Weekend TV Preview: 16 - 18 October 2009

Friday 16th October

19:00 Ghana v Brazil, FIFA U-20 World Cup Final, British Eurosport
Brazil's 'goals scored' column from their last three games reads like a NASA countdown - 3, 2, and finally the one goal which knocked Costa Rica out in the semis. Ghana, meanwhile have scored eight in their last three and look more than capable of an upset.

Saturday 17th October

12:30 St Johnstone v Rangers, Scottish Premier League, ESPN/ESPN HD
Rangers unbeaten start to the season remains intact after their recent win over Celtic, but they still trail their rivals by a point in the table. Despite St Johnstone's lowly position, they should give Rangers a decent fight in front of a fervent home crowd.

12:45 Aston Villa v Chelsea, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Plenty of players coming back from international duty for this early kick-off. Quite whether Emile Heskey will see much action remains to be seen, however.

17:20 Nottingham Forest v Newcastle United, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Newcastle are waiting to see if their hot new loanee Marlon Harewood will be fit for this match. A goal against QPR gave a sign of things to come but Forest fans won't lose too much sleep if their ex-player doesn't set foot on the pitch for this one.

17:30 Hamburg v Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga, ESPN
The only two undefeated teams left in the Bundesliga meet at the HSH Nordbank Arena. They also happen to be the top two in the table (Leverkusen leading the way) and are the two highest goalscoring teams too. The difference could lie in Leverkusen's three clean sheets in their last three games... well worth watching to find out.

19:00 Real Madrid v Valladolid, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2/Red Button
Real should turn over Valladolid easily here, but with no Ronaldo and countless other players struggling with injuries it may not be the thrashing it could have been. Still only one outcome though.

19:45 Genoa v Inter Milan, Serie A, ESPN
21:00 Valencia v Barcelona, La Liga, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Possibly no David Villa for the home side tonight, but even if he plays this should be a comfortable win for Barcelona who retain their 100% record after six games.

Sunday 18th October

11:00 Spartak Moscow v Lokomotiv Moscow, Russiam Premier Liga, ESPN
Another Moscow derby and one which Spartak haven't won since 2006, but that could all change as they put in a final push towards a possible title win. They're only a point behind leaders Rubin Kazan and a win today will come in very handy indeed.

13:00 Blackburn Rovers v Burnley, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
The last time these two teams played in the top flight was New Years Day 1966 when Burnley won 2-0 at Ewood Park. Burnley haven't beaten Blackburn in any tie, since 1979, however. Great to see this great Lancashire Derby back on the footballing calendar again.

14:00 Lazio v Sampdoria, Serie A, ESPN
A good chance for Sampdoria to go top of the league if they can beat Lazio. They're level on points with Inter who are up against Genoa, and that'll be a far from easy match, that's for sure.

16:00 Wigan Athletic v Manchester City, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
As the Daily Telegraph website tells us, Wigan have gone 23 games since they were last involved in a score draw while City have gone 52 games since they featured in a game without goals. I think they're suggesting this could be a draw, then.

16:30 Borussia Dortmund v Bochum, Bundesliga, ESPN
No Tamas Hajnal for Dortmund thanks to an ankle injury picked up against Borussia Monchengladbach earlier in the month. Could be an uninspiring affair between two underachieving sides at the moment.

18:00 Athletic Bilbao v Sporting Gijon, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1/Red Button
Two teams punching a little above their weight so far this season, not that that's a bad thing. Should be an excellent open game at San Mames, and a win for the home side could see them remarkably in the top five.

19:45 AC Milan v Roma, Serie A, ESPN
Just four goals scored in seven games for Milan thus far, but a home tie against the equally inconsistent Roma might give them the chance to improve on that.

20:00 Osasuna v Atletico Madrid, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Atletico finally got their first win of the season against Real Zaragoza last time out, but they may struggle to get their second against an Osasuna side they haven't beaten in the last three meetings between the sides.

(All times - UK.)