Midweek TV Preview: 21 - 24 September 2009

(All times - UK)

Monday 21st September

19:45 Cliftonville v Linfield, IFA Premiership, Sky Sports 1
We start this week with another all-too-rare dipping of the toes into the world of Northern Irish football. You have to go back almost exactly three years for the last time Cliftonville beat Linfield in a league fixture and on current form fourth-placed Linfield should beat their opponents three places below them again.

Tuesday 22nd September

19:45 Leeds Utd v Liverpool, Carling Cup 3rd Round, Sky Sports 2 / HD2
Two teams in stonking good form in their respective divisions. Leeds currently top League One having dropped just two points from their opening eight games while Liverpool, after a slow start, are now manoeuvering into their familiar top four position in the Prem. The last time Leeds lost a home game was on January 10th this year, so Rafa's men will find them a tough nut to crack here.

Wednesday 23rd September

19:35 Queen of the South v Rangers, CIS Cup 3rd Round, BBC1 Scotland
North of the border, meanwhile, the League Cup continues apace with the top two in the Scottish Prem struggling to assert their superiority. Tonight we get to see whether Rangers have what it takes to end a run of three draws against The Doonhamers who already look like promotion contenders in Division One.

19:45 Manchester Utd v Wolverhampton Wanderers, Carling Cup 3rd Round, Sky Sports 2 / HD2
Man United's ability to generate copious amounts of injury time in their home matches really is an Onion Bag article waiting to be written (if it hasn't already). Think we'll go off and write it now, actually...

19:45 Inter Milan v Napoli, Serie A, ESPN
Diego Milito's definitely the man to watch here. Four goals in Inter's first four league games this season (including two on Sunday against Cagliari) mean he'll be a marked man when the Neapolitans drop by. Should be a comfortable win for the Nerazzurri.

Thursday 24th September

19:00 Egypt v Trinidad and Tobago, FIFA U20 World Cup Group A, British Eurosport
Where midweek football's concerned, it's feast or famine these days and as this week falls into the latter category, we thought it'd be an idea to include this match as a bonus item. The Under-20 World Cup gets underway in Egypt today and to answer your next question, yes - England *did* qualify. They're in the prepostorously eclectic Group D along with Uruguay, Uzbekistan and Ghana, and their first match is against the Uruguayans next Saturday.

19:45 Genoa v Juventus, Serie A, ESPN
Genoa have made a cracking start to this campaign, although a weekend defeat to Chievo has taken some of the shine off it. To potentially derail their progress further still, they face a Juve side who have won all four of their games so far and look like they mean business again this season. Should be an entertaining match.