Welcome to your TV guide. I have bad news. There is no European football this week. Not even Europa League. I have good news – there’s Premier League action instead! The troublesome midweek nights are filled with Premier League action. It’s not a bad substitute…
Tuesday 17th April
Starting off our midweek fun are Brighton and Tottenham on Sky (7.45pm). You’d be forgiven for writing this off as a dead rubber, with Brighton basically safe and Tottenham ensconced in a top four position, but Harry Kane is hungry for that golden boot so expect a whole match of Spurs players trying to put it on a plate for him. Fortunately there are other games, including three from La Liga. Deportivo vs Sevilla (6.30pm), Celta Vigo vs Barcelona (8pm) and Villarreal vs Leganes (8.30pm) are all on Sky so take your pick, or Inter Milan vs Cagliari is on BT at 7.45pm
Wednesday 18th April
It must be “game in hand” night across Europe as most of the major European leagues have something for you. It’s Bournemouth vs Man Utd in the latest dead rubber Premier League game. I guess the only positive here is that Man Utd can’t possibly be as bad as they were on Sunday but Bournemouth are one of life’s great mysteries. That’s at 7.45pm. BT are going Serie A mad with 5 games to choose from. Benevento vs Atalanta at 5pm is probably nothing more than a loosener, but there are 4 games at 7.45pm with Juventus, Napoli, AC Milan and Fiorentina all in action (not against each other.) Back to La Liga for the 8.30pm clash between Real Madrid and Athletic Bilbao on Sky, or there’s German Cup semi-final action on BT at 7.45pm between Schalke and Eintracht Frankfurt.
Thursday 19th April
More games! The usually quiet Thursday has games bursting out of the seams. Again there’s a Premier League game, this time Burnley host Chelsea and I guess Burnley at least will want to win this to try and seal 7th. Chelsea are still in pursuit of 4th but depending on how other results go earlier in the week they might have even less reason to care ahead of the FA Cup semi final. That’s at 7.45pm and Sky have also got League One action as Blackburn host Peterborough. Great. La Liga once again are at this party with 4 games to choose from. The best of which is probably Real Sociedad against Atletico Madrid at 6.30pm, before you round off your evening with an 11.15pm kick off on FreeSports between Sao Paulo and Atletico Paranaense
Friday 20th April
Remarkably few games on Friday night considering what has gone before, but Millwall against Fulham is a big game in the playoff race in the Championship so you can see that on Sky at 7.45pm. Sky Sports Mix is also where you’ll find yet more La Liga, this time it’s Leganes against Deportivo at 8pm. Forget about it.
Saturday 21st April
With a reduced Premier League programme, we’re down to one live game and it’s West Brom vs Liverpool. Are West Brom sniffing survival? I can’t imagine Liverpool playing their best 11 here with Roma to come but it’s probably too late for The Baggies. That’s a 12.30pm kick off, but there’s still plenty more to come from elsewhere. Celtic will win the SPL if they win at Hibernian, so it’s BT for that one at the same time. The reason for the lack of Premier League action is down to the FA Cup semi-finals, so luckily for you we have Man Utd vs Tottenham at Wembley on BBC1 at 5.15pm. It’s like a home game for Spurs but with only half the crowd being theirs. Sky are going mad with these evening kick offs so they’re treating us to Cardiff vs Nottingham Forest at 7.45pm. Get in. The Copa Del Rey final comes your way at 8.30pm, Barcelona will be heavy favourites against Sevilla but they’re usually a joy to watch.
Sunday 22nd April
There’s so much football on Sunday. The day as ever starts with Serie A at 11.30 as Cagliari host Bologna. Great. Rangers vs Hearts is at 12.30pm, that’s probably got some sort of European place riding on it. Next. For about the 30th Sunday lunchtime running we’ve got Arsenal against West Ham. Arsenal will be preparing for Atletico Madrid – West Ham are nothing like Atletico Madrid. BT are going Serie A crazy again, with three games at 2pm but perhaps all of those games combined are not as big as Juventus vs Napoli at 7.45pm. Anyway, before all that it’s Chelsea vs Southampton in the FA Cup semi-finals at 3pm on BT, whereas Sky have Man City vs Swansea at 4.30pm which promises to be nothing but a party. There’s an MLS double header later in the evening, so that’s always fun.
Monday 23rd April
Monday Night football! Who doesn’t love a mid-table end of season clash? Everton host Newcastle in the battle of “club who hates their manager” against “club who love their manager.” Either way Newcastle are on a great run that has taken them from relegation candidates to top half dwellers. Can they continue that here against arch nemesis Sam Allardyce?
There’s plenty to watch just about every night, so even though there is seemingly less and less to play for every week maybe that’ll make for some nice open matches. Yeah? We’ll see. Enjoy!