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A huge weekend for sides chasing Champions League places in the League. Plus, the Lionesses prepare for their Euros defence as a new Nations League begins.

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

Women’s Nations League Group A3 : Portugal v England

19.45 on ITV1, STV and ITVX
Women’s international football makes a welcome return to the Algarve to start a new season of the Nations League. For the more than 30 years the Algarve Cup was a staple of the women’s international calendar, an annual tournament that attracted the best teams in the world. As the women’s game has rapidly professionalised, UEFA has pushed tournaments like that out of the calendar; the US hosted SheBelieves Cup, (of which, this season’s running started yesterday) is the only remaining tournament of this kind and now doesn’t include European teams. The Women’s Nations League is now in its third running - well second - depending on how you look at it. The first was in 2023 and saw Portugal relegated to League B. The second running wasn’t called the Nations League but had the same format and allowed Portugal to gain promotion back to League A. The only reason it wasn’t an actual Nations League was that it was Euro 2025 qualifying and didn’t have a finals competition. That’s cleared that up. Portugal had an unbeaten 2024 but only faced one side ranked higher than them in their twelve matches. At this moment in the game’s development, the stratification of women’s international football is necessary but it does mean that it can be tough going for teams who sit on the dividing lines. With England and Spain in the same group, you would say that it’s next week’s game against similarly ranked Belgium that will be the focus of their ambitions to remain in the top level. Barcelona’s Kika Nazareth is their star player and one of the most talented young players in Europe right now. GS

Saturday

A-League: Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City

08.35 on TNT Sports 1
A cursory glance at the league position of the two Melbourne clubs tells you all you need to know about the A-League. Both sides are in with a serious shot of the post-season play-offs, and both sides have, charitably, not been at their best. City’s win over a willing but limited Perth side last weekend was their first goal in four matches, courtesy of a sweet strike from teenage prospect Lawrence Wong. Victory, meanwhile, are somehow third in the table despite a serious mid-season slump after Patrick Kisnorbo departed the dugout without warning to head overseas. All of which makes this derby a genuinely curious affair. There is a lot riding on this result - a win for either side cements a playoff spot and gives momentum going into the run in. But a loss may not matter given the lack of quality below them in the table. This isn’t to say this Melbourne Derby will be a low quality affair - it rarely is - but it’s hard to know which teams will show up. Will we get the confident, patient City who calmly work their way through opposition defences, or will it be the shot shy team who are bereft of attacking options? And will we get a swashbuckling Victory side who are capable of slicing opponents apart or the team who struggle to carry out basic defensive drills? Your guess is as good as mine. GA

Championship: Sunderland v Hull City

12.30 on Sky Sports Football & Ultra
Saturday’s lunchtime kick off is a cat-fight between a Sunderland side sitting comfortably in fourth and Hull City who are fighting for their Championship survival, fourth from bottom. The hosts suffered their first loss of the year on Monday night; a ninety-fifth minute winner gave (dirty) Leeds the points to send them back to the top of the table. The Lads looked good for at least a draw, but they sat deep on their 1-0 lead in the second half, unable to play out and seeing long clearances easily picked up by the home side who launched wave after wave of attacks. (Dirty) Leeds eventually found their way through with two high-balls, right on the keeper, which Sunderland were unable to defend - something Hull’s Ruben Selles will have taken note of. Despite their lofty position, Sunderland recently fluffed their lines twice at home to Plymouth and Watford; two drawn games they could and should have won. On a positive note, Wilson Isidor is back in form following his double-penalty nightmare against Burnley. His pace, dynamism and ability to get a shot off in unlikely circumstances has bagged him twelve goals this term. The addition of returning winger Romaine Mundle in today’s squad is also encouraging; the tricky winger has been a big miss during his lengthy injury spell, and his cut-ins from the left will give Hull something to think about. For the visitors, a run of three games without a win has done nothing for the survival chances. However, their three most recent wins have come away from home against decent sides: Blackburn, Millwall and Sheffield United. This last stat does absolutely nothing to calm my nerves ahead of this one. Sunderland have both excited and disappointed this season: always on the edge of doing something special, but falling just short. In microcosm, this is my experience of supporting this famous old club for the last forty years - it’s the hope that kills you. Score draw. JB

Premier League: Aston Villa v Chelsea

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
Two sides who can reasonably be described as going through a sticky patch. It’s to Enzo Maresca’s credit that he’s welded together a Chelsea team that, on their day, are capable of taking on any team in the division and, at their best, look like a Champions League team. But there’s also a fragility about the Blues. Witness two back to back defeats against Brighton, a team that Chelsea had previously dominated. The Blues, like so many others around them in the top flight, are in desperate need of a striker, with Christopher Nkunku failing to impress and Cole Palmer struggling in the false nine role, making the decision to loan out Joao Felix even more baffling. No such worries at Villa, who have Ollie Watkins leading the line and moved swiftly to ensure the England international had a backup after Jhon Duran’s move to Saudi Arabia with the arrival of Marcus Rashford. But while Villa feel more stable than a lot of other big names, there’s a sense that this grand old club is somewhat underachieving this season, and that a second successive Champions League qualification should be within reach. That said, adjusting to midweek competition - especially in the revised format and at the level of intensity Europe’s premier knockout competition is played at - has been the undoing of many a side. Unai Emery is a cup specialist, although it would be a bold punter who backs the Villains to win the Champions League, but in the league there’s an inconsistency to his side. If Watkins isn’t firing then goals can be hard to come by, and Villa had a habit of conceding easy goals even before Tyrone Mings’ injury. When they are on song though, they’re a match for anyone, as Liverpool found out midweek. The draw against the Reds could be just the filip Villa need to kickstart the second half of the season, while Chelsea need to figure out the answer to their lack of goals. GA

Sunday

Premier League: Newcastle United v Nottingham Forest

14.00 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
On this week’s podcast Graham and I discussed the resurgences on the number 9 (or the True 9 as they should be called). That is not to say that position was completely redundant in recent years, far from it, but there is a sense that coaching principles are placing greater influence on The Big Man Up Front. Well, this game has two very prolific exponents of that craft in Alexander Isak and Chris Wood for the (dirty) Mags and Forest, respectively. Of the two, I’d say that Isak is more rounded and cultured as a footballer. I also wouldn’t say he qualifies as a target man but he has the pace and awareness to get into goal scoring positions and he benefits from a direct approach. The Swede had scored a goal less than Wood (17/18) but his non-penalty xG is higher than his Forest counterpart (13.4/8.1), as is the number of shots on target (30/25). Wood is more of a blunt instrument in the mould of Mateta or Beto. Not lacking in guile but an easy player to hit from deep. His underlying stats may suggest that he is an outlier but he has hit double figures in the last two seasons and was a significant presence during his time at St James’ Park. You wouldn’t back against him to score against his former club as Forest seek to respond to their 2-1 loss to Fulham last week. Newcastle need to get their December form back and will be looking at their opponents third place with hungry eyes. TD

Premier League: Manchester City v Liverpool

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
Have you heard? The title race is back on. Over the last week and a half Liverpool have extended their lead over Arsenal at the top of the table from six points to eight but have gone from having played a game less to having played a game more. All of which, pessimistic Liverpool fans and optimistic Arsenal fans will tell you, means that should the Gunners win their game in hand AND (and it is big and) beat Liverpool at Anfield in April, the gap closes to just two points. So all eyes on Manchester to a fixture that in recent seasons has had a big say in where the title will go. Despite not having won a league game at the Etihad since 2015, this season Liverpool go there with an expectation of victory, especially with further injury worries for Pep following City’s midweek Champions League exit to Real Madrid. John Stones limped off after just eight minutes and while Haaland and De Bruyne were on the bench neither were used; the suggestion being that they were only there if needed for a final five minute push. Defeats to Real aside, results have improved for City and last weekend’s 4-0 thumping of Newcastle was a further reminder that they cannot be taken for granted. Liverpool’s draw against Villa was a match in which both sides led and both sides will feel they could have won with late chances. Salah should terrify this City defence but you feel Liverpool will concede. It has all the makings of a far more open and unpredictable game than usual between these two giants. GS

Bundesliga: Hoffenheim v Stuttgart

18.30 on Sky Sports Football
“This is one big shit season… nothing is working… something has changed.” That was TSG Hoffenheim’s all-time leading goal-scorer, Andrej Kramaric speaking to friend of the pod, Archie Rhind-Tutt on ESPN in January following their 5-0 defeat to Bayern Munich. After qualifying for the Europa League last season, the club was cast into turmoil. Sporting Director Alexander Rosen who had been at the club for 15 years was fired in the close season. After a dismal start to the campaign, coach Pellegrino Matarazzo was fired and replaced by Austrian Christian Ilzer. A 4-3 win against Leipzig proved to be a false sunrise as the club went on a wretched run that saw them out of Europe and into the bottom three. Things got even more depressing after a 4-0 home defeat to Union Berlin two weeks ago but a silver lining has emerged in the shape of Gift Orban who joined the club in early January from Lyon, The Nigerian striker has scored three goals in six games and was on the mark in Hoff’s 3-1 win at Werder Bremen last week which has definitely lifted the spirits. Today’ visitors are their closest neighbours, Sinsheim being about an hour’s drive from Stuttgart, but this is not really a derby. Hoffenheim for well documented reasons, are a pariah club and unworthy of being given the distinction of rivals in the eyes of the Stuttgart ultras. The home fans will see things differently and will try to create a derby atmosphere. Stuttgart, coached by former Hoffenheim boss Sebastian Hoeness, need to bounce back from a 2-1 loss to Wolfsburg if they want to compete for a Champions League spot, which is very much up for grabs. TD