Weekend Boxset: Pending appeal

October 09, 2026

Weekend Boxset: Pending appeal

Club football returns with the City verdict threatening to throw this Premier League season into chaos.

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

Share this with someone on WhatsApp

All times are UK

Friday

FIFA Women’s World Cup 2027 UEFA play-off semi final 1st Leg: Greece v England

17.30 on ITV1, STV and ITVX
Is it really 25 years since David Beckham’s last minute free kick against Greece at Old Trafford secured England’s men qualification to the 2002 World Cup? On paper, the Lionesses shouldn’t require any last minute dramatics to progress to the final play-off round (which will be against either Ukraine or Slovakia) to book their place in Brazil next summer and will be looking to get this tie done in the first leg. Greece are 55 places behind England in the world rankings — a chasm in the women’s game. They topped their League C qualifying group with four wins from four against Georgia and the Faroe Islands, but in their previous Nations League campaign, in 2025, they lost all six games in League B. One of their more experienced players is Veatriki Sarri, who at 18 moved from Crete to Leeds for university. In the decade since then she has played for a number of clubs in England and is currently in her second spell at Birmingham City. For England, Ella Toone is a late call-up after Lucy Bronze withdrew this week. The second leg is on Tuesday with the two-legged final to be played in the November/December break. GS

Saturday

Premier League: Arsenal v Leeds United

12.30 on TNT Sports 1 & Ultimate and HBOMax
Arsenal could have really done without the extended international break that added Kai Havertz to an increasingly packed treatment room at the Emirates. Still, they’re up against Leeds, who really do not like playing Arsenal and have a terrible recent record against the Gunners. Still, this one could be a tad closer than recent meetings, with the 1970s giant edging closer to Champions League football with a smart recruitment policy and a very cohesive team. Of course, this is all occurring since Manchester City were found guilty of financial doping and who knows what will happen to the team who sit three points above Arsenal at the top of the table. Is this season likely to descend into chaos with City stripped of their place in the Premier League? Who knows what’s real anymore? Did Mikel Arteta die in a bizarre gardening accident and has been replaced by a doppelgänger? Does Dominic Calvert-Lewis actually exist? Will Arsenal beat Leeds? Who knows? Apart from the last question, to which the answer is quite probably, although it’ll be a lot closer than they’d like. GA

Premier League: Manchester United v Tottenham Hotspur

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
United fans may be experiencing a case of deja vu. Caretaker manager with links to the club arrives. Caretaker manager brings the feel good factor back. Caretaker manager is given the role permanently. Now permanent manager, the flaws start to become more apparent and results flatline. One win in five is not the kind of form that leads to longevity in the Old Trafford dugout, especially when there are losses to Hull, Brighton and the Noisy Neighbours, as well as a draw against Fulham. Michael Carrick does have a large injury list and the squad looks better than early results would suggest. The international break was probably a good thing for Carrick — a bit of headspace away from the matchday microscope gives him time to find solutions. And facing bottom of the league Spurs is definitely a fixture a team like United should be relishing. “Should” being the operative word here. When the Red Devils beat Spurs 2-0 at Old Trafford last February, that was their first win over the North Londoners in 9 games. Even at their multiple low ebbs, Tottenham have been a bit of a bogey team for United over the past 2 years. Whether last year’s home win has broken that particular hoodoo remains to be seen, but Spurs are also a squad who, on paper, look much better than their league position. Like his opposite number, Roberto De Zerbi can use the international break as time to reset. A first win for the Italian’s side has to come sooner rather than later, and taking that win away in Manchester would be a very Spurs thing to do. Expect the bookies to sharpen their “next manager sacked” odds immediately after the final whistle. GA

La Liga: Real Madrid v Villarreal

20.00 on Disney Plus
Having taken just two points from his first five league games in charge, Villarreal’s new 38-year-old head coach, Inigo Perez must have been feeling the pressure after moving over from Conference League finalists Rayo Vallecano in the summer, replacing Marcelino. 3-1 wins against Malaga and Levante in their last two games before the break have eased that pressure for now and lifted his side into the top half. Real lost the Madrid derby in their final game before the break and return to action fourth in the table, six points adrift of Barcelona who are still 100%. There will be much interest to see if the break has brought an uplift in form for Vinicius Jr. After a very public contract renewal in the summer he has just one club goal so far this season; an injury time bonus in a 4-1 home win over Rayo. Both sides have big games against Serie A opposition coming up in the Champions League next week: Jose returns to the eternal city to face former club Roma, while Villarreal — still looking for their first win in the mega-table phase at their tenth(!) attempt — host Napoli. GS

Sunday

Championship: Southampton v Portsmouth

12.00 on ITV, STV, ITVX and Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
Southampton’s manager Tonda Eckert will be in the home dugout for this south coast derby and should have a warm reception from the St Mary’s crowd, having avoided a lengthy ban for his role in the “spygate” scandal. This week an independent panel concluded that he showed “genuine contrition” for what had happened and that a £28,000 fine and a suspended six week ban was punishment enough. The panel felt that he had been “open and honest” (unlike others we could mention). The club, of course, have already been punished — ejected from last season’s play-offs and starting this season with four point deduction. Despite the uncertainty surrounding Eckert (the FA had pushed for a ban of several months) the Saints have had a good start to the season and would be just three points short of early leaders Swansea were it not for the deduction. Portsmouth, as they’ve finished both seasons since promotion, find themselves a handful of points above the relegation dotted line. They went into the international break on a run of three without defeat but you would say that the teams below them in the table, such as Derby, Preston and Burnley, will at some point find form and soon catch them should results dry up. GS

Premier League: Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest

14.00 on Sky Sports Main Event & Ultra
The new Palace v Forest rivalry stems, not from intercity socio-economic beef, closely fought matches or fierce battles for trophies. It was born out of UEFA tribunals, the Court of Arbitration for sport, insulting banners and of course Oliver Glasner. The Austrian is probably Crystal Palace’s greatest ever manager. Steve Coppell is the only other man who can lay claim to that accolade. For that reason, I suspect that Glasner will be greeted with muted respect by the home crowd when he returns to Selhurst for the first time since leading the Eagles to the Conference League win in May. While the wonderful memories he helped create will live forever in the memory, recency bias demands we remember that Palace were largely terrible last season. Palace went winless in their last seven league games. In fact, if you look at Glasner’s record in 2026, it reads: Won 6, Drawn 9, Lost 11 (eleven). And let’s not forget the character-building FA Cup defeat to Macclesfield. Conference League or not, this is probably why Glasner ended up at Forest and not a bigger club. Their poor start to the season culminated with a 1-0 home defeat to Frank Lampard’s Coventry before the break. It would not be a surprise to find Evangelos Marinakis contemplating the red buttons on his desk. The one thing we can safely say about Forest’s blind trustee is that his organization does not tolerate failure. Palace have also had a challenging start to the season under new coach Pierre Sage and its much-changed squad, but I’ll save that for another time. For now, I just want to stick the boot into Glasner which I believe I have done. Thank you. TD

Premier League: Liverpool v Manchester City

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
With Manchester City’s guilt established, but with no punishment in place, what are we to make of this season and of this game. The City v Liverpool rivalry exists because of the Manchester club’s rise which was built on a foundation of cheating. This fixture is diminished as a consequence and the consequences of this match are shrouded in uncertainty. What bearing will this result have on the title race when one of its protagonists are, subject to appeal, unbridled and unashamed cheats. Some of the answers to the many questions about this season depend on the reaction of the fans at Anfield on Sunday and at away grounds in the weeks to come. This is when the independent commission’s judgment comes into contact with the match going public. If the fans are sanguine or relaxed about the issue then there is scope for leniency for City. But, if the Sky Blues are met with anger and abuse at every turn, then the pressure will be on for the Premier League clubs to authorise the strongest possible sanctions. Much also depends on the attitude of the existing City players and how much stomach they have for what could be some very hard times. Erling Haaland is a slight injury doubt after he asked to be substituted during Norway’s 2-1 loss to Portugal on Sunday. His international coach Ståle Solbakken spoke of the striker’s heavy workload and need for rest. City will need their star player to show character and leadership on the pitch while the club’s owners continue to drag its good name through the mud. TD

Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry and Gary