In the English Premier League, Chris Herd played a full game in defence in Aston Villa’s dour 0-0 draw against Stoke City. Herd was again employed in a three-man central defensive unit and was solid albeit against a Stoke side that produced very little attacking quality. Villa boss Paul Lambert reserved some special praise for Herd after the game, saying: “Chris was excellent last week and this week I thought he was excellent again.” Brett Holman started and played 66 minutes in the clash but was well held by the Stoke defence.

Adam Federici played a full game in goal in Reading’s 1-0 loss to fellow relegation candidates Southampton. Despite the result, Federici had a decent game between the sticks, denying Rickie Lambert’s curling shot at full stretch in the first half before making a fine low block from Guilherme do Prado’s strike late in the contest.

Elsewhere, Brad Jones was an unused substitute as Liverpool came from 2-1 down to beat West Ham United 3-2.

In the English Championship, Scott McDonald played the full 90 minutes and provided an assist as Middlesbrough returned to the winners list with a 3-2 triumph over struggling Peterborough. McDonald set up the game’s opener on 9 minutes, feeding Faris Haroun who slotted home from 12 yards. McDonald did have a chance to double Boro’s lead but his shot didn’t have the power to beat Peterborough ‘keeper Robert Olejnik following Stuart Paranby’s cross. Rhys Williams missed the clash through injury.

Shane Lowry played 90 minutes as Millwall crashed back down to earth with a 3-0 loss to lowly Ipswich Town. Lowry conceded a penalty in the second half after being adjudged to have handled the ball inside the penalty area. The spot kick was duly dispatched by DJ Campbell, which proved to be the final goal of the match.

Mile Jedinak put in a full shift as Crystal Palace lost top spot following a 2-2 draw with Blackpool, while Neil Kilkenny was an unused substitute as Bristol City scored twice late to seal a vital 3-2 win over Sheffield Wednesday.

Patrick Kisnorbo was again absent from the match-day squad as Leeds United lost 3-1 to Derby County.

In the English League One, Bradden Inman scored on debut for Crewe Alexandra in their 3-1 win over Preston North End. Inman, on loan from Newcastle United, also provided the assist for Luke Murphy’s opener, as Inman’s perfectly weighted ball was latched onto and finished by the Crewe skipper. After going close earlier, Inman then got his name on the scoresheet after Murphy returned the favour, slipping Inman through who finished well in off the post. Shane Cansdell-Sherriff played a full game for Preston and picked up a second half booking, while Bailey Wright was absent from the match-day squad.

Elsewhere, Alex Cisak kept a clean sheet for Oldham Athletic in their 2-0 win over Colchester United. James Wesolowski also played a full game for Oldham and missed a golden chance to score in the first half, shooting wide from inside the area after a cutback from Christian Montano. Liam Jacob was an unused substitute for Oldham, while Dean Bouzanis was absent through suspension.

In League Two, James Meredith played a full game in Bradford City’s 1-0 win over Aaron Downes’s Torquay United. Meredith was involved in controversy in the first half as Torquay captain Brian Saah appearing to strike Meredith off the ball, with the skipper eventually receiving a red card. Curtis Good was absent from Bradford following the player registration scandal which saw Bradford kicked out of the FA Cup after Good was a deemed an ineligible player in the clash against Brentford. Downes played the full 90 minutes for Torquay in the clash.

In the Scottish Premier League, Ryan McGowan played the full 90 minutes as Hearts beat Aberdeen 2-0. McGowan won a penalty in the first half after being brought down by Josh Magennis, the spot kick was duly converted by Ryan Stevenson. Brother Dylan McGowan missed the clash with a hip problem.

Elsewhere, Alex Baird was an unused substitute as Dundee FC lost 3-0 at home to rivals to Dundee United.

In the Scottish Third Division, Francesco Stella was absent from the Rangers match-day squad as the Glasgow side beat Stirling Albion 2-0.

In the Dutch Eredivisie, Adam Sarota put in a full shift in midfield as FC Utrecht drew 1-1 with Heracles. Tommy Oar played 77 minutes in the clash and went close to scoring early in the second half as his powerful long range drive just missed the target. Oar was replaced by fellow Aussie Michael Zullo who also went close to scoring, drawing a decent stop from Heracles ‘keeper Remko Pasveer after latching onto Alex Gerndt’s through ball. Jason Davidson was an unused substitute for Heracles.

Elsewhere, Travis Cooper was absent from the match-day squad as VVV Venlo beat Vitesse 3-1 to climb out of the relegation zone.

In the German Bundesliga, Robbie Kruse played the full 90 minutes in Fortuna Dusseldorf’s disappointing 2-0 loss to relegation threatened Nurnberg. Kruse was largely quiet but did provide a good cross for captain Andreas Lambertz who couldn’t find the target from inside the box. In a further blow for Kruse & Dusseldorf, the former Melbourne Victory star picked up a booking, his fifth for the season, for a poorly timed tackle in the first half and will miss next week’s clash against Hannover 96.

Elsewhere, Mitch Langerak was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund suffered a shock 3-2 loss at home to Wolfsburg, while Nikita Rukavytsya was absent from the FSV Mainz side that lost 2-0 to Borussia Monchengladbach.

In the German Second Division, Mathew Leckie started and played 66 minutes but was relatively quiet in a deeper midfield role as FSV Frankfurt beat SV Sandhausen 3-1 in snow-drenched Frankfurt.

In the German Third Division, Mustafa Amini was an unused substitute as Borussia Dortmund II lost 4-2 to Arminia Bielefeld.

In the Italian Serie A, James Troisi was absent from the match-day squad as Atalanta beat Parma 2-1.

In the Serie B, Carl Valeri was worryingly absent again for promotion chasing Sassuolo as they beat Modena 2-0. Valeri hasn’t featured for Sassuolo since early November and has only made three league appearances for the season.

In the Greek Super League, Giannis Simosis was an 84th minute substitute as AO Kerkyra lost 2-0 to PAS Giannina.

In Austria, James Holland returned from suspension, playing 90 minutes in midfield as Austria Wien thumped Wolfsberger 6-3.

In Denmark, Brent McGrath was an unused substitute as Brondby drew 2-2 with Sonderjyske.

In Croatia, Steven Lustica was a 66th minute substitute as Hajduk Split beat Tomi Juric’s Inter Zapresic 1-0. Juric was absent from the match-day squad.

In the UAE Pro League, Lucas Neill was missing with a hamstring injury as Al Wasl drew 2-2 at Dubai, who were without Richard Porta through injury.

In the Qatar Stars League, Mark Bresciano played the full 90 minutes as Al Gharafa beat Sailiya SC 3-0, while Sasa Ognenovski played the full game in defence as Umm Salal lost 3-1 at home to Lekhwiya.

Elsewhere, Matt Spiranovic was absent from the match-day squad as struggling Al Arabi played out a 0-0 draw with Rayyan SC.