Midweek TV Preview: 14-17 December 2009

Monday 14 December

19.45 West Bromwich Albion v Queens Park Rangers, Championship, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink is the latest to be tipped to take over the searingly hot seat at QPR. He'll be the ninth manager in three years if he does, so he probably won't be making himself too comfy there. On the pitch they've taken just one point from the last three games but, in typical Championship style, West Brom have blown hot and cold at home recently so anything's possible.

Tuesday 15 December

19.45 Dundee Utd v Rangers, Scottish Premier League, Sky Sports 3/HD3
United's late win here against Celtic last month put them in touch with the Old Firm. The same here will see them go just a point behind the visitors into third.

20.00 Birmingham City v Blackburn Rovers, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Birmingham's four wins in a row has seen them go from relegation contenders to Europa League hopefuls. They now have an identical record to Liverpool and lead the current form tables. What Blackburn are doing in mid-table could be described as "bimbling". Probably not the most exciting game you'll ever see but might be worth it to see what Birmingham's secret is.

Wednesday 16 December

18.00 FC Basel v Fulham, UEFA Europa League Group E, ESPN/HD
Fulham need a win against the Swiss side to proceed to the last 32. Basel are 100% at home in this competition with five wins from five including a 2-0 over Roma. It'll just be Fulham's second win on their travels if they pull it off.

20.00 Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City, Barclays Premier League, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Two teams looking to get that coveted fourth Champions League spot, though at the moment Villa look the most likely to get it. Spurs have been getting progressively worse since putting nine past Wigan and City are still struggling to convert draws into wins. Both will see this as winnable and should go all out for the three points - well worth watching.

20.30 Sparta Praha v FC Kobenhavn, UEFA Europa League Group K, ESPN/HD
Straight forward knock-out match as both teams go into the game level on points in second and third place. FCK's home win at the beginning of October means a draw will be enough for them.

Thursday 17 December

18.00 Genoa v Valencia, UEFA Europa League Group B, ESPN/HD
Genoa sit in third while Valencia sit top of the group. A win for the home team, though, will see them through and leave the Spaniards sweating on how Lille do at home to Slavia Praha. Certainly more exciting than watching...

18.00 Rapid Vienna v Celtic, UEFA Europa League Group C, ITV4
What do you get for finishing third in this competition, an automatic Intertoto spot or something? Third is all these guys can hope for in the week's most pointless televised fixture.

20.05 Everton v BATE Borisov, UEFA Europa League Group I, Five
Actually, this is just as pointless: no result will see Everton take top spot and BATE can't catch them. Expect Moyes to protect those fit players he has remaining.

20.05 Fenerbahce v FC Sheriff, UEFA Europa League Group H, ESPN/HD
High Noon for Sheriff, with Fenerbahce already through, a win will be enough for the Moldovans to qualify, as long as Steve McLaren's men don't win in Bucharest - which is a match you can flip-over to...

20.05 Steaua Bucharest v FC Twente, UEFA Europa League Group H, ITV4
Twente will have to reproduce the form that saw them win 2-0 in Fenerbahce earlier in the campaign. They're banging in the goals in domestically so will fancy their chances.