Weekend TV Preview: 1 - 3 May

(All times - UK)

Friday 1st May

20:00 Torquay United v Histon, Blue Square Premier Play-off Semi-final 1st Leg, Setanta Sports 1
Before anyone's kicked a ball in this match, the big news from last night is that Stevenage have won the first leg of their play-off 3-1 against favourites Cambridge United. That should suitably inspire these two teams of which Histon will be without their first choice keeper Danny Naisbitt due to suspension.

Saturday 2nd May

12:30 Aberdeen v Celtic, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
The Dons are just one tantalising point away from a Europa League place, but judging by the 2-0 win Celtic enjoyed when these two teams last played a fortnight ago, they're unlikely to get it here.

12:45 Middlesbrough v Manchester United, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Man U need ten more points to win the Premier League title. It'll only be seven by the time everyone else kicks off at 3pm.

18:30 Real Madrid v Barcelona, La Liga, Sky Sports 3
An El Clasico of huge proportions. Barca lead Real by four points with five games remaining and the title can only go to one of these two teams. Both teams are yet to play Mallorca, Villareal and Osasuna but will Real be tripped up by 4th-placed Valencia in their run-in? SPAOTP will keep you up to speed on the events as they unfold...

20:00 Marseille v Toulouse, Ligue 1, Setanta Sports 2
Bordeaux's midweek win over Stade Rennes means they're now just two points behind leaders Marseille who no longer have the distraction of the UEFA Cup to divert them. Toulouse have had an extraordinary season by their standards (they were in Ligue 3 as recently as 2002) and they happen to be a bogey team for Marseille. Perhaps this'll be the night when things start to unravel for Eric Gerets and Co.?

21:00 Villarreal v Sevilla, La Liga, Sky Sports 3
Sevilla might be third in the table, but defeats in each of their last four games means they're more likely to be caught than Swine Flu, especially if your name's Valencia or Villareal. A win for the Yellow Submarine will see them leapfrog their opponents today - possibly into third place if Valencia lose to Espanyol.

Sunday 3rd May

13:15 Crystal Palace v Sheffield United, Championship, Sky Sports Xtra/HD3
It's the last day of the Championship season and as you'd expect, Sky have got the whole shooting match covered. Wolves secured the title last week, so that means there's one Golden 'automatic promotion to the Premier League' Ticket left to be claimed. Sheffield United are one of three teams hoping to be Charlie Bucket, but they face competition from...

13:15 Reading v Birmingham City, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
...these two. Birmingham currently occupy second spot in the table but Reading will overtake them if they win on account of having by far the best goal difference in the Championship. If Reading and Birmingham draw and Sheffield United beat Palace, it'll be United that goes up with Wolves. What excitement! Catch it all (including regular updates from the other teams involved in the play-offs and relegation spots) on Sky during the course of the afternoon.

13:30 Liverpool v Newcastle United, Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
Alan Shearer recently commented: "There will be twists and turns before the end of the season but we are relying on other teams. If they slip up then we must take our chance." Can't see it happening, Al...

15:30 Rangers v Hearts, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
And so the Scottish 'Clausura' begins with Rangers in tip-top form and Hearts... not. The Jam Tarts will take heart from the fact that they've picked up four points from the last six against The Gers, but this one looks like a home win all the way in our book...

16:00 Sunderland v Everton, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Quite honestly, we here at SPAOTP could have played better than Sunderland did in their 3-0 defeat to fellow strugglers West Brom last week. With an altogether tougher match against Everton next on the list, we'd just like to tell Ricky Sbragia that we are available and can get changed into our kit at very short notice if required.

20:00 Real Betis v Atletico Madrid, La Liga, Sky Sports 1
Atletico are occupying the last Europa League spot but could yet catch Sevilla (3rd) for a place in the Champions League next season. The big push starts here against a Betis team with nothing to play for.

20:00 Bordeaux v Sochaux, Ligue 1, Setanta Sports 2
Yes it's all hotting up nicely in Ligue 1 at the moment. With Lyon dropping down to third and Marseille within touching distance, this has to be a three-pointer for Laurent Blanc and his band of trusty men. Previous form suggests Bordeaux will have little to worry about.