Weekend TV Preview: 3 - 5 December

Friday 3 December

19:45 Lazio v Inter Milan, Serie A, ESPN/ESPN HD
Hello, and may we be among the first to wish you a Happy Christmas. *leaves pause for you to wish us a Happy Christmas back*  That reminds us - we'll soon be putting together our annual festive TV Preview so watch this space if you don't want to miss any of the footy action coming to your TV over Christmas and the New Year. Meantime, here's a chance to see how badly Lazio want to go top of the Serie A table.

Saturday 4 December

05:00 J League, British Eurosport 2
The usual mystery surrounds which J-League match Eurosport 2 will show, although frankly it's largely inconsequential - Nagoya Grampus Eight have already been crowned champions heading into this final week of the season. Gary Lineker will be pleased.

12:45 Ipswich Town v Swansea City, Championship, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Congratulations to Ipswich on reaching the semi-finals of the League Cup. Now comes the job of trying to inflict their first league defeat on Swansea since 1982.

15:45 Newtown AFC v Llanelli AFC, Welsh Premier League, S4C
Time for this week's 'Spot The Reference' competition...

17:20 Millwall v Scunthorpe, Championship, Sky Sports 2/HD2
Did you know Scunthorpe's last away draw took place over a year ago against Reading? You see, Lineker - anyone can do boring trivia...

17:30 Blackpool v Man Utd, Premier League, ESPN/ESPN HD
It's been 35 long years since these two last played each other back in the old Second Division. This should be an absolute belter of a match and one which should see wholesale changes among the ranks of the visiting side following their shock 4-0 defeat at Upton Park midweek.

19:00 Osasuna v Barcelona, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1
If they haven't called off the current La Liga campaign by the time this airs, it must be because someone somewhere thinks Barcelona can be beaten - in spite of their performance against Real last Monday. Expect more fabulous football from Barca here on their trip to the north of the country.

19:45 Milan v Brescia, Serie A, ESPN/ESPN HD
It's been two long months since Brescia last won in the league and relegation already looks a very real prospect for them. This match won't change that.

21:00 Real Madrid v Valencia, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Real have the look of a boxer that's taken an almighty pummelling at the moment. Reeling from the humiliating 5-0 defeat by Barca on Monday, they now have Jose Mourinho missing for one match after those red card allegations, plus numerous players are injured to varying degrees. Valencia might be expecting a backlash, but have Los Blancos got the stomach for one?

Sunday 5 December

13:30 West Brom v Newcastle United, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Newcastle finished 12 points clear of West Brom at the top of the Championship table last season. Currently, they're level on points but both are in pretty rotten form at the moment. That's not to say they're not playing bad football - quite the contrary, in fact, as we'll see today.

16:00 Sunderland v West Ham, Premier League, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Two wins in a row for West Ham, then. Actually, just make that 'two wins'. The Hammers have already disposed of Sunderland during their rampaging League Cup campaign, and a repeat victory could see them *gasp* leap out of the Premier League relegation zone. How the neutral can't fail to be captivated by this one is beyond us.

16:30 Nurnberg v Borussia Dortmund, Bundesliga, ESPN/ESPN HD
Assuming ESPN don't ditch this for an Inter-Counties Basket Weaving regional semi-final, you'll be able to watch BVB maintain their place at the top of the Bundesliga table. Nurnberg have won only one of their last 23 games against the Dortmund side, and the current form for both doesn't suggest that pattern will change for the time being.

19:00 Villarreal v Sevilla (Second Half), La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Sevilla are suffering a crisis of confidence at the moment and their players are even speaking publicly about their desperation for a win. Villarreal are in much better shape, however, and could be on hand to inflict further pain on their visitors.

19:45 Catania v Juventus, Serie A, ESPN/ESPN HD
Juve are making great strides in Serie A at the moment. Catania can't string two wins together to save their lives. Away win.

20:00 Real Sociedad v Athletic Bilbao, La Liga, Sky Sports 1/HD1
This should be a great Basque derby. Sociedad are going great guns in their first season back in the top flight, and they're one place above Bilbao in ninth. Little to choose between the two, so sit back and enjoy a Spanish classic unfold. Sorry - 'Basque'.

Chris O