Get the Weekend Boxset in an email every week

With over 200 charges between them, the Cup final is one for those who enjoy watching cheats prosper.

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

Get the Weekend Boxset in an email every week

Head over to Substack to get this newsletter in your inbox every week.
https://soundoffootball.substack.com/

Share this with someone on WhatsApp

All times are UK

Friday

Premier League: Aston Villa v Liverpool

20.00 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
At the start of the month this fixture looked to be simply a matter of league procedure, with both sides a comfortable eight points ahead of sixth place. Flash forward two weeks and that advantage has been halved. Four points is still a comfortable cushion between themselves and anyone looking to snatch a Champions League place but with at least one off these sides dropping more points here Bournemouth and Brentford should be smelling blood. Villa will of course have one eye on Wednesday’s Europa League final in Istanbul against Freiburg (who equally appear to be coasting domestically), for Liverpool it’s been an uncomfortable season they’ve wanted to be over for a while now. For the moment it seems that Arne Slot, will remain in post next season. That of course may change if they end up in sixth place, with many fans wanting the club to hijack Xabi Alonso’s potential move to Chelsea. GS

Saturday

A-League Semi-final 2nd leg: Newcastle Jets v Sydney (1-1)

10.40 on TNT Sports 8 and HBO Max
The first leg of this match was a curious affair as Sydney did their very best to create chances at both ends, while Newcastle seemed to be keeping their powder dry and seemed perfectly happy to head back to the Hunter with the tie all-square. Not a surprise given how much of a fortress McDonald Jones has been for Mark Milligan’s men this season. By rights, this shouldn’t even been a tie, as Newcastle have been far and away ahead the best side in the competition while Sydney have been up and down, capable of some attractive play but with no end product and some kamikaze defending, and yet are one match away from the final. The narrative says Jets captain Max Burgess, who was frozen out last season at the Sky Blues, will score the goal that sends Newcastle to the final. But this is the A-League, the killer of romance. Expect Patrick Wood, the backup striker’s backup striker capable of shinning from one yard, to do what he did against Melbourne Victory and break dreams and hearts. Now that is a narrative. GA

Scottish Premiership: Celtic v Hearts

12.30 on Sky Sports Football, Main event and Ultra
With barely seconds remaining, a stray hand from Motherwell’s Sam Nicholson handed Celtic a last-gasp penalty to win the match 3-2 at Fir Park after a lengthy (but not that lengthy) VAR review. That goal means that Celtic go from needing a miracle to win the title to being favourites. Once again, we see VAR playing a key role in deciding the fate of a league championship on this island. By the letter of the law, I suppose it could have been a penalty, but like many of us I no longer fully understand the handball law as it applied and I don’t think it was clear that the ball definitely came off Nicholson’s hand. None of the Celtic players appealed for a handball. Instead, they were looking for a foul. Nevertheless, it did not take very long for the referee to see things Celtic’s way and I wouldn’t blame anyone for being cynical about the call. Hearts manager Derek McInnes described the decision as “disgusting”. His team were deserving and convincing 3-0 winners against Falkirk. If they avoid defeat at Celtic Park, they will be champions. And who is to say that they cannot achieve that apart from pretty much everybody. Martin O’Neil’s team, with a 60,000-home crowd behind them will be relentless and if they don’t succeed themselves then they can rely on a diligent VAR to scrutinise the Hearts players, looking for the slightest transgression. If Hearts can prevail under these conditions, it could be the greatest title win of all time, arguably in any league. But while miracles do happen in football I don’t think they happen in Scottish football. TD

FA Cup Final: Chelsea v Manchester City

15.00 on BBC One & iPlayer, TNT Sports 1 & Ultimate and HBO Max
What is it about Chelsea and cup finals. After the chaos of losing Maresca in a sulk over not wanting to report into Todd Boehly, and Liam Rosenior to a thought leadership motivational tour, the Blues — champions of the world, dontcha know — are in with another sniff of silverware. And this is potentially quite a fun encounter. City would love a double, but you suspect Pep would prefer to take a league title if forced to choose, so there’s a strong rotation potential, while Chelsea have absolutely nothing to lose, unless you count the depreciation value on their saleable young assets. Given Pep seems to face a different Chelsea manager every time these two play, trying to read anything into form or past meetings is a bit futile. We know City have one of the best squads in football but have a curious tendency to misfire. We know Chelsea’s have a good squad that has somehow become less than the sum of its parts. And there’s a lot of joy to be had in watching two flawed sides battle it out. Of course if this was the end of season showpiece rather than an aperitif for the climax of the Premier League, everything written above would be a moot point. And yes, I’m still grumpy about the lack of all day TV coverage for this match. But when all’s said and done, this is incredibly likely to see another trophy in the Stamford Bridge cabinet. No wonder they’re looking for a bigger home. GA

Sunday

Bonus viewing: Today is non-League finals day, a Wembley celebration of the game below the fourth tier. The FA Vase final is AFC Stoneham v Cockfosters at 12.30 on TNT Sports 5 and HBO Max. The FA Trophy final is Southend United v Wealdstone at 16.30 on TNT Sports 4 and HBO Max.

Premier League: Everton v Sunderland

15.00 on Sky Sports Premier League
By the time this game kicks off, interest in this fixture for casual observers may have diminished along with the European expectations of the clubs’ fans. But in the event City win the Cup on Saturday, eighth place in the table becomes the likely position for Conference League qualification (“likely” — there are other permutations far too byzantine for the scope of this preview). With these sides respectively two and three points away from that position, a win for either should leave them well-placed for more than passing interest in the final round of fixtures next Sunday. And it appears that the addition of the third tournament has seen a shift in attitudes from middle-ranking Premier League teams. Crystal Palace are the third English team in four years to reach the final. In previous seasons (with the notable exceptions of Middlesbrough and Fulham) teams that accidentally found themselves qualified for the Europa League had a tendency to see it more as an inconvenience and treated it as such. Everton, for example, qualified six times over the past 20 years and never progressed past the round of 16. The majority of those campaigns were with David Moyes in charge, and it’s possible he may still have little interest in bringing Thursday night football to the Hill Dickinson, but a first European qualification in more than 50 years for Sunderland would be fine reward for an outstanding season. GS

Premier League: Newcastle United v West Ham United

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
In the battle to avoid the final Premier League relegation spot, West Ham have the chance to strike first against their bitter rivals Tottenham Hotspur. While the Spursy ones have the points advantage they will have to sweat it out until Tuesday before their match against a Chelsea side that are motivated to snag a European place. So, if the Hammers can get three points up at St James’ Park then it heaps the pressure on a Spurs team that has shown few signs of coping with it. The Stratford club’s resurgence over the last couple of months has been down to their home form. The controversial/uncontroversial defeat to Arsenal was their first home reverse since losing to Chelsea in January. Their last away win was at Fulham in March. Before that they have only managed wins at Turf Moor and White Hart Lane in 2026. So, these players need to produce an unusual result to protect their premier League status. Fortunately for them their opponents have no dog in the race. With uncertainty surrounding the club’s Saudi backers’ conviction, Newcastle are coming to the end of a long and fruitless season. Under the circumstances you would think that Eddie Howe’s job was under threat but due to a combination of excessive Saudi bureaucracy and lack of leadership, no one will be entirely sure whose job it is to sack him. TD

Serie A: Udinese v Cremonese

19.45 on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max and DAZN
With the World Cup approaching broadcasters are desperate to stuff their summer schedule with vaguely football related content (there’s already a dedicated World Cup link in the top menu of the iPlayer). That content doesn’t get much more vague than a fly-on-wall reality TV show The Vardys coming soon to ITV1 (not ITV2). The show will tell the story of Jamie Vardy and his family spending the last 12 months in Italy, and as if already anticipating a second season, rumours about what the 39-year-old will be up to next are already circulating (source: Rebekah Vardy). With his contract at Cremonese due to end at the end of the season (should the built-in option to extend not be exercised) there is talk of a return to Leicester, maybe in a player/coach role, to help them get out of League One. Before that, we have what should make a great finale to season 1: Cremonese’s fight to stay in the top flight. With two rounds remaining, La Cremo are a point behind Lecce who are on the other side of the dotted line. As a reminder, in Serie A if the sides in 17th and 18th finish level on points, they will take part in a relegation play-off, irrespective of goal difference or head to head. Lecce are away to Sassuolo, which kick off at the same time as this. GS


Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry and Gary