Weekend TV Preview: 21 - 23 October 2011

Friday 21 October

19.30 Augsburg v Werder Bremen, Bundesliga, ESPN/ESPN HD

The weekend's Bundesliga action gets underway with 16th-placed Augsburg looking to upset the odds against a Werder Bremen side that has started well. They have, however, lost their last two. Is the green halo slipping?

19.45 Grimsby Town v Luton Town, Blue Square Bet Premier, Premier Sports

Two formerly steady Football League clubs meet in the Conference National and face the ignominy of national television cameras being there to witness it - not that anyone will be watching. Luton have more recent non-league experience and have started the better of the two sides.

Saturday 22 October

12.45 Motherwell v Kilmarnock, Scottish Premier League, Sky Sports 4/HD4

After a bright start Motherwell are still going great guns in second, despite falling back from the top by seven points. Saturday's visitors are Kilmarnock, winless in five league matches.

12.45 Wolverhampton Wanderers v Swansea City, Premier League, Sky Sports 2/HD2

Mid-table Swansea head to Molineux keen to continue the misery for Mick McCarthy's Wolves. The boys in Old Gold have lost five consecutive Premier League matches after a blistering start to the campaign.

17.20 Reading v Southampton, Championship, Sky Sports 2/HD2

The Meridian TV Derby (he says, hoping Reading is in Meridian TV land) pits Reading against runaway leaders Southampton. Saints are five points clear after defeating West Ham United in midweek, and look set fair for a solid season near the top.

17.30 Liverpool v Norwich City, Premier League, ESPN/ESPN HD

If watching one of the best teams outside the Premier League doesn't take your fancy, perhaps you'd prefer the procession that is the top flight. Liverpool will take only an equal share of the TV revenue raised from this one, which seems ludicrous because they're so much more popular in Malaysia than Norwich - and that's how it works, right?

19.00 Malaga v Real Madrid, La Liga, Sky Sports 4/HD4

With Real a point behind Barcelona and Levante, Jose Mourinho faces a potentially slippery visit to England-del-Sol and minted Malaga. Their hosts' last game was against aforementioned Levante, and was a defeat for Manuel Pellegrini's charges.

19.45 Juventus v Genoa, Serie A, ESPN/ESPN HD

Table-topping Juventus look to continue their Serie A resurgence with a home win over mid-table Genoa, who haven't won in three despite Rodrigo Palacio's fine goalscoring start to the campaign.

21.00 Barcelona v Sevilla, La Liga, Sky Sports 4/HD4

You see what happens in foreign TV markets when clubs negotiate their own deals? Real Madrid, Barcelona, Real Madrid, Barcelona. Still, at least this one has Barcelona in it, which Manchester United and Manchester United's domestic matches do not.

21.00 Fluminense v Atletico Mineiro, Brazilian Serie A, Premier Sports

Fluminense have won their last two as they hunt down Corinthians and Vasco da Gama at the top, and their next obstacle comes in the shape of lowly Atletico Mineiro, who are six points off the bottom with one win in seven.

Sunday 23 October

12.30 Hearts v Rangers, Scottish Premier League, ESPN/ESPN HD

Rangers remain unbeaten in the league this season and it's difficult to see where that run will end at the moment. Maybe it'll be at Hearts on Sunday. Maybe it won't. Stay tuned to find out. (It won't.)

13.30 Manchester United v Manchester City, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1/3D

Oh, speak of the devils. City get their chance to play in a worthwhile contest for once, challenged at last by something more testing than using a bottomless pit of money to trip over a small child and then gloat about it. Still, should be a good one.

16.00 Queens Park Rangers v Chelsea, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1

Gland Slam Super Duper Moneybags Sunday continues at Loftus Road, where promoted Rangers finally get their hands on Chelsea once again. Colin Warnock v Andre Villas-Boas should make for an interesting clash of styles, though it's hard to predict which one will p*ss and moan the most after the game. A meeting of the masters.

16.30 Hannover v Bayern Munich, Bundesliga, ESPN/ESPN HD

This is one for the tacticians among us. FC Bayern's defences finally gave way against Napoli, and Hannover will be looking to Moa Abdellaoue to be similarly opportunistic. But the real questions are how well Hannover can absorb Bayern and whether they can hit them on their favoured counter.

19.00 Valencia v Athletic Bilbao, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1

Athletic Club have clambered their way into some kind of form with consecutive wins over Sociedad and Osasuna, but come up against trickier opponents in the form of fifth-placed Valencia, who

19.45 Bologna v Lazio, Serie A, ESPN/ESPN HD

Bologna have won just once in their opening six matches and sit below the dreaded dashed line at this pointlessly early stage of the season. By contrast, Lazio have won their last two and will be heading north confident of victory.

21.00 Villarreal v Levante, Sky Sports 1/HD1

Levante are in sparkling form and will probably need three points to go back level on points with Barcelona at the top. Don't be surprised if they get just that; they've won their last five on the spin, beginning with a defeat of Real Madrid.