Weekend Boxset: Staying fresh

October 23, 2026

Weekend Boxset: Staying fresh

It’s around now the workload pressures of European football - or lack of - start to show.

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 (BST Friday and Saturday, GMT Sunday)

Friday

Championship: Bolton Wanderers v Middlesbrough

20.00 on Sky Sports Football, Main Event & Ultra
Among the favourites to be relegated when the season started, Bolton are defying predictions and starting to look comfortable in the middle of the Championship table. Having brought the Trotters up in the play-offs, this is manager Stephan Schmucher’s third run in the Championship, having previously taken Plymouth up from League One and then making an ill-fated switch to Stoke. His time at the Potters came to an abrupt end just five games into the 2024/25 season when he was sacked with the team in mid-table. His replacement Narcis Pelach managed just three wins in nineteen. All of which would have made it even more annoying for Schumacher that his current side’s only defeat in their last five was at home to Stoke, who played most of the games with 10 men. Boro had their own play-off drama at the end of last season, losing in the final to Hull after their semi-final reprieve thanks to Southampton’s cheating. Kim Hellberg’s side are among the leading pack and could have gone top last weekend but found themselves 2-0 down at half time at home against Cardiff. A second half comeback saw them rescue a point but it once again exposed the defensive issues that could see them once again have to settle for the play-offs: while they are unbeaten in their eight league games they have conceded at least two goals in five of their last six. GS

Saturday

A-League: Melbourne Victory v Melbourne City

09.40 on TNT Sports 4 and HBO Max
Some may cynically say that the A-League are desperate for eyeballs, scheduling the two biggest derbies in consecutive weeks. Last week’s Sydney derby was in contention for one of the worst matches to grace the A-League, but that’s unlikely to be replicated in Melbourne. Both teams lost their opening matches when they travelled across the ditch to Wellington and Auckland respectively. City have seen the majority of their strongest players depart, bar Max Caputo, and this could be a season of rebuilding, assuming owners City Football Group don’t pull the plug as their cousins in Manchester are in a spot of bother. Victory seem to have recruited smartly under new coach Giovanni Savarese, with striker Guillermo May a particularly smart pickup from current champions Auckland, and should go into this match as favourites. But for those unfamiliar with Australian sokkah, the biggest story in Victoria is South Melbourne, who became the first NPL team (sort of a cross between the Championship and Non-League) to lift the Australia Cup (sorta like the FA Cup), defeating Victory on penalties. Formed by Greek immigrants and with a large and passionate supporter base, the club are pushing for an A-League spot and would bring a genuine rivalry to Victory and City, whose only real defining identity is that they’re not Melbourne Victory. There’s currently a Western United shaped hole in the A-League, with the third Melbourne club collapsing under debt and ownership issues last season, and if both Victorian teams have a bad season, the clamour will only intensify for Hellas to get a seat at the top table. GA

Premier League: Chelsea v Tottenham Hotspur

17.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
Tottenham’s first win of the season against Frank Lampard’s Coventry propelled the club to the dizzying heights of sixteenth* (fifteenth) but sadly drew a veil on a joyful time for neutrals and rivals alike who thoroughly enjoyed the Spurs defenestration. Pre-season optimism at White Hart Lane was so great that many of us got caught up in it with some idiot even predicting they would qualify for the Champions League. To be fair they may yet: if you follow the decent-result-against-a-poor-team-turns-a-corner theory of game then this could be the start of a long and glorious unbeaten run. However, if you’re of a less romantic bent then it’s more likely that this was the first win in what will be a difficult but necessary season of reconstruction and the lads are likely to get tanked at Chelsea. The Blues have started the season well, only losing narrowly to Arsenal and less so to Brentford. Xabi Alonso’s defence is still WIP but he will have been pleased to see their first clean sheet of the League season in a spirited 2-0 win at the Hilly Dick last week. Joao Pedro is among the goals, Cole Palmer is returning to form and the addition of Jordan Henderson to the midfield seems to be paying off; no doubt the cheeky scamp is having an effect in the dressing room. In what is likely to be a keenly contested title race, Chelsea, free from the rigours of European football are turning into contenders. TD

*Premier League placings subject to change once City get what’s coming

La Liga: Atlético Madrid v Deportivo A Coruna

20.00 on Disney Plus
With El Clasico on Sunday, Atleti have the chance this weekend to close on table leaders Barcelona or to put daylight between themselves and third-placed Real Madrid (or both in the event that it’s a draw). It’s tricky to gauge how good Diego Simeone’s side are right now; they struggled in midweek in the Champions League against a pretty average Stuttgart side. Their run of six straight wins before that draw included three games where they enjoyed a man advantage — including the win in the Madrid derby. Another opposition red card here is more than likely with Depor picking up three in their six games. But that’s not the only reason that Depor’s early run of good form has dried up. Pierre Emerick Aubameyang scored in each of his first five games for his new club but a knee injury has side-lined the 37-year-old and he is unlikely to return for another month. Atleti’s form player this season has been Alex Baena. Since starting in Spain’s World Cup final in the summer the 25-year-old has been scoring goals for club and country, including Spain’s equaliser in the win against England in the Nations League. He only managed to score twice for Atleti last season after joining in the summer from Villarreal but already has five goals this campaign. GS

Sunday

Premier League: Liverpool v Brighton & Hove Albion

14.00 on Sky Sports Premier League
If we discount the freak show that was the Man City game, Andoni Iraola faces his toughest challenge yet as Liverpool manager. Despite sitting fifth* (fourth) in the table, the Reds are still easing into the new season and their new coach’s style of play. Concerns remain over some of the defending. Virgil van Dijk, for so long the foundation of a back line that helped Liverpool lift two titles, has been showing signs that he is past his best. His misplaced header that led to Villareal’s opener on Tuesday in the Champions League may be an isolated incident but symbolises the captain’s gradual decline. Liverpool laboured to beat a Brentford side that left the field with nine players at the weekend and in general the team has yet to click. Now they face a team, in the unfamiliar position of being above them in the table. Third-placed* (second-placed) Brighton travel to Anfield bolstered by a 5-0 win against rivals Crystal Palace. The Seagulls are the Premier League’s top scorers and have only conceded five, the second lowest with Arsenal. Their confidence can be summed up by Diego Gómez’s audacious goal from the defensive half in the Palace game. A positive result at Anfield will remove any doubts that Fabian Hürzeler’s team are the real deal and only squad depth and fixture congestion can stop them from competing for major honours. TD

Premier League: Sunderland v Leeds United

16.30 on Sky Sports Premier League, Main Event & Ultra
Don’t panic! Not just the sage advice on the cover of the electronic guidebook The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, but something that’s developed into my own personal mantra after watching the disintegration of a once stoic and sober Sunderland side at Bournemouth last weekend. Players collided to allow the South Coast side to take the lead, Danso was shown a red for epic maladroitness, or for holding (I’m not sure which) and Omar Alderete topped it all by passing the ball directly to a grateful Evanilson who went on to effectively end the game. Don’t panic, Jan! “But that’s four losses in a row, mate — the alarm bells are ringing” warned my internal pessimist. Now, attempting to reason with this persistent neg-head is not my usual reaction. Like most Mackems who have been forced to sail down the raging river of shit that is following Sunderland, any downturn in form feels like a return to the bad old days. Refreshingly, I chose optimism this time, and I’m happier for it (for the moment). Those four losses don’t seem so bad when you consider Arsenal, the Cheats and Brighton are the best three teams in England as things stand* and Bournemouth away is always a tricky tie. Additionally, the points haul against the sides we’ve played so far is comparable to last term, so things aren’t that bad. What is bad is the lack of cover up top for the injured Brobby and Isador, injuries across the defence and the form of captain Granit Xhaka. By contrast, tonight’s visitors have beaten Forest and a listless Newcastle while drawing at home with Palace and United. Not a bad set of fixtures to start the season. To be fair to my Yorkshire cousins, they also got a decent point against Brighton, and are an annoying well-coached side. It’ll be a tough game for Reggie’s charges and it’s always a fiercely competitive fixture. Quite how they’ll get on depends heavily on who is fit and available, so it’ll either be score-draw or a right hammering. Don’t panic! JB

Serie A: Udinese v Milan

19.45 on TNT Sports 1, HBO Max and DAZN
Milan, Rome, Rome, Milan. It’s been a while since the top of Serie A had both these cities challenging for the Scudetto. Well, sort of challenging in AC Milan’s case. Early season draws have kept them behind the other three sides and they now have ground to make up. Ruben Amorim’s side are on a good run in the league, but a midweek humbling against Bournemouth — yes Bournemouth — means the Portuguese will have extra scrutiny on him this weekend. And oh how Udinese will be praying for a collapse. With just one win all season, the Little Zebras are only out of the bottom three on goal difference. It’s over 30 years since I Bianconeri played in Serie B and the Pozzo family are not known for their patience with underperforming managers. Udinese haven’t won at home all season and their fans have only celebrated two goals at Stadio Friuli. In short, this isn’t a happy home and Milan will be smarting from their humbling on the English south coast. Still, Bournemouth aren’t exactly having a great season, so maybe there’s some hope to be had in northern Italy. Who am I kidding? Away win. GA

Whatever you watch, have a great weekend.

Graham, Terry, Jan and Gary