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Saturday Football: Forest v Leeds, Everton v Palace and More

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Listen to the story

A busy Saturday of English football took place, with several important matches happening at the same time.

One of the main games was Nottingham Forest against Leeds. Both clubs are competing in English football this season.

At the same time, Everton faced Crystal Palace in another closely watched match.

There were also matches in the Championship, which is the second-highest league in English football, below the Premier League.

The Guardian newspaper followed all of these games through a live blog. This type of report is sometimes called a clockwatch, because writers give updates throughout the afternoon.

Readers could follow live scores as the matches happened. This let fans everywhere know instantly what was going on, even if they could not watch the games themselves.

The Guardian also offers a daily football newsletter called Football Daily, which gives fans a summary of the biggest stories in the sport.

Saturdays are usually the busiest day for English football, since many fixtures from different leagues are played on the same afternoon.

This makes it an exciting time for supporters, who often follow several matches at once through websites, apps, or television.

Vocabulary10 words

Championship
the second level of English football, just below the top league
clockwatch
a report that follows many games minute by minute
live scores
scores that update while a game is happening
newsletter
an email sent regularly with news updates
fixtures
matches that are planned to be played
live blog
a webpage updated continuously during an event
supporters
people who follow and cheer for a team
league
a competition where teams play against each other
season
the period of months when a sport's matches are played
closely watched
followed with a lot of attention

Quiz

1. Which match is mentioned alongside Nottingham Forest v Leeds?
2. What is the Championship?
3. What does 'clockwatch' refer to in this context?

Fill-in-the-blank listening

Play the audio again and fill in the missing words as you listen.

A busy Saturday of English football took place, with several important _____ happening at the same time.

One of the main games was Nottingham Forest against _____. Both clubs are competing in English football this season.

At the same time, Everton faced Crystal _____ in another closely watched match.

There were also matches in the _____, which is the second-highest league in English football, below the Premier League.

The Guardian newspaper followed all of these games through a _____.

Readers could follow _____ as the matches happened, letting fans know instantly what was going on.

The Guardian also offers a daily football _____ called Football Daily.

Saturdays are usually the busiest day for English football, since many _____ from different leagues are played on the same afternoon.

This makes it an exciting time for _____, who often follow several matches at once.

Discussion questions

  1. Why do you think Saturday is such a popular day for football matches?
  2. Do you prefer watching a match live or following a live text blog? Why?
  3. How has the internet changed the way fans follow sports?
  4. What do you think makes a match 'closely watched' or exciting for fans?

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