List of All Articles with Tag 'epsocmag'

Promotion places are still to be decided in the Football League as the ever-entertaining play-offs begin. Four teams in the Championship, League One and League Two will bid to finish the season strongly as they vie to be elevated to the next tier. Wembley will again host all three play-off finals across the late May bank holiday weekend. But to get to those showpiece dates, the 12 remaining clubs in contention for promotion will have to survive two-legged semi-finals that always seem to deliver drama. Here’s everything you need to know: When are the play-offs? The play-offs begin on 12 May with the first leg of the League One semi-finals, and conclude with the third tier’s final at Wembley on Monday 29 May. Who has qualified for the play-offs? In the Championship, the teams who finished third, fourth, fifth and sixth will compete for the final promotion place to the Premier League. They are: Luton, Middlesbrough, Coventry and Sunderland. In League One, it is the finishers in that same spread from third to sixth: Sheffield Wednesday, Barnsley, Bolton and Peterborough. League Two, meanwhile, awards an extra automatic promotion place, meaning the fourth to seventh-placed clubs progress to the play-offs: Stockport County, Carlisle United, Bradford City and Salford City are the quartet. How can I watch it? All of the play-off action will be live for viewers in the United Kingdom on Sky Sports. Subscribers can stream every game via the Sky Go app. If you’re not a Sky customer you can grab a NOWTV Day Pass here to watch without a subscription. Championship play-off schedule: Semi-final first legs: Saturday 13 May, 5.30pm BST: Sunderland vs Luton (Stadium of Light, Sunderland) Sunday 14 May, 12pm BST: Coventry vs Middlesbrough (Coventry Building Society Arena) Second legs: Tuesday 16 May, 8pm BST: Luton vs Sunderland (Kenilworth Road, Luton) Wednesday 17 May 8pm BST: Middlesbrough vs Coventry (Riverside Stadium, Middlesbrough) Final: Saturday 27 May, 4.45pm BST League One play-off schedule Semi-final first legs: Friday 12 May, 8pm BST: Peterborough vs Sheffield Wednesday (London Road, Peterborough) Saturday 13 May, 3pm BST: Bolton vs Barnsley (University of Bolton Stadium) Second legs: Thursday 18 May, 8pm BST: Sheffield Wednesday vs Peterborough (Hillsborough, Sheffield) Friday 19 May, 8pm BST: Barnsley vs Bolton (Oakwell, Barnsley) Final: Monday 29 May, 3pm BST League Two play-off schedule Semi-final first legs: Saturday 13 May, 7.45pm BST: Salford City vs Stockport County (Moor Lane, Salford) Sunday 14 May, 7pm BST: Bradford vs Carlisle (Valley Parade, Bradford) Second legs: Saturday 20 May, 12.30pm BST: Stockport County vs Salford City (Edgeley Park, Stockport) Saturday 20 May, 3pm BST: Carlisle United vs Bradford City (Brunton Park, Carlisle) Final: Sunday 28 May, 1.30pm BST Read More Vincent Kompany planning ‘smart’ recruitment for promoted Burnley EFL clubs agree record £935million broadcast deal with Sky Sports Milan derby creates thrilling sensory overload that shows how football should be On this day in 2013: Wigan celebrate FA Cup win with shock victory over Man City A closer look at this season’s play-off contenders as promotion battle resumes Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney join jubilant fans as Wrexham enjoy promotion party

LONDON (Reuters) -Willian and Tom Cairney both scored twice to help Fulham beat Leicester City 5-3 at home on Monday,

Follow live coverage as Fulham face Leicester in the Premier League today. Relegation-battling Leicester made two changes for the trip to Fulham. Dean Smith brought in Victor Kristiansen for Luke Thomas and Dennis Praet for Wilfred Ndidi as the Foxes looked to move three points clear of danger. Harrison Reed and Kenny Tete came back into Fulham's starting line-up as Cedric Soares and Sasa Lukic dropped to the bench. We will bring you all the action and updates from today's game in the live blog below: Read More Premier League top-four race: Remaining fixtures and how each club can qualify for the Champions League Six clubs, only three survive: Who can escape the great Premier League relegation fight?

Sir Jim Ratcliffe has had more extensive contact with Raine Group over the past two weeks than Qatar, creating a positivity within the INEOS bid that they can be the next owners of Manchester United, although it has not yet been communicated who the preferred bidder is. That does leave the way open for a huge Qatar offer that many have long been waiting for, but it would have to be a significant increase on their third-round bid of under £5bn. They would also have to be quick, as it is now expected that an announcement on preferred bidder could come next week. While the nature of this process ultimately comes down to the numbers, there was irritation on the selling side at some of the briefing around the third Sheikh Jassim-led bid, given it was considerably lower than had been anticipated. The Independent has also been told that the Glazers have been giving consideration to the fact any Qatar offer could take six to nine months longer, due to the likelihood that the assessment by the Owners and Directors test would be far longer. The bid comes as the Premier League have sought to tighten regulations on state-linked owners, amid increasing pressure over the subject. The Glazers are also conscious of the fact that, if that happens, and the Qatar deal were to falter, Ratcliffe would be unlikely to come in on a point of principle. As the INEOS group have long pointed out, their offer can lead to a cleaner process. Ratcliffe's group are “optimistic” that, if the takeover process continues smoothly, they would at least have an agreement to buy the club by the summer transfer window. That could leave Erik ten Hag frustrated as regards transfers for next season, given the club would be restricted in what it could do, but with the offset that the future would be much clearer thereafter. Either way, the Glazers' bankers are currently willing to discuss final details with Ratcliffe. The only development that could currently change that is if Qatar come back in with a huge offer, and there is insistence from within the Gulf state they are still in the race. At the same time, discussions with Raine have been minimal, with one source even stating that it was as close as you can get to being “ghosted” in such processes. The prospective takeover of United has been discussed at the top levels of the state, but a number of political issues have complicated the planned purchase, not least the willingness to not be seen to just pay whatever it takes. From the start, Qatar have been insistent they will only buy for the right price. It remains to be seen whether that valuation changes as the possibility of failure looms. Read More What would a Sir Jim Ratcliffe takeover mean for Manchester United Erik ten Hag unsure what funds will be available to strengthen Man Utd’s squad Man Utd fans stage protest against Glazers before and during Aston Villa match