Good afternoon and welcome to Sports Mole's live text coverage of Saturday's football, including action from the FA Cup fifth round and the Championship.
Premier League strugglers West Bromwich Albion and Southampton face off for a place in the quarter-finals of the FA Cup in one of two 3pm kickoffs, with League Two Coventry City also looking to claim another top-flight scalp when they take on Brighton & Hove Albion.
There are also seven Championship matches taking place which could have significant impacts at both ends of the table, while European heavyweights Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern Munich are in action too.
Make sure you don't miss a moment of the drama courtesy of our minute-by-minute updates below.
It promises to be a big day in the FA Cup as teams do battle for a place in the quarter-finals, while in the Championship there could be major implications at both ends of the table this afternoon. The likes of Paris Saint-Germain, Bayern Munich and Barcelona are also in action, so we will be keeping you up to date with events from all over Europe.
First, though, let's check out the team news for the domestic 3pm kickoffs...
WEST BROM STARTING XI: Foster; Dawson, McAuley, Evans, Hegazi; McClean, Barry, Krychowiak, Phillips; Rondon, Rodriguez
Subs: Myhill, Nyom, Yacob, Brunt, Gabr, Burke, Field
SOUTHAMPTON STARTING XI: McCarthy; Cédric, Stephens, Hoedt, Bertrand; Lemina, Højbjerg, Ward-Prowse, Tadić, Redmond; Carrillo
Subs: Forster, Bednarek, Peid, McQueen, Sims, Romeu, Gabbiadini
BRIGHTON STARTING XI: Krul; Bruno, Goldson, Huenemeier, Suttner; Knockaert, Kayal, Stephens, March; Locadia, Ulloa
COVENTRY STARTING XI: Burge; Grimmer, Willis. Hyam, Haynes, Shipley, Kelly, Bayliss, Barrett, McNulty, Clarke-Harris
Subs: O'Brien, Kelly-Evans. McDonald, Stokes, Vincenti, Biamou, Ponticelli
BURTON STARTING XI: Bywater; Brayford, Allen, McFadzean, Bent, Akins, Dyer, Naylor, Davenport, Samuelsen, Akpan
Subs: Campbell, Murphy, McCrory, Buxton, Barker, Sbarra, Boyce
NOTTM FOREST STARTING XI: Pantilimon; Lichaj, Figueiredo, Fox, Cash, Tomlin, Brereton, Colback, Lolley, Darikwa, Watson
Subs: Kapino, Guedioura, Bridcutt, Murphy, Osborn, Dowell, Bouchalakis
CARDIFF STARTING XI: Etheridge; Ecuele Manga, Morrison, Bamba, Bennett, Paterson, Ralls, Grujic, Hoilett, Traore, Zohore
Subs: Murphy, Peltier, Pilkington, Halford, Mendez-Laing, Damour, Wildschut
MIDDLESBROUGH STARTING XI: Randolph; Shotton, Ayala, Gibson, Friend, Leadbitter, Besic, Howson, Downing, Traore, Gestede
Subs: Dimi, Clayton, Cranie, Fry, Harrison, Bamford, Assombalonga
FULHAM STARTING XI: Bettinelli; fredericks, Ream, Kalas, Targett; McDonald, Cairney, Johansen, Sessegnon, Ayite; Mitrovic
Subs: Button, Odoi, Christie, Norwood, Piazon, Kebano, Kamara
ASTON VILLA STARTING XI: Johnstone; Elmohamady, Chester, Terry, Hutton; Snodgrass, Jedinak, Hourihane, Tuanzebe, Bjarnason; Hogan
Subs: Bunn, Taylor, Whelan, Lansbury, Onomah, Davis, Grabban
PRESTON STARTING XI: Rudd; Browne, Johnson, Fisher, Welsh, Davies, Huntington, Barkhuizen, Earl, Robinson, Bodin
Subs: Maxwell, Woods, Spurr, Harrop, O'Reilly, Horgan, Moult
WOLVES STARTING XI: Ruddy; Bennett, Coady, Boly; Doherty, N'Diaye, Neves, Douglas; Costa, Jota, Cavaleiro
Subs: Norris, Batth, Afobe, Gibbs-White, Miranda, Saiss, Bonatini
QPR STARTING XI: Smithies; Onuoha, Robinson, Lynch, Wszolek, Luongo, Scowen, Freeman, Bidwell, Washington, Smith
Subs: Ingram, Furlong, Baptiste, Eze, Chair, Osayi-Samuel, Smyth
BOLTON STARTING XI: Alnwick; Little, Beevers, Vela, Ameobi, Robinson, Derik, Walker, Henry, Wheater, Burke
Subs: Howard, Taylor, Dervite, Karacan, Le Fondre, Morais, Clough
SUNDERLAND STARTING XI: Camp; Jones, Clarke-Salter, O'Shea, Browning; Cattermole, Robson, Honeyman, McGeady, Asoro; Fletcher
Subs: Steele, Maja, Williams, McManaman, Gooch, Kone, Matthews
BRENTFORD STARTING XI: Bentley; Bjelland, Jozefzoon, Maupay, McEachran, Watkins, Mokotjo, Egan, Sawyers, Clarke, Dalsgaard
Subs: Daniels, MacLeod, Woods, Marcondes, Judge, Barbet, Mapham
BIRMINGHAM STARTING XI: Stockdale; Jenkinson, Roberts, Dean, Colin, Gardner, Lowe, Kieftenbeld, Boga, Maghoma, Gallagher
Subs: Trueman, Morrison, Bramall, O'Keeffe, Jota, Adams, Jutkiewicz
MILLWALL STARTING XI: Archer; Meredith, Hutchinson, Williams, Gregory, Romeo, Wallace, Morison, Saville, Cooper, Marshall
Subs: Martin, McLaughlin, Tunnicliffe, Cahill, Onyedinma, Elliott, Shackell
The first FA Cup contest of the day has ended goalless and Championship side Sheffield Wednesday will be going to the Liberty Stadium for a replay! You can read a full match report of that contest by clicking here.
At least one Premier League team will crash out this afternoon, though, with West Brom and Southampton facing off in a match between two sides struggling at the wrong end of the table. Brighton are also in action and are looking to avoid an upset against Coventry.
The Baggies come into this match off the back of a tumultuous week which has seen their chairman and chief executive sacked and four senior players face disciplinary proceedings after breaking a curfew during a recent trip to Spain.
Evans and Barry - who were both involved in that incident - do start today, though, and for Alan Pardew it could be a good chance to take the negative attention away from the club. His own job is far from safe with the Baggies sitting bottom of the table and now seven points from safety, although they did beat Liverpool and Anfield in the last round.
The Saints also sit in the Premier League's relegation zone, but they are only one point from safety and have only lost one of their last seven games across all competitions - although that did come in rather weak fashion last weekend against Liverpool.
Mauricio Pellegrino is another manager whose job is under intense scrutiny, but leading Southampton a first quarter-final appearance in the FA Cup since 2004-05 could be enough to give him a bit more time to turn things around.
The biggest story of the day could come from the Amex Stadium as Coventry attempt to pull off another upset, which would create a slice of FA Cup history in the process.
The Sky Blues have already beaten Stoke in this season's competition, and victory this afternoon would see them become the first fourth-tier side in the competition's long and illustrious history to ever knock two top-flight teams out in the same season.
However, the League Two playoff hopefuls have lost all three games so far in February and have only one once on the road this calendar year.
Brighton will certainly go into this match as heavy favourites, then, particularly as they have experienced an upturn in form of late, going unbeaten in their last four games across all competitions and only losing twice since Boxing Day.
The Seagulls are looking to reach the quarter-finals of the FA Cup for the first time in 32 years, and their home record this season has been very impressive. They have only lost two of their last 14 outings here at the Amex across all competitions, and the only visiting teams to win here this season have been Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.
Fulham currently sit fifth in the table and seven points off the automatic promotion spots, whereas Villa are in that coveted second place and are looking to keep clear of Derby and Cardiff, who are currently just a point behind.
This match also pits two in-form teams against each other, with Fulham having won seven and lost none of their last nine league games while also stringing together a six-match winning streak at home. Villa, meanwhile, have won all seven of their games since Boxing Day including three in a row away from home without conceding.
The Bluebirds are unbeaten in their last five league games - which is a timely return to form following a four-match losing streak - but they have not won back-to-back league games since the beginning of December. Middlesbrough's on form has been very mixed of late, but they need to find some consistency if they are to stand any chance of closing the four-point gap to the playoffs.
Preston face the difficult challenge of leaders Wolves today, though, with the champions-elect having returned to form with a three-game winning streak following a minor blip of a draw followed by a defeat. Wolves boast the best away record in the division, whereas hosts Preston have actually been better on the road than they have in front of their own fans.
Bottom-of-the-table Burton Albion host Nottingham Forest looking to improve their torrid home form which has seen them incredibly lose 10 and win none of their last 11 Championship outings at the Pirelli Stadium, picking up just one point from a possible 33 in that time since September.
Burton are now four points from safety and take on a Forest side who have a seven-point cushion to the relegation zone despite winning just one of their last 10 league games. Indeed, they have failed to even score in seven of their last eight Championship outings.
Sunderland are three points from safety having won just one of their six league outings so far in 2018, although the most recent of those did see them come from three goals down in the final 20 minutes to earn a draw at Bristol City last weekend.
Only Burton have picked up fewer home points than Sunderland this season, although both of the Black Cats' Stadium of Light wins this season have come in their last five home games. Brentford for their part are eight points off the playoffs but winless in their last three.
Millwall are the visitors to St Andrew's this afternoon, with the Lions stuck around mid-table and unbeaten in their last five league games. Millwall had been winless in 21 consecutive away Championship games stretching back to February 2015 before their recent upturn in form, which has now seen them win two in a row.
The Trotters have only won one of their last five league games and have a truly dreadful away record going into their trip to Loftus Road, having won just one of their last 40 Championship outings on their travels - a run which stretches back to April 2015.
QPR, meanwhile, have lost three of their last four league games but are relatively safe sitting eight points clear of the bottom three and are generally a lot better in front of their own fans.
Meanwhile in Germany, Hamburg's own relegation fight has taken another blow as they have fallen behind against Champions League hopefuls Leverkusen.
Elsewhere in that flurry of activity Neal Maupay has doubled Brentford's lead against Sunderland with a cheeky back-heel goal, Luis Suarez has given Barcelona the lead and Cardiff have broken the deadlock against Middlesbrough through Sean Morrison's header just past the half-hour mark.
1 - Jürgen Locadia has scored on his Brighton debut, netting with his first shot on target for the Seagulls. Impact. — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 17, 2018
27 - Sunderland have conceded the most first half goals in the Championship this season (27). Catnap. pic.twitter.com/zMJN7NbllA — OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 17, 2018
Roma have indeed seen out their win over Udinese, meanwhile, which lifts them up to third in the Serie A table until at least this evening, when Inter Milan take on Genoa.
For the first time since 24 August 2013, a penalty for @FCBayern in the @Bundesliga_DE was saved (Alaba v Nürnberg). In between, they converted 27 of their 28 penalties with one penalty missed (wide) #WOBFCB #Bundesliga
— Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) February 17, 2018
There has also been a big goal in the Championship, where the prodigious Ryan Sessegnon has done it again to give Fulham the lead against Aston Villa.
PSG also responded very quickly to going behind against Strasbourg and are now level courtesy of a Draxler strike, while Preston have taken the lead against Championship leaders Wolves through Alan Browne's header.
Bayern Munich were also forced to come from behind to beat Wolfsburg, doing so courtesy of a stoppage-time penalty from Robert Lewandowski to earn a 2-1 victory and make it 13 wins on the bounce across all competitions. Freiburg and Leverkusen have also picked up wins in the Bundesliga today, while Koln and Hannover share the spoils.
7 - Ryan Sessegnon has scored seven league goals so far in 2018 - only Manchester City's Sergio Aguero (9) has netted more in England's top four tiers. Flourishing. pic.twitter.com/RX1f5dG6qe
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 17, 2018
Elsewhere, meanwhile, Millwall are on course to make it three away Championship wins in a row for the first time since April 2014 after Fred Onyedinma came off the bench to give them the lead against struggling Birmingham at St Andrew's.
1386 - Leonardo Ulloa has scored his first goal for Brighton since May 2014 against Nottingham Forest - 1386 days ago. Return. pic.twitter.com/vf97B0Qu7r
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) February 17, 2018
Birmingham 0-1 Millwall
Burton 0-0 Northampton
Cardiff 1-0 Middlesbrough
Fulham 2-0 Aston Villa
Preston 1-1 Aston Villa
QPR 2-0 Bolton
Sunderland 0-2 Brentford
Well, the headline news is that Fulham's impressive 2-0 win over fellow in-form side Aston Villa sends Villa down to third and out of the automatic promotion places, where they are replaced by Cardiff courtesy of the Bluebirds' win over Middlesbrough.
Wolves see their lead cut by a point having been held to a draw by Preston, who are now only two points off the playoff places in the second tier. Fulham, meanwhile, remain in fifth place.
Burton move level with Sunderland, who lost at home to Brentford this afternoon, while Bolton and Birmingham remain only two points clear of the relegation zone following defeats for both of them. Bolton do, however, move above Birmingham despite their loss by virtue of their superior goal difference.
AFC Wimbledon 3-1 Bristol Rovers
Doncaster 3-0 Fleetwood
Gillingham 0-0 Walsall
MK Dons 1-2 Charlton
Oxford United 0-1 Plymouth
Scunthorpe 2-2 Northampton
Shrewsbury 0-1 Rotherham
Southend 3-1 Portsmouth
Scunthorpe also fought back to earn a point against Northampton in their playoff bid, with the Cobblers climbing one point clear of the relegation zone and above Fleetwood, who fell to a 3-0 defeat to Doncaster. AFC Wimbledon, meanwhile, climb out of the bottom three courtesy of their late winner against Bristol Rovers.
Barnet 1-1 Accrington
Cambridge United 3-1 Grimsby
Carlisle 2-0 Chesterfield
Cheltenham 0-2 Wycombe
Crawley 3-1 Lincoln
Crewe 1-0 Colchester
Exeter 0-1 Mansfield
Morecambe 1-1 Forest Green
Newport 0-0 Notts County
Stevenage 4-1 Yeovil
Swindon 3-2 Port Vale
At the top, Wycombe moved into second place and within five points of leaders Luton with victory at Cheltenham, with Accrington losing ground in the title race as they were held by bottom-of-the-table Barnet. Notts County were the only other team in the top six not to win, but Lincoln and Exeter both fell to costly defeats which enabled ninth-placed Crawley to move to within two points of the playoffs.
Morecambe and Forest Green - the two teams directly above the relegation zone - played out a 1-1 draw to edge slightly further away, while Crewe picked up a valuable win over Colchester to climb up to 20th.
.@FCBarcelona remain unbeaten in 31 consecutive #LaLiga matches, equalling their club record from 2010-2011. Only Real Sociedad (38, 1979-1980) have set a longer unbeaten streak in La Liga #EibarBarça #FCBLive — Gracenote Live (@GracenoteLive) February 17, 2018
3rd round ⚽️
4th round ⚽️
5th round ⚽️
Romelu Lukaku starts and finishes the move to score his customary FA Cup goal.
📺BT Sport 2 HD pic.twitter.com/cnVDISnv7l — Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) February 17, 2018
Bayer Leverkusen are now their closest challengers following a 2-1 win over Hamburg, which sees them climb from fifth up to second. However, only two points separate second from sixth in a very tight race for a Champions League place.
Barney Corkhill
