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James Rodriguez has played in Mexico, Qatar, Greece and for Everton, will he settle in the USA?

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

Premier League: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Aston Villa

20.00 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
Late 90s indie band Silver Sun once had a minor hit with Too Much, Too Little, Too Late*, a description that could easily apply to Wolves right now. There’s no doubt this is a side that’s going down, but if they’re going down, they’re going down fighting. It probably won’t be with many victories but they’re more than capable of giving better sides a bloody nose. For that reason, Villa would be right to be a little wary of this Midlands derby. Unai Emery continues has done an impressive job and second place is within reach. A title challenge is a little fanciful but not out of the question if Arsenal choke, which isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. And Villa are going through a blip in form, with just one win in February as injuries take their toll. A win against Wolves would be the perfect way to restore confidence. Alternatively, a draw may be the indication of something more serious. This is absolutely not the gimmie the league table would suggest. GA

(*it was originally a 1978 hit for Johnny Mathis & Deneice Williams, reaching number 3 in the charts, but Gary’s too young to remember that one)

Saturday

Championship: Leicester City v Norwich City

12.30 on Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
Both clubs started the season with promotion ambitions but it’s not gone according to plan for either. Norwich have steadied somewhat under manager Philippe Clement, who replaced Liam Manning in November. The team’s abysmal start to the campaign under Manning put the club in relegation bother. They now sit in seventeenth on 42 points which should be enough to stay safe, lick their wounds and try again next season. But this fixture is really about the home side. Leicester’s on and off-pitch travails have led to a place in the bottom three and a change of coach. Marti Cifuentes was sacked late last month, after just six months, having lost eleven games. A couple of weeks later the EFL docked the club six points for breaking Profit & Sustainability rules in the 23/24 season. As they searched for a permanent replacement, Andy King presided as caretaker over five defeats, including an FA Cup exit, before Gary Rowett took the job until the end of the season. Rowett’s first game in the hot seat was a nice free hit at the Riverside against a second placed but faltering Middlesbrough side. His players earned a tough 1-1 draw and a confidence booster ahead of this match. Norwich haven’t won at Leicester since 2011 which given the direction of travel for both clubs is not surprising. But the picture is different now and an opportunity exists for the Canaries to sing at the King Power. TD

Bundesliga: Borussia Dortmund v Bayern Munich

17.30 on Sky Sports Football
Bayern’s minor blip against Augsburg and HSV is disappearing in the rear-view mirror and are unbeaten in six games in all competitions. If they can overcome this high-profile fixture then a second Bundesliga title is almost certainly a formality. And history is on their side. Bayern have not lost a “Klassiker” in the league since 2018. Given how Vincent Kompany’s team have dominated the league, and assuming they prevail, they look well placed to win and extend that run. The only caveat is last weekend’s nervy 3-2 win at Eintracht Frankfurt. The visitors, invigorated somewhat under new coach Albert Riera, pushed the champions to the limit. Dortmund have had quite the week: they showed great character to come back from 2-0 down to draw 2-2 at Leipzig but the result left their title challenge hanging by a thread. On Wednesday they blew a 2-0 lead in their second leg Champions League tie at Atalanta. BVB went 3-0 down but pulled one back and looked to have forced extra time. That was until Remy Bensebaini committed an insane foul which cost him a red card and his team a penalty and the tie. Nico Schlotterbeck was also red carded from the bench in the same moment. Quite where that puts the collective Dortmund mindset going into this game, I’m not sure. What is clear however is that anything short of a win means that Borussia’s season is effectively over in February. TD

MLS: Minnesota United v Cincinnati

21.30 on Apple TV
The Twin Cities of Minneapolis and St Paul have been the focus of global attention during three months of occupation by 3000 federal paramilitary immigration agents in Operation Metro Surge. Soccer, still seen in the US as a sport largely enjoyed and played by immigrants, has not been immune from this. Based in St Paul, FC Minnesota United’s Argentine defender Joaquín Pereyra recently said that he was “scared” and carries his passport and green card with him to the supermarket, even in the knowledge that it wouldn’t stop him from being detained. This week, it was reported that Werder Bremen have cancelled plans to play a friendly in Minnesota because of the uncertainty caused by the recent events. However, all this hasn’t stopped the club from arguably making the signing of season. James Rodriguez announced himself on the global stage by starring at 2014 World Cup in Brazil. Since then he has travelled the world, with MLS being the 11th different league he’s played in. He’s now 34 but will captain the Colombia national team in the upcoming World Cup and was the player of the tournament at the 2024 Copa America (they lost the final to Argentina in extra time). He was unable to play in Minnesota’s opening weekend 2-2 draw with Austin, unsurprisingly due to visa issues. GS

Sunday

Bonus viewing: If you enjoyed waking up to football during the Women’s World Cup in 2023 then you’re in for a treat over the next three weeks with the Women’s Asian Cup. In the UK, the matches are available on the AFC’s YouTube channel. The tournament opens with host’s Australia taking on the Philippines from 09.00. There are games at this time on most days of the tournament.

Scottish Premiership: Rangers v Celtic

12.00 on Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
The first of three Old Firm derbies between now and the end of the season. The second is as soon as next weekend in the quarter finals of the Scottish Cup, while the third will be played at some point after the league splits in early April. Two defeats for Hearts in February appeared to open the door for the Glasgow sides to chase down the Premiership leaders, but then came last weekend. Rangers managed to salvage a point from their trip to bottom side Livingston, who played the last half an hour with ten men. Trailing 2-0, Danny Rohl’s side scored twice in the last ten minutes of the game to deny Livingston what would have been just their second league win of the season. Meanwhile, Celtic lost at home to Hibs, marking Martin O’Neill’s first defeat in the Scottish top flight since the last day of the 2004/05 season. On that day his Celtic side were two minutes from being crowned champions before Motherwell turned the match around to win 2-1, handing the title to Rangers. This season could well prove to be just as dramatic, if the chasers can keep pace that is. Hearts play on Saturday at home to an out of form Aberdeen. If they win and this ends in a draw they will extend their lead to six points, at least until Celtic play their game in hand on Wednesday (also against Aberdeen). GS

Premier League: Arsenal v Chelsea

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
I must admit, I did pause for a moment before including this match in this weekend’s selection. Despite the fact these two sides have the highest xG totals in the Premier League, they put on one of the dullest performances of the season in the second leg of their League Cup semi-final at the Emirates a few weeks back. It was a game Chelsea needed to win but instead they set themselves up for a draw, and ended up losing. Liam Rosenior, still new to the job, felt the first barbs of criticism for his approach to the game but having conceded three at home in the first leg it’s unsurprising he took a pragmatic approach. Those two legs are still his only loses as Chelsea manager but dropped points at home against two of the Premier League’s worst travellers, Leeds and Burnley, have taken the shine off what had been an encouraging start. Chelsea face defensive issues with Marc Cucurella still recovering from a hamstring strain and Wesley Fofana suspended for his red card against Burnley, though Reece James looks to have returned to full fitness having missed both legs of the semi-final. You would feel that a point for Chelsea would suit them more than their hosts. The Premier League is almost assured of a five Champions League places next season with a healthy lead in the current rankings for this campaign and all nine English clubs remaining (as many remaining as Germany and Italy combined). Chelsea currently sit in that fifth position in the table, ahead of Liverpool but only on goal difference. GS

Serie A: Roma v Juventus

19.45 on TNT Sports and DAZN
It has not been a happy February for Juventus. Luciano Spalletti oversaw quite the turnaround after replacing Igor Tudor that there was even fanciful talk of a title challenge from Turin. That’s evaporated as in the space of a month, The Old Lady have tumbled out of the Coppa Italia, out of the Champions League, and out of the top four. Given the trigger happy nature of Italian boardrooms, failure to qualify for the Big Cup could have repercussions for Spalletti’s job security. But then Juve have been somewhat of a bogey team for Roma, who can ill-afford to lose this one, as it puts I Bianconeri within a point of the Romans. Win, and there’s a seven point gap, which at this stage of the season, starts to look tough to close. With Napoli - tied on points with Roma - playing bottom side Hellas Verona, every point counts this weekend. Juventus will be hoping a new month brings a change of fortune. GA


Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry and Gary