Weekend TV Preview: 28 - 29 March

(All times - UK)

Saturday 28th March

12:15 Wycombe Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town, League Two, Sky Sports 1 / Sky Sports HD1
And welcome to an internationally-flavoured Weekend TV Preview which starts, naturally enough, with an intriguing League Two clash between these two play-off chasers. A win for Wycombe could push them up from fourth to second in the table but Shrewsbury are unbeaten in five. Shrewsbury put 7 (SEVEN) past The Chairboys in the LDV Vans Trophy last October, but this one has 'Draw' written all over it.

14:15 Iran v Saudi Arabia, World Cup Qualifier, British Eurosport 2
Our whirlwind tour of international football starts in Tehran where Iran look to boost their qualification prospects by beating a fast faltering Saudi Arabian team. A win will see them top the two Koreas in Asia Group 2.

15:00 Wales v Finland, World Cup Qualifier, Sky Sports 1 / HD1
Two teams very much cut from the same cloth at the moment. Both have already permissibly lost to Russia, both have beaten Azerbaijan 1-0... the difference is Wales have beaten Lichtenstein 2-0. Class like that will be key in Europe Group 4.

17:15 England v Slovakia, International Friendly, Setanta Sports 1
England get the day off from World Cup duty and instead warm-up for next Wednesday's match against Ukraine with a friendly against the Slovaks. The Fighting Jondas (probably the best nickname for a national team ever) are no mugs and are currently leading Group 3. England have the chance to succeed where Northern Ireland failed last year - speaking of which...

17:15 Northern Ireland v Poland, World Cup Qualifier, Sky Sports 1
It's all pretty close in Europe Group 3 so it's not too late for the Northern Irish to get their qualification campaign back on track. That said, there's a bit of doubt creeping in about Nigel Worthington's tactical nous, so keep your fingers crossed he knows something about the Poles that we don't.

19:45 Netherlands v Scotland, World Cup Qualifier, Setanta Sports 1 / 2
Lots of talk this week about Archie Gemmill's wonder goal against the Dutch in the 1978 World Cup, and rightly so. Our man Seb will be at the Amsterdam Arena tomorrow hoping one of the current Scotland team can re-enact it, but frankly a tap-in from one yard out will be valued just as much by the Tartan faithful if it means the Dutch lose their first qualifier.



19:45 Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria, World Cup Qualifier, Sky Sports 1
The Irish are level on points with Italy at the top of Europe Group 8 so all eyes will be on the crunch match between these two in Bari next Wednesday. Meantime, there's the small issue of third-placed Bulgaria to deal with, not to mention the specific threat of one Mr. D. Berbatov. Will he be affected by Man United's recent demise, we wonder? Probably not, we surmise...

22:00 Argentina v Venezuela, World Cup Qualifier, Sky Sports 2
Diego Maradona finally gets a chance to experience a competitive international some three months after he took over the reins at La Selección. Friendly wins over Scotland and France will have given him and his side more than enough confidence to deal with third-bottom Venezuela and just as well given Argentina's prolonged pre-Christmas malaise.

Sunday 29th March

16:00 Weymouth v Barrow, Blue Square Premier, Setanta Sports 1
Back in the Conference National, Weymouth look to arrest their run of eight straight defeats against a team even lower than them in the table. Hope springs eternal.

22:00 Ecuador v Brazil, World Cup Qualifier, Sky Sports 2
Finally to Quito for something of an enigma. Brazil are second in the table, but six points adrift of leaders Paraguay. A cause for discontent among some, but Dunga's men can at least claim to have kept clean sheets in their last five qualifiers. Then again, they didn't score in three of those five games... Having said that... oh to hell with it - away win.

Four To Follow

Wycombe Wanderers v Shrewsbury Town
Chris O: Home win; Sp3ktor: Draw; Seb: Home win; Duffman: Draw.

Wales v Finland
Chris O: Draw; Sp3ktor: Home win; Seb: Away win; Duffman: Draw.

Northern Ireland v Poland
Chris O: Away win; Sp3ktor: Draw; Seb: Home win; Duffman: Away win.

Republic of Ireland v Bulgaria
Chris O: Draw; Sp3ktor: Home win; Seb: Home win; Duffman: Home win.