Friday 13 August
19.45 Leyton Orient v Charlton Athletic, League One, Sky Sports 3/HD3
Two teams that can already be labelled 'inconsistent' after two games of the new season. Charlton's 1-0 win over Bournemouth in the league last weekend faded quickly from memory following their 3-2 defeat at Shrewsbury in the Carling Cup - having been 2-0 up. The O's, on the other hand, lost 2-1 at Yeovil on Saturday only to beat Swindon 2-1 on Tuesday. Essentially a top-v-bottom clash, but on the basis of the aforementioned form, it's anybody's to play for.
Saturday 14 August
12.15 Inverness CT v Celtic, SPL, Sky Sports 4/HD4
Newly-promoted Caley Thistle aim to put an early dent into Celtic's attempt to win their first league title since 2007-08. A repeat of the 3-2 win for ICT in December of that season would suit Terry Butcher just fine, thank you very much.
12.45 Tottenham Hotspur v Man City, Premier League, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Fifth Place Play-Off (First Leg)? Given the arrival of Roy Hodgson at Anfield, one could be excused for thinking the original 'Big Four' will be back in situ this season, but one can't ignore the fine talent signed up by Mancini during the close season. As for Tottenham, they're sticking with more or less the same squad as last time which, given the potential rigours of their 2010/11 Champions League campaign, may not have the strength in depth required. Discuss.
15.45 Carmarthen Town v Aberystwyth Town, Welsh Premier League, S4C
The new slimline Welsh Premier League kicks off today with just 12 teams instead of the previous 18. Carmarthen finished 10th last season, but a repeat of that won't spell doom for them this season as only the bottom team go down under the new rules. Anyone getting into the top 7 qualifies for at least a Europa League spot next time around, so all teams have a 50-50 chance of qualifying (more or less). You might as well toss a coin for it, if you want our opinion.
17.30 Chelsea v West Brom, Premier League, ESPN/ESPN HD
Double-winners and defending champions Chelsea try to put their pre-season woes behind them by giving new boys West Brom an old-fashioned spanking. Baggies manager Roberto Di Matteo makes an emotional, if daunting return to the Bridge but he'll take solace in the fact that his next few away games won't be so difficult. It's Liverpool, Arsenal and Man United next for them.
23.00 New York Red Bulls v LA Galaxy, MLS, ESPN/ESPN HD
Thierry Henry v Landon Donovan, if you like the simplistic approach taken by Fox Sports. Both teams are flying high in their respective Conferences, but New York will be mindful of the fact that Bruce Arena's team did the double over them last season. Time for former Notts County manager and Sven assistant Hans Backe to work his mojo and redress the balance, we think.
Sunday 15 August
12.00 Motherwell v Hibernian, SPL, ESPN/ESPN HD
Excuse us while we dash down to the bookies to bet on a repeat of last season's 6-6 draw. Apparently a £1 stake could win you the entire chain of William Hill shops if it comes up. A great return, but we could do without all those window displays featuring Tim Lovejoy.
13.15 Nottingham Forest v Leeds United, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Not the best of starts for either team to this season, but at least Leeds grabbed a 4-0 win in the League Cup during the week over Lincoln City. Forest, meanwhile, continue to labour under the cloud created by Billy 'Horrible Little Man' Davies, but it's early days yet, we suppose. As long as he stops whinging about the lack of available funds, a lack of support from the board, etc, etc, they should go far.
16.00 Liverpool v Arsenal, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1/3D
A cracker of a match to end your weekend viewing. This time next week, you'll still have a couple of thousand La Liga matches to look forward to on Sky. Anyway, here are two clubs desperate to end their silverware shortage and with new talents such as Marouane Chamakh, Milan Jovanovic, Laurent Koscielny and Joe Cole ready to strut their stuff, both teams look set to show they mean business.
No comments :
Post a Comment