Midweek TV Preview: 4 - 7 May

(All times - UK)

Monday 4 May

17.30 Histon v Torquay Utd, Blue Square Premier, Play-off Semi-final 2nd Leg (0-2), Setanta Sports 1
Histon will be hoping to repeat Cambridge's earlier heroics by turning over a two goal deficit. Although they'll be hoping not wait until the final moments of extra time to do it.

20.00 Aston Villa v Hull City, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Villa haven't won for three months, Hull haven't in two. Although pretty much guaranteed a Europa League spot, the Villa Park faithful deserve a decent performance here.

Tuesday 5 May

11.00 Shimizu S Pulse v JEF United, J-League, British Eurosport 2
Both teams need to get their season's started. S-Pulse have drawn five from nine and are the League's lowest scorers so far. JEF have managed just one more goal and are currently second from bottom in the table. Don't expect the best this league has to offer from this encounter.

19.45 Arsenal v Manchester United, UEFA Champions League Semi-final 2nd Leg (0-1), ITV1/ITV HD
United should have had a much clearer advantage going into this second leg. As it is, it's unlikely that Arsenal will stop United from getting an away goal if they defend only half as badly as they did last week. If they do concede, Arsenal will need to score three, and with Arshavin ineligible that looks too big an ask.

Wednesday 6 May

19.45 Chelsea v Barcelona, UEFA Champions League Semi-final 2nd Leg (0-0), Sky Sports 2/HD2
Chelsea will have to come out and at least try to attack in this leg. Of course Real tried that in Saturday's El Clasico and they ended up shipping 6 (SEIS) goals. A fascinating encounter - there will be goals.

(There's a Copa Libertadores match kicking off at 00.50 on Setanta Sports 2. At time of publishing we don't know what's it's going to be. Swine Flu could mess some of the fixtures around with two Mexican teams in the round of 16, the first leg of which is due to be played here.)

Thursday 7 May

17.30 Shakhtar Donetsk v Dynamo Kiev, UEFA Cup Semi-Final 2nd Leg (1-1), ITV4
The first leg was an unsurprisingly tight affair domestically while Kiev are eight points clear of second placed Shakhtar. Encounters between the two sides are invariably draws or settled by the odd goal. All to play for and certainly worth rushing home for.

19.45 Shrewsbury v Bury / Rochdale v Gillingham, League Two Play-off Semi-final 1st Leg, Sky Sports 1/HD1/Interactive
Bury missed automatic promotion by a solitary goal. They face Shrewsbury who went to Dagenham (who were holding the final slot) and won. Gillingham return to Rochdale just five days after beating them 1-0 on the same ground. Rochdale have won just one game in eight, while the Gills are unbeaten in four.

19.45 Hearts v Hibernian, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
Hibs haven't won since their victory against Hearts in mid-March. Playing for local pride only here - Hearts have probably done enough to secure their Europa league spot for this season, while there's no chance for Hibs.

19.45 Hamburg v Werder Bremen, UEFA Cup Semi-final 2nd Leg (1-0), ITV4
It's been a disappointing season for Bremen, in the League at least. The first leg of this tied semi-final pretty much summed up their whole campaign. An early away goal could really change the complexion of this tie, and Diego et al are certainly more than capable of scoring them but Martin Jol's men have been extremely tough to beat at home this season. If Bremen do go out this evening they'll get a second bite at qualifying for the next tournament with a Cup Final appearance against Bayer Leverkeusen.