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The last Manchester derby had a crazy ending - can this weekend's match it?

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

UEFA Women’s Nations League: England v Belgium

20.00 on ITV1, STV and ITVX
The middle round of Nations League fixtures gives us international double headers, with the Lionesses facing the Belgian Red Flames today and again on Tuesday. If this sounds familiar to you that’s because this happened just 18 months ago in the 2023 running of the Nations League. That time, qualification for the Olympics was also on the line which led to some wild conspiracy theories. The final match day saw England needing to run up a big score against Scotland to take top spot and get a shot at one of two Olympic spots. This led some to speculate that Scotland might help England do this as some of their players would inevitably be included in Team GB. The speculation didn’t end there: Belgium conceded twice to the Netherlands in injury time to spark even wilder theories of Dutchophonic(?!) collusion. In the end, the Netherlands finished last in the final tournament and so failed to qualify anyway. Had any thought been given to the circumstances, England and Scotland should never have been drawn in the same group, but the main reason as to why it ended in that fashion was that England lost their away match to Belgium. Last month, the Red Flames lost both their opening games in this group but will feel they deserved something from both games. Against Spain they conceded twice in injury time (again, obviously messing with England) and against Portugal they suffered a very harsh handball decision, the subsequent penalty giving the only goal of the game. As a side the Belgians lack individual stars at any of the big clubs but have a wealth of experience. They will look to cause England problems on the counter attack, and hope that their luck is due a change. GS

Saturday

A-League: Adelaide United v Sydney

08.35 on TNT Sports 6
Last week’s Boxset promised goals and fun for Adelaide’s fixture with Melbourne Victory and it didn’t disappoint with a madcap 5-3 win Victory, but given Adelaide have conceded 20 goals in four matches and Sydney view defending as optional, it would be remiss not to include this A-League fixture. And this genuinely does has jeopardy. If Adelaide lose, they’re out of the top six and in the form they’re in, you sense that may be curtains for their finals hopes. Sydney, meanwhile, are good enough to make the top six but their inability to hold down a lead or even a clean sheet is a level of impressive incompetence. Both sides can score, and in Douglas Costa, Sydney have easily the best player in the league, but when your defence is made of two full backs who can’t defend and a converted full back, then you’re living on the edge. The reverse of this fixture saw Sydney blow Adelaide away 4-1 and begin the Reds’ downward spiral. A similar scoreline to either side wouldn’t be a surprise. GA

Championship: Luton Town v Leeds United

12.30 on Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
Two sides at opposite ends of the Championship table meet in a tie that could have a dramatic influence on both promotion and relegation outcomes. The home side, staring down back-to-back relegations, go into this one in far better form than the visitors. After a god-awful season where, at one stage, they collected just three points in nearly two months, the Hatters seem to be getting it together. Now, just one defeat in their last five has pulled them within three points of safety. Crucially, last week’s win at Hull pulled the East Yorkshire side into the fight, giving Luton a vital lifeline. For the visitors, struggling to maintain a promotion push, there couldn’t be a worse time to visit Kenilworth Road. Having been five points ahead of Sheffield United at one stage, (dirty) Leeds are now three behind them and only ahead of third-placed Burnley on goal difference. Have Leeds run out of puff? Well, they recently dropped points against West Brom, QPR and Swansea and in amongst that lot there’s a defeat to lowly Pompey - hardly a charge for the Premier League. One casualty of this run will be goalkeeper Illan Meslier who, despite saving a penalty against Swansea, made a subsequent error which allowed an equaliser. For Daniel Farke this was the latest in a string of blunders by the young Frenchman who will be dropped in favour of Welsh international keeper, Karl Darlow, for today’s game. Last season, Daniel Farke had to make do with the play-offs where his side ultimately lost out to Southampton. A loss today makes the chances of his involvement in that particular lottery all the more likely. JB

Bundesliga: Werder Bremen v Eintracht Frankfurt

17.30 on Sky Sports Football
At Christmas it looked like the good times were back at Bremen. Fifth in the table and just two points behind today’s opponents, Werder fans could dare to dream of the club’s first European qualification since 2011. Werder enjoyed a golden period from the end of the 1980s, and were regular qualifiers for the Champions League in the years after their most recent title win in 2004. February however saw the club revert to their more recent form, losing five games in a row, including DFB Pokal elimination at the hands of third tier Arminia Bielefeld (who have gone on to reach the final!) That awful run started after their last home win, a chaotic 1-0 over Mainz that ended with Werder down to nine players and head coach Ole Werner picking up a red after the final whistle. Although now down as far as 12th in the table, all is not lost for Werder’s season, impressive recent away wins against Holstein Kiel and Bayer Leverkusen have brought them to the back of a congested pack chasing the European places. Eintracht may have one eye on Thursday’s Europa League quarter final against Tottenham. Dino Toppmoller’s side lost both their games before the legs against Ajax in the previous round, a habit they’ll need to get out of if they want to hold on to the third place they hold now, which would be their best league finish in more than 30 years. GS

Sunday

Premier League: Fulham v Liverpool

14.00 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
It’s a funny old season Fulham are having. By any objective, a top half finish chasing for a European spot and an FA Cup quarter final would be seen as a success and there’s something just very enjoyable to watch about Marco Silva’s team of misfits and cast-offs who’ve made home on the banks of the Thames. And yet, the Cottagers will probably have this nagging sense that there could be more. So what of a visit from Liverpool? The Reds surely have the title wrapped up but Arne Slot doesn’t seem like the type of coach to tolerate his side taking their foot off the gas and neither would you imagine would any of his stars want to. But Fulham, on their day, are capable of causing any team - including the league leaders - a massive headache and the reverse fixture at Anfield was an entertaining 2-2 draw that the London side might have felt could have been a win on another day. Put simply, this isn’t an easy three points for Liverpool. Expect Fulham to give as good as they get with a style that naturally causes Slot’s side problems. Maybe it’s a bit much to expect a home win, but another 2-2 result wouldn’t be a surprise. GA

Premier League: Manchester United v Manchester City

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
“I will not have the time,” Ruben Amorim told reporters in the press conference following his side’s 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest in midweek. His words may be open to interpretation, but it’s hard not to feel that he’s already facing up to the idea that he won’t be around by the time club becomes competitive again. It wasn’t just another loss though; the winning goal coming from Anthony Elanga, tearing through the flat-footed United defence, was a further reminder of the deep issues at the club faced by Amorim, and, most likely, his eventual successor. Elanga, who signed for United as a 12 year old, was sold to Forest at the beginning of last season, as much for keeping United within PSR limits as it was for them not knowing what to do with him. At least for this match they won’t have to worry about Erling Haaland who will be missing until the end of the season after picking up an ankle injury in City’s FA Cup quarter-final win over Bournemouth. GS

Serie A: Roma v Juventus

19.45 on TNT Sports 1 and OneFootball
The last time Juventus were in the Boxset I was tipping them as late contenders for the title. Well, four weeks is a long time in Italian football and having lost spectacularly against Atalanta and Fiorentina, the club had all the reasons it needed to fire head coach Thiaggo Motta and replace him with Igor Tudor. Given his track record - Tudor has yet to last a whole season at any of his previous Italian clubs - his appointment seems only interim and the club will almost certainly be looking for the next big thing in the summer. Roma meanwhile are the form side in Serie A right now; unbeaten in 14 and on a run of seven straight wins. Claudo Ranieiri appears to have somehow brought order to the chaos the club has been through since the end of the Mourinho era. Questions remain as to who will replace him when he moves into an advisory role at the club at the end of the season. First thing he could advise them to do is to hire Thiaggo Motta. GS


Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry, Jan and Gary