Three matches in the EFL have been called off today with the weather conditions from Storm Bert causing problems as the Premier League returns following the international break. Liverpool is set to play Southampton on the south coast tomorrow.
Matches at Blackburn, Bradford and Fleetwood — all in the north of the country — have been postponed after pitch inspections. Blackburn vs Portsmouth and Fleetwood vs MK Dons were called off because of a waterlogged pitch while there was snow ahead of Bradford City vs Accrington Stanley.
Further down the English pyramid, the derby between Rochdale and Oldham Athletic in the National League was postponed on Saturday. Meanwhile, Halifax Town vs Sutton United was postponed on Friday because of a frozen pitch.
Liverpool travels to Southampton knowing that a victory would ensure there is at least a five-point gap between the Reds and Manchester City when they meet at Anfield next Sunday. Before that, of course, there is the visit of Real Madrid in the Champions League too.
But there is a yellow weather warning issued for the county of Hampshire (which means there could be “low level impacts, including some disruption to travel in a few places”). “South or southwesterly gales, locally severe gales are likely to affect many southern counties of England from Saturday afternoon until Sunday night,” the Met Office said.
“The strongest gusts will be along coasts with gusts 60-70 mph possible around exposed headlands, while elsewhere gusts of 50-60 mph are possible, even for some inland locations. The strong winds will start to ease across the southwest on Sunday morning but may take until evening before easing across the far southeast.”
