Football Tracker: Chelsea hosting Villa in huge clash as AFCON continues

Updated
Wirtz celebrates opening the scoring
Wirtz celebrates opening the scoringCARL RECINE / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP

As the final mince pies get eaten, the Premier League, Serie A and AFCON provide the festivities this weekend. Follow all of it with our Football Tracker this weekend.

Follow the Premier League LIVE here

13:00 CET - Neither Senegal nor D.R. Congo were able to find a winner, leaving them both on four points from two games and well-placed to move into the knockout stages of AFCON.

Senegal vs D.R. Congo match stats
Senegal vs D.R. Congo match statsFlashscore

12:54 CET - Arsenal and Liverpool have both survived second-half scares, holding on to 2-1 leads to pick up three points.

Arsenal vs Brighton momentum
Arsenal vs Brighton momentumOpta by StatsPerform
Liverpool vs Wolves momentum
Liverpool vs Wolves momentumOpta by StatsPerform

Elsewhere in England, Fulham have claimed a narrow 1-0 win away to West Ham, while Everton have been held to a goalless draw by Burnley and Bournemouth have been thrashed 4-1 by Brentford.

12:31 CET - It's all square in Morocco, with star man Sadio Mane drawing Senegal level.

12:26 CET - Brighton strike back! They've halved the deficit in North London through an effort from Diego Gomez.

12:19 CET - D.R. Congo take the lead at AFCON! They've gone ahead against Senegal through a goal from Cedric Bakambu on the hour mark.

12:13 CET - Is this the start of a shock comeback? Wolves have pulled one back at Anfield through Santiago Bueno five minutes into the second half.

At the Emirates meanwhile, Arsenal have doubled their lead through an own goal from Georginio Rutter.

16:58 CET - Both afternoon Serie A games have concluded, and it remained 3-0 to Como at Lecce whilst Cagliari came from behind to win at Torino

Match stats
Match statsStatsPerform via Opta
Match stats
Match statsStatsPeform via Opta

16:55 CET - Over to AFCON and it remains goalless at half-time between Senegal and D.R. Congo

Match stats
Match statsFlashscore

16:52 CET - It is half-time across the Premier League grounds and it is going to plan so far for the league leaders as Arsenal remain 1-0 ahead at the break. 

Check out all the half-time scores below: 

Premier League scores
Premier League scoresFlashscore

16:43 CET - Liverpool have scored two in two minutes in an inspired end to the first half at Anfield! Florian Wirtz has come into a bit of form of late and the creative midfielder opened the scoring before Ryan Gravenberch doubled their lead a minute later.

Wirtz goal sequence
Wirtz goal sequencePhoto by CARL RECINE / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / GETTY IMAGES VIA AFP / StatsPerform via Opta

16:40 CET - It goes from bad to worse for Bournemouth as a Djordje Petrovic own goal sees Brentford go 2-0 ahead and in control of that clash.

16:33 CET - Como 1907 have doubled their lead in Serie A through young defender Jacob Ramon as they close in on victory.

And just moments ago striker Anastasios Douvikas has just made it 3-0 to put the cherry on the cake of a big away win.

16:22 CET - The first goals of the 16:00 CET kick-offs have gone to the league leaders Arsenal and Brentford. The Gunners took the lead through Bukayo Saka after being set up by Martin Odegaard in what is the dream start for Mikel Arteta's side.

Odegaard goal goal sequence
Odegaard goal goal sequenceAlex Pantling / GETTY IMAGES EUROPE / Getty Images via AFP

Brentford, meanwhile, have taken a shock lead against Bournemouth through Kevin Schade.

15:55 CET - It is half-time in Serie A and the man of the moment, Nico Paz, has fired Como ahead at Lecce to give them a 1-0 lead at the break.

Match stats
Match statsStatsPerform via Opta

Follow the second half of that clash here.

In the other game in Italy, it is 1-1 between Torino and Cagliari at the break.

16:30 CET - Over in Morocco and that first-half goal by Yohan Roche was the difference as Benin got off the board at AFCON with a hard-fought 1-0 win against Botswana

Match stats
Match statsFlashscore

15:25 CET - Rayan Cherki's brilliant late strike from the edge of the box was the difference as Manchester City squeezed past a valiant Nottingham Forest at the City Ground for a hugely valuable three points in the Premier League title race. 

Match stats
Match statsStatsPerform via Opta

15:20 CET - There is also a 16:00 CET kick-off at AFCON as Senegal take on D.R. Congo with a place in the knockout stages looming for the winner.

Check out the lineups for that clash below:

Starting lineups
Starting lineupsFlashscore

14:50 CET - Team news is in for the four 16:00 CET games in the Premier League this afternoon. 

The big team news from the Emirates as Arsenal host Brighton is that Eberechi Eze drops to the bench after an underwhelming run of games and is replaced in the starting lineup by Leandro Trossard.

Starting lineups
Starting lineupsFlashscore

In the other big game this afternoon in the Premier League, Liverpool host Premier League strugglers Wolves as Arne Slot hands a rare start to Federico Chiesa with Mohamed Salah off at AFCON.

Check out the team news below:

Liverpool vs Wolves starting lineups
Liverpool vs Wolves starting lineupsFlashscore

The two other 16:00 CET kick-offs see Brentford host Bournemouth and Everton travel to Burnley.

You can check out the team news for those games below:

Brentford vs Bournemouth starting lineups
Brentford vs Bournemouth starting lineupsFlashscore
Starting lineups
Starting lineupsFlashscore

14:43 CET - Two goals at the start of the second half at the City Ground have brought the game to life! First, the visitors took the lead after Tijjani Reijnders neatly finished off a smart Rayan Cherki slide-through pass inside the box before a blistering counter from Forest ended in a goal for Omari Hutchinson as the home side found themselves level minutes later.

Hutchinson goal sequence
Hutchinson goal sequenceBen STANSALL / AFP / StatsPerform via Opta

14:32 CET - The early kick-off in Serie A has reached its conclusion, and Parma walk away with all three points against Fiorentina to move the home side five points clear of the relegation zone as things stand. Fiorentina, meanwhile, remain rock bottom with a defeat on the road as their domestic woes continue.

Match stats
Match statsStatsPerform via Opta

14:23 CET - The goal just before the break remains the difference at AFCON as Benin lead Botswana 1-0. 

Follow the second period here.

14:20 CET - We are still awaiting our first goal in the early Premier League kick-off as it remains 0-0 at the City Ground at half-time.

Sean Dyche will be happy with how his side are faring at the break, though. The hosts have been on top so far and have created a few good chances whilst preventing City from getting into their usual attacking rhythm. 

Match stats
Match statsStatsPerform via Opta

14:10 CET - The first goal of the day in AFCON comes from Benin and defender Yohan Roche, in what could prove to be a critical goal in their AFCON campaign. 

13:55 CET - There are two Serie A clashes to look forward to at 15:00 CET as Lecce host high-flying Como and Torino take on Cagliari.

Check out the team news for those clashes when they come in during the next few minutes. 

13:40 CET - The first goal of the weekend has come from Parma and Danish midfielder Oliver Sorensen as Fiorentina's Serie A nightmare continues.

13:30 CET - Play is underway at the City Ground as the festive football chaos begins to heat up...

13:20 CET - It is half-time in the first game of the weekend and in typical Serie A style, it remains 0-0 at the break between strugglers Parma and Fiorentina.

Follow the second period here.

Match stats
Match statsStatsPerform via Opta

12:35 CET - Team news is also in from the first of three games at the AFCON today as Benin take on Botswana in a clash between two countries who lost their opening group games. 

Check out the team news for that clash below: 

Starting lineups
Starting lineupsFlashscore

12:20 CET - It is team news time in the Premier League as Nottingham Forest host Manchester City from 13:30 CET.

Pep Guardiola has found a front three he trusts in the last few weeks, and it is the same trio of Rayan Cherki, Phil Foden and Erling Haaland from the start again today:

Starting lineups
Starting lineupsFlashscore

11:30 CET - Good morning and welcome to a festive edition of Flashscore's Football Tracker. Despite some of Europe's biggest leagues having a break over the Christmas period, there is still plenty of action for us to get our teeth into.

Today, all of the Premier League's top contenders are playing. Arsenal face a tough home match against Brighton & Hove Albion, whilst their closest rivals in the standings, Manchester City, kick off the Premier League action with a trip to Nottingham Forest - a happy hunting ground for them in recent years.

The Premier League fixtures this weekend
The Premier League fixtures this weekendFlashscore

Meanwhile, it's shaping up to be a big week for Aston Villa. In the title fight up to this point, they face a real test of their credentials in their next three games. This evening, from 18:30 CET, they take on Chelsea at Villa Park.

Premier League: Chelsea - Aston Villa (video preview)
Flashscore

At AFCON, the games come thick and fast this afternoon, as they have throughout the group stages. Two of the tournament's main threats take to the field for the second time as Nigeria and Senegal look to secure passage into the knockouts today.

Elsewhere, Serie A opens up with a relegation six-pointer as Parma host Fiorentina from 12:30 CET.

Fiorentina finally broke their league duck last week with a commanding win over 10-man Udinese. They are still rooted to the bottom of the table, but another victory today would see them move to within two points of their opponents this afternoon.

Parma - Fiorentina lineups
Parma - Fiorentina lineupsFlashscore

Also in action today are Juventus, Como and Lazio.

Follow the Serie A action with us right here.