Friday

Seven great matches to take you from Friday to Sunday. It’s the Sound Of Football Weekend Boxset.

All times are GMT

Friday

FA Cup 4th Round: Derby County v Leicester City

19.55 on BBC One
Having already despatched fellow midlanders, West Brom, in round three, Derby play host to neighbours and Premier League champions, Leicester City. Journeyman, Darren Bent spearheads the Rams’ attack with an impressive goal-scoring record in the competition in recent years. By contrast, Leicester are enduring an indifferent season have suffered consecutive 3-0 defeats since the third round. An exit for the Foxes at this stage will leave the Champions League their only realistic chance of silverware this season - not a bad place to be whichever way this one goes.

Saturday

FA Cup 4th Round: Liverpool v Wolverhampton Wanderers

12.30 on BT Sport 2
It appears that Jurgen Klopp is so wedded to the idea of a winter break that he gave his entire first team the day off for the visit of Plymouth in round three. Perhaps unsurprisingly, a trip to the West Country was necessary for the fixture to be resolved and a question remains as to whether he takes the competition seriously enough to field his starlets for the visit of Wolves. Not that facing a strong side holds too much concern for Paul Lambert’s side; in round three they convincingly saw off a Stoke CIty team containing the likes of Shaqiri and Arnautovic. A potential upset is on the cards.

Africa Cup of Nations 2017 Quarter-Final: Burkina Faso v Tunisia

16.00 on British Eurosport
More black-out busting football brought to you by Eurosport. Tunisia’s only success in the tournament came in 2004 and they’ve not got past this stage of the competition since then. They started this year’s tournament with defeat to Senegal but turned things around with a victory over their neighbours Algeria. 2013 runners up, Burkina Faso finished top of their group, knocking the hosts Gabon out in the process. Both head coaches are in their second spells in charge; Tunisia’s coach Henryk Kasperczak has managed four other African countries - that’s almost as many as Claude Le Roy.

Africa Cup of Nations 2017 Quarter-Final: Senegal v Cameroon

19.00 on British Eurosport
If Liverpool get knocked out of two cup competitions in a week, it probably wouldn’t be a good idea for any Koppites to watch this game - Sadio Mané’s bound to score a hat-trick for Senegal if they do. While these countries are considered two of the stronger teams in African football, their impact on this tournament in recent years has been minimal. Senegal could have an element of home advantage as they played all three group games in Franceville, the venue for this quarter-final. The remaining quarter-finals take place on Sunday with Egypt facing Morocco and DR Congo going up against Ghana.

Sunday

FA Cup 4th Round: Millwall v Watford

12.00 on BBC One
Expect an extra special atmosphere at the New Den for this lunchtime cup tie. This week, the South London club got the news that Lewisham Council were not going to proceed with a Compulsory Purchase Order that would have seen them and many local residents evicted from the area. The Lions’ 3-0 victory over Bournemouth was one of the performances of the third round. Watford, with one eye still on maintaining Premier League safety, could have a real battle on their hands.

FA Cup 4th Round: Sutton United v Leeds United

14.00 on BT Sport 2
Misty-eyed FA Cup nostalgists can get their fill of magic with this one. When these teams met at Gander Green Lane at the same stage of the 1969/70 competition, Leeds were Champions. They weren’t just Champions, they dominated English football: in the top four for eleven consecutive seasons including three titles and runners up five times. Lorimer, Bremner, Hunter, Giles, Charlton, Clarke et al ran out 6-0 winners that day but the performance of the Sutton players and fans lives on in history. 22 year old Sutton defender John Faulkener so impressed Don Revie with his display, he signed him. Sadly, in the two league games he played for Leeds, he scored an own goal and broke his knee-cap. He did, however, go on to play over 200 games for Luton. Who knows what the future holds for these Sutton players.

Ligue 1: Paris Saint Germain v Monaco

20.00 on BT Sport 1
At this stage last season, PSG already had a 21 point lead over their nearest rivals; this season the Zlatan-less Parisians have a real fight on their hands. Monaco can’t seem to stop scoring; they already have 64 goals - more than they’ve scored in any full top flight season since 2003. Monaco are on course to chase down Racing Club’s 57 year old goal scoring record of 118 but holding on to top spot for a first title since 2000 will be their priority. PSG can draw level on points with today’s visitors, if they win, but if they do, Nice could steal top spot with a win at home to 5th placed Guincamp - yes, French Football is actually very interesting this season.

Whatever you watch, have a great weekend

Jan