I’m afraid.”
1412: Sir Alex Ferguson on the problems he will face trying to stay in touch with coaches Mike Phelan and Rene Meulensteen from the stands at Fratton Park: “All the lines of communication are in place but the problem you have got is that Fratton Park is such a noisy place. The directors’ box is towards the home end where all the noise comes from. It is a good racket for sure. It is a terrific football stadium.”
From Pete the peeved Blackburn Rovers fan, via text on 81111: “Please please please if Neil McDonald reads this change the team from the Fulham match… We were dire, Fulham were rubbish and still hammered us. Time to change.”
1410: I’m going to need you lot to get involved too, obviously. So, whether you are up for the Cup or down with the kids,drop me a Tweet on Twitter,](http://twitter.com/chrisbevan_bbc)text me via 81111, or join the chat on606.](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A60111451)Go on, I know you want to.From tomgriff22 on 606:](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A60111451)“Is this the biggest weekend of football this season So many cracking games and two of the best derby games in the world. I reckon that two or three managers could be in the job office by Monday morning…”
1405: Then there is the FA Cup, with today’s winners (and, er, drawers) going in the hat with the big-boys in Sunday’s third-round draw. Two ties are already under way, with Northwich - who beat Charlton last time out - trailing 3-1 at home to Lincoln and Staines drawing 0-0 with Millwall. Still a chance of a massive shock there then… By the way, we’ve got a job lot of commentaries on today’s Cup gamesto choose from right here.
1402: But before that, we’ve got the return of Phil Brown to Eastlands - I’m pretty sure he won’t give his half-time team-talk on the pitch this time, after what happened to Hull last season - while Blackburn face Stoke, Fulham host struggling Bolton, West Ham play Burnley and Wigan play Sunderland.
1400: Elsewhere in the top flight, fifth-placed Aston Villa host fourth-placed Tottenham in today’s late game (1730 GMT) - I don’t think we can expect an eight-goal winning margin from Tottenham in that one, although I could be wrong.
1358: Back to today, where a win for United would see them close the gap on leaders Chelsea to two points. They must do so without boss Sir Alex Ferguson in the dug-out, though,because he starts his two-game touchline ban for his comments about referee Alan Wiley’s fitness.
BBC Sport’s Jonathan Stevenson, Tweeting from Barcelona:](http://twitter.com/Stevo_football)“Barcelona is officially buzzing. I won’t even mention that it’s a scorchio 24 degrees. I don’t think I can wait another 30-odd hours.”
1353: We’ll be bringing you live text commentary of the Barca-Real game by the way, which should be an absolute cracker. If you’re not sure of the significance of the clash of Spain’s fiercest rivals, then I recommend you take a look atStevo’s superb interview with Michael Laudrupor listen toGary Lineker talking about his experiences of playing in the game during his stint at Camp Nou.
Stevo’s in Barcelona too, so you won’t miss any of the build-up.
From Niko_Kranjcar on 606:](http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/606/A60111451)“Pompey to surprise Man Utd today, you have my word!”
1351: Oh, and don’t go re-arranging anything for tomorrow either. Sunday is arguably bigger and better but definitely just as busy. Don’t believe me How does three Premier League derbies sound (Wolves v Birmingham, Everton v Liverpool, Arsenal v Chelsea)… topped off by El Clasico (Barcelona v Real Madrid) If I were you, I wouldn’t leave the house.
1348: There’s plenty else going on today though of course. Try six other top-flight games and the second round of the FA Cup for starters, as well as a full programme in the Championship. That little lot should keep us busy for the next six hours or so, so if you were silly enough to make alternative plans for this afternoon, now is a good time to cancel them.
1346 GMT: Afternoon folks. Is it really 556 days since Avram Grant last took charge of a Premier League team It is you know. In case you’ve forgotten, the opponents wereManchester United and the occasion was the Champions League final in Moscow.
Hopefully you don’t need me to remind you what happened (Chelsea lost on penalties and Grant was sacked) but guess what Grant’s back. The Israeli is still officially Portsmouth’s director of football but has taken the reins of Pompey’s first team after thedeparture of Paul Hart on Tuesday.and is set to beappointed the club’s next manager.Today’s opponents Yep, it’s United. Should be tasty, that one.