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It's the last Goodison Merseyside derby but will it be one to remember in a good way for Everton fans?

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

Championship: Burnley v Middlesbrough

20.00 on Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
Wayne Rooney could be out of a job at Plymouth before Frank Lampard secures his first win as Coventry manager, but it could be two less storied members of England’s so-called Golden Generation grabbing the glory in the Championship this season. Coming through England junior ranks together, Michael Carrick and Scott Parker never enjoyed long periods in the senior team and only once played together in the same full international side. For fact fans out there, it was the away defeat to Croatia during the failed Euro 2008 qualification campaign under Steve McLaren. Both are now in charge of teams that are in good form and challenging for promotion. Parker has never failed to get a team promoted from the Championship and is well-placed to do it a third time this season having previously taken up Fulham through the play-offs and Bournemouth as runners-up. Of course both those stories didn’t end well with Fulham relegated the following season and with him getting sacked by Bournemouth. It remains to be seen whether the story will be any different with Burnley, but if he keeps on getting sides into the Premier League he’ll always be in demand as a manager. Recent wins have elevated Middlesbrough into the play-off positions but Carrick’s side has yet to show the consistency required to mount a challenge for the automatic positions. They have beaten top-side Sheffield United this season but will have a tough task getting something from this game: second-placed Burnley are unbeaten at home and haven’t conceded at Turf Moor since September. GS

Saturday

Premier League: Everton v Liverpool

12.30 on TNT Sports 1 & Ultimate
This Merseyside derby comes at a pivotal moment in the history of Everton FC. First and foremost, it is the last league derby to be held at Goodison and that alone makes it even more of a must win game. It also comes at a point where the protracted takeover of the club and growing disaffection with its coach Sean Dyche means that if the game goes badly the mood, and the occasion, could turn ugly. Wednesday’s 4-0 win against Wolves has let some air out of the valve but there is still a lot of pressure in the cooker. It’s possible that Dyche has been spared the axe up to now because the outgoing owner, Farhad Moshiri, wants to spare himself the aggro of firing a man who has served him and the club well, and leave the onerous task to the Friedkin Group who are set to take over the club. Liverpool make their final trip to Goodison on the back of an entertaining 3-3 draw with Newcastle. The points were dropped in the final minutes thanks to Liverpool ‘keeper Caoimhin Kelleher’s mistake which let Fabian Schar in for an equaliser. That set-back aside, the Anfield club have been in title and Champions League winning form and the midweek draw will only act as an added incentive to secure an historic derby win. TD

Premier League: Manchester United v Nottingham Forest

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
The honeymoon is over and the scale of the task before new Manchester United coach, Ruben Amorim, was laid before him during the 2-0 loss to Arsenal on Wednesday. If you look at that game in the kindest light, you could say it was a decent performance against a resurgent Arsenal with a very good set-piece coach. Amorim has a good squad and the resources to get more. Despite that however, the work on the training ground needed to reach Arsenal’s level, will take months. But there are some quick wins for Amorim to leverage. The recent goal scoring form of Marcus Rashford being one (which balances out the same player's penchant for conceding unnecessary corners). Despite dropping back to seventh in the table, Forest are having A Good Season. Defence is the key for Nuno's side; only 16 goals conceded, three of them in the last game against Man City. Their expected goals allowed (xGA) is 15 so they're not in a false position. 22-year-old centre back, Murillo in particular, is catching the eye. But their xG is lower than Crystal Palace and they will need to find the back of the net more frequently if they want to make good their early season promise. Forest cannot live on Woods alone. This match takes place in the wake of the passing of an Old Trafford legend. Kath Phipps served the club as its receptionist for over 55 years. She passed away this week at the age of 85. Given the weight of tributes posted by fans and former players, she was much loved and will be greatly missed. TD

La Liga: Girona v Real Madrid

20.00 on Premier Player and LaLigaTV
This time last year, Real were top, having recently eclipsed Girona who sat second ahead of both Atleti and Barça. Finally finishing third, Girona are now a Champions League side and go into this game in eighth. The slight drop off is due to the departure of a host of high-profile players, including top scorer Artem Dovbyk who went to Roma, and play-maker Savinho who went to City. A raft of new signings are taking time to bed in but after a poor start to the season things are improving. For Real, a disappointing Champions League campaign, culminating in a painful defeat at Anfield last week, has the vultures circling for Carlo Ancelotti. French mega-star, Kylian Mbappé, also humbled on Merseyside, found his feet again at the weekend in a win at home to Getafe. His finish, a wonderful combination with Jobe Bellingham’s older brother, was as good as you’ll see, and lifted everyone in the Bernabéu. Also helping the mood in the Spanish capital is the dip in form of leaders, and arch rivals, Barça. Last weekend’s defeat made it three without a win and spoiled the much hyped 125 year anniversary for the Catalans. A return to form in Monday’s game gave Hansi Flick’s side a much-needed cushion with Real losing ground with a 2-1 loss at Athletic Club on Wednesday. There are positives, with Bellingham’s licence to get forward paying dividends, but Real need consistency and Girona will be a tough nut to crack. JB

Sunday

A-League: Central Coast Mariners v Sydney

07.00 on TNT Sports 4
Don’t let the table fool you here, these are two sides who will expect to be in the mix come the end of the season and both are very entertaining to watch, so if you’re up early on a Sunday morning this could be worth tuning in for. The Mariners may have won back to back titles but they’re notoriously slow starters and also have Champions League commitments, which has proven tough for the Gosford side. The Mariners challenge so far has been too many draws, but having seen off local rivals Newcastle to record their first win of the season, this could be the moment for Australia’s smallest A-League club to put on a run. And they’re only 3 points behind Sydney, who occupy the last finals slot. If the Mariners have lacked a killer touch, the Sky Blues have looked a little shaky at the back without the departed Luke Brattan screening the defence. But with Douglas Costa, Joe Lolley and Patrick Klimala up front, Ufuk Talay has one of the most potent front lines in the league. Matches between these sides are usually see-saw affairs with a lot of action, and with both teams needing a win, this is a perfect appetiser for Super Sunday. GA

Premier League: Tottenham Hotspur v Chelsea

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra You have to hand it to Ange Postecoglou. The man tasked with reviving Tottenham’s identity appears to have constructed a team of peak Spursyness, capable of losing to Ipswich and blitzing Manchester City. There’s an inherent fragile beauty in North London that makes this entirely impossible to predict and you suspect that within them there’s both an unbeaten run to lift them into the top four as well as a collapse that ends with Ange getting his P45. Facing them are a side that were equally as unpredictable but have assumed a calm serenity under Enzo Maresca while also being particularly enjoyable to watch. Gone are the days of banter accounts posting about the chaos at Stamford Bridge and you expect to see a W next to Chelsea’s name in most fixtures these days to the point that in the event Liverpool hit a sticky patch, the Blues are genuine title contenders. Of course, this won’t be an easy fixture. There’s genuine antipathy between the two sides and on their day Spurs are more than capable of mixing it with the best. Much will depend on if the side can continue to accommodate both James Maddison and Dejan Kulusevski without compromising protection of the defence. Spurs could just as easily score four or concede four or both, so let’s just sit back and enjoy this one rather than trying to second guess the Spursy percentage on show on Sunday. GA

Serie A: Napoli v Lazio

19.45 on TNT Sports 1 and OneFootball The results in Serie A last weekend were overshadowed by the on-field collapse of Fiorentina’s Edoardo Bove, early in their match against Inter. The 22-year-old is recovering in hospital and said to be doing well. Prior to last weekend, those sides were two of a group of four teams just a point behind Napoli, a group that also includes Atalanta and Lazio. With the abandonment of the match in Florence, Napoli and Atalanta pushed ahead at the top of the table with away wins at Torino and Roma respectively, but Lazio were unable to join them, losing at Parma in a game dominated by VAR. Lazio thought they had gone a goal up after a minute through a stunning 30 yard shot from Nicolo Rovella, only for it to be disallowed for a foul in the build-up. Rovello himself was the player involved in the tussle deep in Lazio’s half with Parma’s Anas Haj Mohamed that looked 50/50 but the video ref thought otherwise. Tempers flared on the touchline just before half-time, when VAR overturned (correctly) a penalty awarded on the field to Lazio. VAR also came after Rovella again in the first half when it asked the referee to review a high challenge. On looking at the pitchside screen the referee chose not to upgrade the card he’d shown to a red. If you have a nagging feeling this game has already happened, it has, sort of. Thursday night saw the sides meet in Rome in the Coppa Italia with a hat-trick from Dutch striker Tijjani Noslin sending Lazio through to the quarter finals. Lazio fans will hope that result signals a change of luck for their side and that they can get a repeat win here. And it’s certainly possible; during November, Napoli dropped points against their nearest challengers, losing away to Atalanta and being held at home 1-1 against Inter. GS


Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry, Jan and Gary