Match of the Days

Take a deep breath. It’s a real football feast with midweek Premier League games, and although that leaves us with one rough night to fill, I’ve always got something. Let’s not waste any more time on the intro, BT Sport are ready for you.

Tuesday 28th November

As mentioned, all 20 Premier League teams are in action this midweek with 4 games on Tuesday night. BT have opted for Watford vs Man Utd, which is an excellent choice in my opinion. Watford play nice football under Marco Silva and have a team of players who are technically sound, I’m really intrigued to see how they get on against Mourinho’s men. Leicester and Spurs also takes place on Tuesday, which is unfortunate not to be picked for TV but it could also be a decent game. There is however a TV alternative, in the form of England Women vs Kazakhstan Women on BBC2 with a 7:05pm kick off. There is also French league to keep you entertained, Bordeaux vs St Etienne on BT Sport 3 if that floats your boat.

Wednesday 29th November

Anybody order a relegation 6 pointer? The David Moyes derby? Call it what you want, but Everton vs West Ham has a crucial look about it even if it’s not December yet. David Moyes returns to Everton where he really made his name as a manager, whilst it remains to be seen whether Everton finally appoint a manager or if they continue with the horror show that is the David Unsworth era. Speaking of clubs who need to appoint a manager, Sky Sports can offer you Rangers vs Aberdeen in the SPL at 7.45pm, or there’s a French double header with Nantes vs Monaco at 6pm followed by PSG vs Troyes at 8pm. There are of course 5 other Premier League fixtures and that means a Match of the Day in the evening, so reasons to be cheerful.

Thursday 30th November

The trade off is that we have to go relatively cold turkey on Thursday. The only televised football I can find is the MLS Conference final 2nd leg between Toronto FC and Columbus Crew. However, that’s at half midnight UK time and onl half an hour into Thursday. Never worry though, there’s Copa del Rey 2nd legs on Bet365 with two sets of games, 6.30pm and 8.30pm. Villarreal vs Ponferradina looks the best of the two, with Villarreal needing to overturn a 1-0 deficit.

Friday 1st December

Happy tiny chocolate day! Absolutely loads of stuff to get you eased into the weekend, as usual starting with the Australian A-League on Friday morning on BT Sport. It’s Adelaide United against Sydney FC at 8.50am, which might be a big game somewhere. Into the evening then and at 5.30pm you can enjoy Roma vs SPAL on BT Sport 2, or Sporting Lisbon against Belenenses on FreeSports at 6.15pm. Ahhh FreeSports, I’ll always love you. What many will consider the main event comes at Elland Road, where Leeds host Aston Villa. I think I’ve seen more of Leeds than any other team in existence, and this is a classic 90s fixture that goes some way to showing how far both clubs have fallen. Speaking of which, the FA Cup 2nd round is upon us, and the BBC have opted for AFC Fylde against 2013 winners Wigan at 7.55pm on BBC2. For me though, the biggest game of Friday evening comes in Serie A, as Juventus travel to Napoli in a top of the table tussle. Napoli are being tipped by many to finally end Juve’s dominance, so this might go a long way to proving that.

Saturday 2nd December

Barcelona vs Celta Vigo is a good starter, that kicks off at midday on Sky Sports football. However, the early Premier League offering sees Rafa Benitez take his Newcastle side back to Stamford Bridge, The Chelsea fans didn’t like Rafa when he was their manager so I can’t imagine they’ll be too pleased with him on Saturday, though given current form I don’t think the men in blue will have much to worry about. BT have also opted to show the Magpies, but it is Kevin Nolan’s Notts County against Oxford City, one of the surprise victors in round 2. After the 3pm games, attention turns to The Emirates, where Arsenal and Man Utd will renew rivalries again. Mourinho and Wenger aren’t exactly good friend so this should be a good battle both on the pitch and in the dugout. The Championship alternative is Bristol City vs Middlesbrough, or Twente vs Ajax if you prefer Dutch football. The evening entertainment is Athletic Bilbao against Real Madrid. What a day!

Sunday 3rd December

You can start nice and early with Benevento against AC Milan at 11.30am, or you can wait until 12pm for Pune City vs Chennaiyin in the Indian Super League on BritAsia TV. You don’t have to, of course. Aberdeen vs Rangers, again, is on at 12.30pm on Sky Sports Football, which is only marginally less appetising than Bournemouth vs Southampton. That’s at 1.30pm and will probably be tepid. The 4pm is Man City vs West Ham which just looks like a hammering waiting to happen. One team is very good and the other really, really isn’t. It’s Sampdoria vs Lazio in the evening on BT Sport, so something for everybody.

Monday 4th December

There’s no Premier League Monday Night football, but we do have a choice of viewing for you. Birmingham vs Wolves is a big midlands Derby in the Championship, Wolves of course are leading the way and looking pretty comfortable in doing so whilst Birmingham are scrapping away at the foot of the table. Meanwhile BT have kindly offered us an alternative – Slough Town vs Rochdale in the FA Cup 2nd round. That also includes the 3rd round draw, where the Premier League and Championship clubs join in. Expect a lot of Office jokes.

It’s a very good week, Thursday aside, so make the most of it and put your feet up. It’s nearly Christmas.