Weekend TV Preview 25 - 27 September 2009

(All times - UK)

Before we start, Some People Are On The Pitch would like to direct your attention to the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Egypt which began on Thursday. All the matches are being screened live on Eurosport. Given the lack of any genuinely eye catching fixtures this weekend, discerning football fans may want to have a look. The TV Preview will probably pick up the story a little later in the competition after we've watched a few games ourselves.

Friday 25th September

19:30 FC Nurnberg v VfL Bochum, Bundesliga, ESPN
Bochum have a new coach. His name is Frank Heinemann and to be accurate he is an interim coach. Given that Bochum don't have a receptacle in which to store liquid waste it is fairly likely that the "interim" tag will disappear once it's been established that things can't get any worse under him. A point at struggling Nurnberg would probably be enough.

Saturday 26th September

12:30 St Mirren v Celtic, Scottish Premier League, ESPN & HD
Despite ESPN's attempts to generate interest for the neutral, a slip up at St Mirren is most likely not on the cards for Celtic who have only dropped two points in their last five games.

12:45 Portsmouth v Everton, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
I'm actually looking forward to watching Portsmouth. That is, I'm looking forward to it in the way I look forward to watching "World's Worst Train Wrecks". Chris Nee on the Twofootedtackle podcast reckoned that Portsmouth were so bad, they could be relegated from the Championship.

17:30 Fulham v Arsenal, Barclays Premier League, ESPN & HD
Nice cozy London Derby for you on a Saturday afternoon. The home side won this fixture last season but are not quite as good this time out. Arsenal are fresh from their annual ego massage and life affirmation session with Wigan and will be full of beans. Arsene would do well to check for banana skins at the Cottage. Personally I think that Hamburg v Bayern would have been a better choice of game, but there it is.

17:30 Ipswich Town v Newcastle Utd, Championship, BBC2
Now that "Strictly" is underway, the Beeb have moved this Championship game from BBC1 to BBC2 so as to avoid any unforeseen delays and mess with their precious schedule. We can't have X Factor hogging all the audience can we?

00:30 Columbus v LA Galaxy, MLS, ESPN
Both teams are more or less through to the Post Season which is when the league really gets interesting.

Sunday 27th September

11:30 Ajax v ADO Den Haag, Eredivisie, ESPN
Ajax start to the season have only lost one game yet find themselves third behind PSV and FC Twente. Nevertheless, they are usually the masters of this fixture and should expect a relatively straightforward three points.

13:15 Plymouth Argyle v Nottingham Forest, Championship, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Plymouth are the Portsmouth of the Championship. Forest are the Fulham.

14:30 Freiburg v Monchengladbach, Bundesliga, ESPN
Freiburg thumped Hertha 4-0 last week while 'Gladbach threw away a 2-0 lead against Hoffenheim and lost 4-2. Should be some goals then...

16:00 Sunderland v Wolves, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Mick McCarthy returns to the Stadium Of Light to pick up some CDs and a pair of old socks he left in his locker.

16:30 Hoffenheim v Hertha Berlin, Bundesliga, ESPN
The Hoff scored four goals last week while Hertha conceded 4. Got 0-0 written all over it.

18:00 Zaragoza v Getafe, La Liga, Sky Sports Red Button & Sky Sports Xtra
OK so here's a chance for English football fans to have a look at Jermaine Pennant, assuming he turns out for Zaragoza. Meanwhile, Getafe can be reasonably pleased with their start to the season.

19:45 AC Milan v Bari, Serie A, ESPN
Eleventh meet twelfth at the San Siro. Bari have only lost once so far and have made a good start. Milan have lost twice and made a terrible start. Things could unravel pretty quickly for Leonardo.

20:00 Deportivo v Villarreal, La Liga, Sky Sports Xtra
The table still has that early season topsy turvy look about it. Depor are seventh and Villareal are third... from bottom.