Arsenal 2-2 Hull

Aaron Ramsey made a surprise return from a hamstring injury on 63 minutes as Arsenal faced Hull for the first time since beating them in the FA Cup final. Unfortunately, Ramsey couldn’t produce another extra-time match-winner, but I don’t suppose anyone ever has in a league match. James Chester played in a back three for Hull.


Burnley 1-3 West Ham

James Collins returned from a groin injury, making his first start since the opening day of the season as West Ham got their third win in four league games.

David Jones was back in the starting line-up for Burnley following a thigh injury. Burnley continue to search for their first win of the season and have scored just four league goals. Sam Vokes’ return can’t come too soon.


Crystal Palace 1-2 Chelsea

Joe Ledley started for Palace, who probably did quite well only to lose 2-1 against high-flying Chelsea. Palace hadn’t conceded at home since their first match of the campaign, which is something I bet a lot of teams wish they could say.

Wayne Hennessey was on the bench for Palace.


Newcastle 1-0 Leicester

Paul Dummett recovered from the thigh injury that ruled him out of the Wales matches, but lasted just 72 torrid minutes before going off injured again – though on the positive side, Newcastle did get their first win of the season.

Andy King was an unused substitute for Leicester.


QPR 2-3 Liverpool

Joe Allen has been absent for Liverpool and Wales since suffering a knee injury at the beginning of September, but he finally made his return as a second-half substitute.

Although QPR did manage a not unimpressive two goals in eight minutes, Liverpool’s two goals in one ‘minute’ (the 90th), including a winner, did take the shine off a bit.


Stoke 2-1 Swansea

Ryan Shawcross says he wants to play for England, but England don’t want him, and this could be why. Shawcross conceded his seventh league penalty in this match - no player has conceded more since 2008-09.

Ashley Williams and Neil Taylor started for Swansea, who are winless in five. Liam Shephard was on the bench.


West Brom 2-2 Man Utd

Boaz Myhill made his first league appearance since December after West Brom’s first-choice managed to injure himself in training. West Brom had lost their last four matches with Myhill in the team, but he ended the run with a strong performance. West Brom have conceded their 501st goal in the Premier League – which must be significantly less than the number of goals conceded by their opponents.


Championship

Rotherham 2-1 Leeds

Craig Morgan played 90 minutes as Rotherham came from behind for their second league win over Yorkshire rivals Leeds since 1962. Of course, they can’t have spent very much time in the same division, but let’s not worry about little details like that.

Steve Morison was said to be pushing for a recall for Leeds, but was an 88th-minute substitute.


Cardiff 2-1 Nottingham Forest

David Vaughan was said to be back in contention following his latest hamstring and for once the reports were correct, with Vaughan making a substitute appearance early in the second half.

Danny Gabbidon and Declan John were unused substitutes as Cardiff ended Forest’s unbeaten start to the season in Russell Slade’s first match in charge.


Birmingham 0-1 Bolton

Craig Davies probably doesn’t like playing against Birmingham. At least, he can’t get too much enjoyment from taking penalties. They have an irritating habit of going over the top of the bar, and that was exactly what happened in this match. It’s a good thing Bolton still won, really.

David Cotterill had an early chance for Birmingham and went close with a free kick, but was substituted just before the hour mark. Neal Eardley has recovered from a knee injury, but was an unused substitute.


Bournemouth 1-0 Charlton

Rhoys Wiggins played in defence for Charlton against the club they signed him from. The result ended Charlton’s unbeaten start to the league season and gave Bournemouth a fourth win in their last five in all competitions.

Morgan Fox was an unused substitute for Charlton.


Fulham 1-0 Norwich

Fulham have conceded 22 goals this season – the most in the Championship.

Norwich have scored 21 goals this season – the most in the Championship.

So obviously, just one goal was scored and it went to the team who never scores. I do like football.

George Williams was on the bench for Fulham.


Huddersfield 4-2 Blackpool

There seems to be something about putting a Welshman in goal that makes struggling teams win matches and keep clean sheets. It worked for Carlisle for three matches and the same thing happened when Blackpool promoted Elliot Parish to the starting line-up for their previous match. I think you can tell from the scoreline that Parish was back on the bench again.

Joel Lynch passed well, but fell asleep just before Blackpool’s second goal, though this did not prevent Huddersfield from extending their unbeaten run to five matches..


Ipswich 1-1 Blackburn

Jonny Williams (ankle and calf) passed a late fitness test and went straight into Ipswich’s starting line-up.

Adam Henley made his second substitute appearance in three matches for Blackburn – only his third league appearance of the season.

The draw extends Ipswich’s unbeaten run to eight matches, while Blackburn are winless in five.


Millwall 3-3 Wolves

Dave Edwards’ flicked-on corner played a part in Wolves’ opening goal, which saw them take a 3-0 lead, only for the Lions to come from behind and bite them, which really does sound quite painful. Lee Evans also started for Wolves after recovering from the hamstring injury that ruled him out of Wales’ recent qualifiers. He was unable to get a late winner, but he did get a Millwall player sent off. Wolves manager Kenny Jackett faced Millwall for the first time since resigning before the start of last season.


Reading 0-3 Derby

Reading are winless in six in all competitions.

Derby have lost one of their fifteen games in all competitions this season.

Chris Gunter was described as being both ‘too small’ and ‘too weak’ to deal with Derby’s attackers, but you might say the same of a number of defences who have faced Derby this season – they’ve only lost once in all competitions this season.

Hal Robson-Kanu set up the first chance of the game with a cross, before getting in the way of Derby’s second goal, though unfortunately he didn’t manage to stop it from going into the net. Jake Taylor also started.


League One

Chesterfield 1-1 Oldham

James Wilson played 90 minutes for Oldham, who are now unbeaten in their last eleven matches.


Coventry 1-3 Bristol City

Aaron Phillips kept his place in Coventry’s starting line-up. The young defender has been described as one of Coventry’s most composed players this season. This probably isn’t a term you can use to describe every defender who has faced Bristol City, who remain unbeaten in the league.

Wes Burns was a very late substitute for Bristol City, despite scoring the winner in their previous game. Dave Richards was an unused substitute.


Fleetwood 3-1 Doncaster

Chris Maxwell played in goal for Fleetwood, who are unbeaten at home in the league this season. Their only home defeat came in the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy, and some fans might argue that doesn’t count.


Notts County 5-3 Crawley

Jordan Cranston returned to Notts County’s starting line-up and his vision was credited as the driving force behind their first goal.

Gwion Edwards returned from international duty and made it three goals in three games (and three for the season) when he scored Crawley’s opening goal. Like his first league goal, it came from outside the area. Joe Walsh also returned from international duty, but for once didn’t improve the defence – they only conceded four last time.


Peterborough 2-1 Barnsley

Lewin Nyatanga has been ever-present for Barnsley this season, but the result of this game suggests that changing your team might actually be a good idea. Peterborough were unchanged for the first time this season and are second in the table.

Barnsley’s Ryan Williams helped Peterborough to equalise with a misplaced pass.


Preston 2-0 Port Vale

Richard Duffy kept his place in defence for Port Vale, who have only one away victory this season. However, if you want to win away, you don’t really want to go to Preston, who have only lost once in the league this season, and it wasn’t on their home ground. This was Preston’s fifth in a row in all competitions.


Rochdale 1-1 Gillingham

Josh Pritchard kept his place in Gillingham’s starting line-up showed he’s not afraid to try for the spectacular. Unfortunately, his long-range shot was destined for the stands. This result leaves Gillingham winless in five, and they’ll have to bounce back without Aaron Morris, who’s out for a month with a hamstring injury.


Scunthorpe 1-1 Colchester

Sanchez Watt started for Colchester and was replaced on 71 minutes by Rhys Healey, who hasn’t started in the league since scoring his second goal for Colchester in his second start. I know Colchester fans aren’t used to that kind of behaviour from their players at the moment, but I really don’t think they mind too much. Elliott Hewitt made his Colchester debut after joining on loan from Ipswich.


Walsall 0-1 Crewe

Billy Waters was again on the bench for Crewe, but he created a chance through a corner just a minute after coming on. This was only half-cleared, and led to Crewe’s goal. George Ray played 90 minutes for Crewe and presumably made some contribution towards their first clean sheet in the league.

Tom Bradshaw (hamstring) was ‘touch and go’ for Walsall. He didn’t make it.


Yeovil 1-1 Swindon

Nathan Thompson got his third red card for Swindon in his last 13 appearances. This came as a result of two yellow cards. Louis Thompson copied his big brother when he also got a second yellow card, but luckily, it was his second of the season, rather than the match. Swindon’s run of three league wins ended, but they’re unbeaten in nine.


Bradford 0-2 Sheff Utd

Ben Davies was on the bench for Sheffield United. This was the first league game Sheff Utd had won since dropping him, so I’d really like to say he came off the bench and made all the difference, but unfortunately that would be a lie. He didn’t come off the bench at all.


League Two

Bury 3-0 Portsmouth

Nicky Adams set up the first two goals, one with a volley and one from long-range, as Bury returned emphatically to winning ways. Craig Jones also started, while Daniel Nardiello was a 68th-minute substitute.


Cheltenham 3-2 Northampton

Troy Brown returned to Cheltenham’s starting line-up as they ended a seven-match winless run. Daniel Alfei made his first start for Northampton since recovering from injury. Kaid Mohamed hit the post for Northampton after coming off the bench at half-time.


Dag & Red 0-1 Newport

James Loveridge kept his place in Newport’s starting line-up, as did Darren Jones and Andrew Hughes (though sadly, the two defenders couldn’t repeat their goalscoring heroics of the previous match). Mike Flynn was a second-half substitute, while Scott Tancock dropped to the bench. Regan Poole was absent after being called up for the under-17 squad, but Aaron Collins returned to the bench following injury.

Newport have lost one of their last ten league games.


Mansfield 0-0 Cambridge

Cambridge had scored eight goals in their past two matches, but they weren’t playing against any Welsh defenders

Mansfield had two on display, Lee Beevers and Kieron Freeman, and nothing got past them – or at least nothing that ended up in the net. As I said, I do like coincidences.  


Oxford Utd 2-0 Tranmere

Jason Koumas was keen for a positive response from his team-mates after a series of poor performances and a place at the bottom of the league saw manager Rob Edwards sacked. Koumas kept his place in Tranmere’s starting line-up, but was unable to inspire a win. Eliot Richards came off the bench, where, surprisingly, he’d had the company of Owain Fôn Williams, who lost his place following a ‘brilliant’ performance by his replacement, who let in just one goal in a home defeat to Plymouth.


Plymouth 1-0 Carlisle

Dan Hanford’s run of wins and clean sheets came to an end in his fourth match with Carlisle. It was always going to happen, but it was a good run that got them out of the bottom two.


Southend 1-1 Exeter

Christian Ribeiro was switched to right wing back, but the success of the move was debatable. Southend hadn’t got a point or scored a goal this month and had just passed 300 goalless minutes when Exeter allowed them to score.

Exeter got a deserved equaliser just over ten minutes from the end.

Arron Davies started for Exeter, but was replaced at half-time.


Wycombe 2-0 Wimbledon

Joe Jacobson played 90 minutes for Wycombe, who stayed top of League Two and are unbeaten in ten games, but they’re only ahead of Burton Albion on goal difference, with Luton and Bury one and two points behind respectively.


Scottish Premiership

Ross County 0-5 Celtic

Adam Matthews was on the bench after recovering from a calf injury suffered in August, and replaced an injured team-mate early in the second half.


Motherwell 1-3 Dundee

Kyle Letheren is on the BBC Sport squad list and apparently conceded a corner immediately prior to the goal, but he actually injured his knee in the warm-up and was replaced.


St Mirren 0-1 Inverness

Marley Watkins played 66 minutes for an Inverness side who went down to ten men early in the second half with the score still 0-0.


La Liga

Levante 0-5 Real Madrid

Gareth Bale was set to become the only Real player who’d started every match this season, but instead he was left on the bench due to injury.