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

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All times are UK

Friday

Bundesliga: Bayern Munich v Augsburg

19.30 on Sky Sports Mix
The Bundesliga and the Boxset return from the international break with a local derby. I’ll forgo the opportunity to meditate on the appeal of these derby games given how one sided they are. Augsburg have only won this fixture once in Munich and that was in 2015; Raul Bobadilla scored the only goal against a 10-man Bayern. Still there is always a chance in a derby game, especially after an international break, and even a point gained would be reward enough for an Augsburg team characteristically ligging around the lower reaches of the Bundesliga table. So, the pressure is all on Bayern as it will be until May. Vincent Kompany’s side have had a few hiccups, mostly in the Champions League, but that 3-3 draw against Eintracht in early October was the last time they dropped points in the league and the more we learn how good Frankfurt are the better that result looks. Bayern remain unbeaten in the Bundesliga and despite some pre-season angst are favourites for the title. Much of their form is down to, of course, the wonderful and beloved Lord Kane of Walthamstow or Count von Koenig as he is known in Bavaria. England were given a glimpse of life without Harry when that treacherous anthem dodger Lee Carsley left him out for the 3-0 win at Greece, but Bayern without Harry is unthinkable. The 31-year-old has eleven goals and six assists this season, and while it would be foolish to say he is carrying the team, Kane’s crusade for silverware is the driving narrative of Bayern’s season. Let's hope for his sake that he stays fit. TD

Saturday

A-League: Sydney v Western Sydney Wanderers

08.35 on TNT Sports 6
If this feels like deja vu, it's because the reverse fixture only happened a month ago. But the A League has to sell a shiny marketing toy in the form of the Unite Round - every match played in Sydney (yes, that's as bad as it sounds) - and so we go again. If the idea of debasing fanbases in a vast country by forcing their home matches into a different city for slogans doesn't sit right with you, at least the football should be quite good. The opening round derby at Parramatta was exactly what you'd want from a derby, with disallowed goals, needle and drama, and that format has followed Sydney from match to match. The Sky Blues are better than their league position suggests - last week's loss at home to Macarthur was a rip-roaring match where Ufuk Talay's team played for half the match with 10 men and lost because they pushed forward for a not undeserved winner - but they can fail to land a killer blow. Wanderers, meanwhile, are as much of an enigma as ever. They have a decent coach in Alen Stajic, a good squad on paper, and even an ageing Juan Mata but there's a very leaky defence and their only win has been a thrashing of an abject Newcastle Jets side. As ever with these matches, form books tend to go out the window, and the Wanderers tend to have the better of Sydney at Moore Park of late. Yes, much of the crowd will probably be wearing metaphorical pegs on their nose at the Unite Round, but it's hard to argue that this one has all the ingredients for a cracker. GA

Championship: Coventry City v Sheffield United

12.30 on Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
The mood could be hostile at the CBS Arena, with many Coventry fans angry at owner Doug Kings’ decision to sack long-serving manager Mark Robins. Having taken the club from League 2 to the brink of the Premier League and to an FA Cup semi-final, Robins enjoyed huge popularity among supporters. From the outside, even with the club’s poor start to the season, the decision looks harsh, but rumours have been circulating about the unrest in the dug-out that eventually led to the departure in the summer of Robins’ long-time assistant Adi Viveash. The club believes they need a completly new coaching set-up and long-term approach to take them on to the next step. In an interview since the sacking, head of recruitment at the club, Dean Austin, has said that the club wants to bring in and play quality loan signings. With that in mind it makes sense that Frank Lampard has been heavily linked with the role and could be announced this weekend. Loan signings made a big contribution to Lampard’s success in his first season in management with Derby; loans facilitated no doubt by his extensive list of contacts at the biggest clubs. Rhys Carr remains in interim charge for this match hoping to get a similar performance to the one he got from his side in the 2-2 at top of the table Sunderland. That result allowed Chris Wilder’s in-form Blades to go level at the top with the Mackems, who they will face at Bramall Lane next Friday. GS

Premier League: Manchester City v Tottenham Hotspur

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
There’s a storm coming. It’s been called Bert and it’s forecast to be in full vigour in the North West when this match kicks off on Saturday evening. Of course there are also metaphoric storm clouds over the Etihad, and they’ve been there for a while. The hearing into City’s alleged breaching of over a hundred Premier League regulations is due to end soon with its findings to be made public in the new year. In anticipation of the independent panel’s findings, last week four of the clubs who will feel they lost out most to City’s “cheating” - Liverpool, Manchester United, Arsenal and today’s opponents, Tottenham - signalled their intention to pursue legal claims for compensation from City. Today the Premier League mustered up the number of votes required to push through its new “Associated Party Transaction” regulations which will make it much harder for City to out-spend their rivals but will also inevitably lead to further litigation from the state-owned club. Away from speculation over City’s fate, or maybe in a bid to deflect attention to happier news, there was confirmation that Pep has agreed a two year contract extension, taking him to the end of season 2026/27. Maybe City truly believe they can ride this storm out, either that or Pep really fancies adding the Vertu Trophy to his extensive list of honours. What cannot be escaped is the fact that City have lost four games in a row - Pep’s worst run in management and the club’s worst run since Stuart Pearce was in charge in 2006. And they’re away to Liverpool next weekend. Tottenham however are not in great shape; mid-table and as many points from the top as they are from the bottom. Home defeat to Ipswich followed away defeat to Palace, but between those matches was a dominant win against Villa. Two unpredictible teams playing in unpredictable conditions - what’s not to love? GS

Sunday

Women’s Super League: Chelsea v Manchester United

12.00 on Sky Sports Football & Ultra and Sky Showcase
Coming before the international break, this weekend was scheduled for League Cup matches, but as Chelsea are not involved in that competition until after its group stage, it’s provided an opportunity to play this rescheduled WSL game. The tie was postponed in October because of fixture placing for TV and European commitments, one of the many issues the new governing body, Women’s Professional Leagues, will need to address. Hopefully that incident will be used as a learning experience by the organisation, but, with Arsenal recently having to switch stadiums to play a Champions League game because of a clash with the men’s team, it could be a problem that gets more complicated as the women’s game continues to grow. Chelsea still have a 100% record in all competitions this season; a run of 11 straight wins which was added to this week with a 3-0 win over Celtic in the Champions League. Sonia Bompastor’s side look unstopable right now and still have Sam Kerr waiting to return from injury at some point in the new year. United’s strength this season has been their defensive solidity, conceding just twice in their nine games this season, with Phallon Tullis-Joyce impressing since taking over as first choice goalkeeper after the summer departure of Mary Earps. The 28 year old has also received her first international call-up and will join Emma Hayes’ USA squad to face England in a friendly next week. If she plays at Wembley, she won’t have to face club-mate Ella Toone who is out with a calf strain. GS

Premier League: Ipswich Town v Manchester United

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
Welcome to the latest episode of the Manchester United soap opera, which sees them try once again to replace the irreplaceable Sir Alex Ferguson. The latest lamb to the slaughter is the Portuguese wonder-coach Rúben Amorim (Am-or-eeen) who’s stellar rise to prominence in his native land has attracted the attention of a host of clubs from Europe’s elite as well as Manchester United. Plucked from Braga’s reserve set-up midway through the 2019/20 season, he delivered the league cup and took the side from eighth to third. Then appearing on the radar of Sporting’s director of football, Hugo Viana (who will soon join Manchester City), Amorim made the move to Lisbon where he won the title and league cup twice. This clear demonstration that he can bring success in a relatively short space of time, and isn’t phased by taking on the big challenges, had obvious appeal to Sir Jim Ratcliffe, himself looking to turn around the tanker that is Manchester United. Amorim’s famed preference for a 3-4-3 shows he has a clear philosophy, but, given the challenges of England’s top tier, will he have the flexibility to overcome challenges, which will be greater and more frequent than he faced back home. There’s also something of an injury crisis among the centre backs meaning he’s going to have to juggle things around from day one. Standing in his way on day one is former United coach, Kieran McKenna, who’s Ipswich side recorded their first win of the season last time out against Spurs. Having seen them a few times last season, I think they may be in with more than a shout of staying out of the relegation mire. However, today will be a tough task for them with United coming off the back of some decent results under van Nistelrooy and buoyed by the arrival of Amorim. Away win. JB

La Liga: Athletic Bilboa v Real Sociedad

20.00 on Premier Sports 1 and LaLigaTV
The Basque Derby, or Euskal Derbia as it’s called in its native language, is one of Spain’s most storied fixtures which has grown in stature and relevance in recent years. This is partly because the Barcelona/Real Madrid matches lack the same impact as they did in years gone by, but also because the Bilbao and San Sebastien clubs have grown in stature. Today, both Athletic Club and Real Sociedad play in modern stadiums and are bearing the fruit of successful recruitment and youth development to produce talented squads of watchable players. That said, both sides are a little bit further back in the table than they should be and are playing second fiddle to fellow Basque club, Osasuna. Despite keeping hold of European champion Nico Williams, Athletic are struggling to turn draws into wins and the sixth placed club have only five wins in the League all season. Real Sociedad are even further back in eighth. They are sixth from bottom in La Liga’s scoring charts. Their forward line, while made up of some excellent players such as Mikel Oyarzobal, Sergio Gomez, Umar Sadiq and Sheraldo Becker are struggling to find the back of the net. Silver linings? Their xG is the sixth best in the league and Becker was off the mark in a hard fought 1-0 win over runaway league leaders Barcelona. A key component in that win over the Catalans was Martín Zubimendi but the Spanish international sustained an injury during his country’s Nations League clash with Denmark and misses this game. That will be a significant blow for La Real’s chances of winning at the San Mamés for the first time since 2020. TD


Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry, Jan and Gary