Match of the Days

Welcome to your TV Guide, and it’s a promising week ahead with top flight action on just about every day. We’ve got FA Cup Replays, a full weekend of Premier League action and a host of European leagues in action. Let’s go!

Tuesday 16th January

It’s all about BT as we start our week. It’s 10 days since we watched Fleetwood hold Leicester to a 0-0 draw, so now we get to see it all again at 7.45 on BT Sport 2. It’s at Leicester this time so you’d think Leicester will win but they are bound to rotate their squad, so you never know. It’s a French double header on BT Sport 1, with Marseille vs Strasbourg at 6pm and then Monaco vs Nice at 8pm. It’s a decent starter.

Wednesday 17th January

More FA Cup replay action, this time the BBC are weighing into matters by showing Chelsea vs Norwich. This one was also 0-0 in the first fixture, with the winners hosting Newcastle in Round 4. That’s a 7.45pm kick off. Again the alternative is French Ligue 1, with Guingamp vs Lyon at 6pm and PSG vs Dijon at 8pm. Both of those are on BT Sport 2. Incidentally there is Copa del Rey action on Bet365, including a derby between Espanyol and Barcelona.

Thursday 18th January

Not the best day as usual but Real Madrid are in Copa del Rey action away at Leganes at 8.30pm. There is Australian A League between Brisbane Roar and Perth Glory, but it’s at 8.50am and that’s not cool.

Friday 19th January

There’s all sorts to choose from on Friday, the pick of which is probably the Championship clash between Derby County and Bristol City. Both are enjoying incredible seasons and this should be an entertaining affair. BT Sport 1 have Hertha Berlin vs Borussia Dortmund by way of an alternative, or there’s Getafa vs Athletic Bilbao from La Liga on Sky (8pm). As seems to be the case most nights, there’s a French league match, this time it’s Caen vs Marseille at 7.45pm on BT Sport 3. FreeSports, lovely FreeSports, have a double header on offer from Portugal. Setubal vs Sporting Lisbon is at 7pm, followed by Porto against Tondela at 9pm. It’s all a lovely warm up for the weekend ahead.

Saturday 20th January

Scotland’s winter break is over! BBC One Scotland welcomes it back by showing Aberdeen vs St Mirren in the Scottish FA Cup at 12.15pm. I can’t lie though, I’m more enthused by the notion of Brighton vs Chelsea on Sky Sports, kick off is 12.30pm. Chelsea are playing twice a week every week and seem to be skating by, so this will be an interesting test of their credentials ahead of the 2nd leg against Arsenal. If non-league is your preference, BT have Sutton vs Dagenham & Redbridge at the same time. After the usual TV blackout for the 3pm games, we’re back with Man City vs Newcastle at 5.30pm on BT. Why is this on TV? It could be a bloodbath. Sheff Wed vs Cardiff in the Championship will probably be a tighter affair, that is Sky’s tea time offering. The evening has a very Spanish vibe to it, as Las Palmas vs Valencia at 7.45 on Sky is as good as as it gets.

Sunday 21st January

Oh Sunday, where did you go wrong? I’ll break this to you gently. There is no 1.30pm Premier League game. So we’ll have to fill our Sunday with a selection of other leagues, or Scottish Cups, as Fraserburgh vs Rangers is on Sky Sports Football at 12pm. I don’t know what a Fraserburgh is. There is Serie A at 11.30am, and a tasty looking match between Atalanta and Napoli might be a better bet. If you want to stick to tradition, Ajax vs Feyenoord kicks off at 1.30pm on Sky Sports Mix, so that’s something I suppose. There’s an Edinburgh derby in the Scottish FA Cup at 2:05pm, but if Sky have used that as an excuse to not show a 1.30pm game, I’ll not be pleased. You have a multitude of European Leagues to pick from as the afternoon progresses, with Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and PSV all in action in their respective leagues. When 4pm finally arrives, the Premier League offering is Southampton vs Spurs, which is palletable, more so than when they make us wait all day for West Brom vs Burnley. The pick of the evening matches is Inter Milan vs Roma on BT Sport 1, though Barcelona away to Real Betis and Lyon vs PSG are both enticing too. Making the best out of a bad situation.

Monday 22nd January

Monday Night Football! Swansea vs Liverpool could have just slotted into Sunday 1.30pm but it hasn’t, and I’m not going to complain about that. BT have their own version of Monday Night Football, it comes from Italy and it’s Juventus vs Genoa. It’s better than Spain’s, which is Eibar vs Malaga.

That ends another TV week. It’s not bad, there’s always something on but of course it could be better. Fear not, the Champions League is just a few weeks away.