Mattie Pollock heads the ball home from a corner and Watford think they're level but the linesman has his flag up and it won't count!

Marc Bola is adjudged to have been interfering with play on the goalkeeper and was stood in an offside position.

Neil Maddison
Former Middlesbrough midfielder on BBC Tees

Blackburn are really putting us under pressure especially at the back.

They're giving up space out wide and crowding the middle.

First big chance of the game for the Boro and it's for Morgan Whittaker.

He's a man in form and it needs a smark save from Aynsley Pears to deny him at close range in the box on his trusty left foot.

Norwich have been a side transformed at home since Philippe Clement's arrival and they threaten early through Kenny McLean.

Jovon Makama lays the ball off to McLean, whose volley is well kept out by diving Charlton keeper Thomas Kaminski.

Kim Hellberg has not been afraid to introduce players who were not in the picture under Rob Edwards and Micah Hamilton is the latest example.

The former Manchester City academy player is the only change to the Boro side that lost at Bristol City.

Well, how are Preston not in front?

The ball is worked well to the left and Thierry Small is one-on-one with Viktor Johansson but the Swedish keeper comes out well to smother the effort from only eight yards out!

The visitors have started this one on the front foot.

Ben Whiteman's free-kick from the left finds Jordan Storey but he is unable to find the contact he needs and the chance goes begging.

Positive stuff from the hosts as they work the ball well into the inside left channel in the box and Jack Rudoni sends over a dangerous low ball.

No takers in the middle, but is that a sign of things to come in this match?

First chance of the match goes to the visitors!

Stoke keeper Viktor Johansson punches the ball inadvertently straight to Harrison Armstrong but he fires his effort just over the bar!

With Ipswich only drawing, the top two in Coventry and Middlesbrough, can stretch further clear as they prepare to kick off.

Let's see how they fare, along with the seven other 3pm games.

Now the two early fixtures have finished, here's a quick rundown of what is to come from the 3pm games.

• Birmingham 1-1 Derby
• Millwall 0-0 Ipswich
• Coventry v Swansea
• Leicester v Watford
• Middlesbrough v Blackburn
• Norwich v Charlton
• Oxford v Southampton
• Portsmouth v QPR
• Sheff Wed v Hull
• Stoke v Preston
• West Brom v Bristol City
• Wrexham v Sheff Utd (17:30 GMT)

Image source, Shutterstock

It must have been a merry Christmas for anyone of a Coventry persuasion.

Six points clear at the top of the Championship, 11 points ahead of third, it has been a dream first half of the season for the Sky Blues.

Rewind 12 months to Boxing Day last year and it was possibly the first leap forward under Frank Lampard as Plymouth were swept aside 4-0.

They were 17th before kick-off that day and have whizzed up the league since then and three points today against Swansea would see them clock up a half century of points at the halfway point of the season.

The visitors from south Wales beat their rivals from the north, Wrexham, last time out in a statement result for the Swans.

It is three wins from four as they settle into life working for Portuguese Vitor Matos in a run that has opened up valuable breathing space above the drop zone.

If they can inflict a first home defeat on the runaway leaders, the rest of the division will sit up and take notice.

Image source, Shutterstock

A sold-out Riverside awaits Middlesbrough and their head coach Kim Hellberg as a combination of Boxing Day tradition and Boro's flying form bring the crowds flocking in.

The Swede described the prospect as "amazing" as he experiences festive football for the first time in charge of the team second in the Championship.

After four wins from four, his 100% record in charge was punctured by defeat at Bristol City, so the challenge is to show his side can respond, with Boro yet to lose consecutive games this season.

Beating Millwall provided some cheer for Blackburn after five matches without one, but they are still far from out of the woods in 20th place.

Any Rovers fans looking for a Christmas omen could take solace in the fact their last Boxing Day win on the road came at this very venue 20 years ago and a ground at which they have lost none of their past 10 league visits.

Nick Godwin
BBC Radio London sport reporter

The spoils are shared at The Den.

Millwall will look back and say they had the better chances but Ipswich had more of the ball, Ipswich only really had one good chance through Philogene.

Between these two sides, who both fancy themselves for promotion, neither of them had the luck or potentially the quality to win it.

And the answer is... nobody.

Millwall created some good chances in the first half, Ipswich threatened more in the second but rarely forced Max Crocombe into action.

So it's a point apiece and probably a fair reflection of the game overall.

Image source, Shutterstock

The news that former professional poker player James Bord has been named as the preferred bidder to take over Sheffield Wednesday offers some clarity after a horrendous few months.

We'll leave you to do the jokes about the odds of keeping Wednesday in the Championship, when they are 30 points from safety at halfway.

But a first home win of the season - and only a second since New Year's Day 2025 - wouldn't go amiss.

However, Hull City will be licking their lips at the chance to add three points to their unlikely promotion push.

The Tigers arrive in South Yorkshire in fourth on the back of three straight wins, looking for a fourth on the spin for the first time since November 2021.

Sergej Jakirovic and his boys for the Premier League, anyone? Stranger things have happened.

Time's running out... who can turn one point into three at The Den?