Weekend TV Preview: 13 - 15 February

(All times - UK)

Friday 13th February

19.30 Hoffenheim v Bayer Leverkusen, Bundesliga, Setanta Sports 1
Another bumper weekend of football begins with this tie between the teams currently 1st and 5th in the Bundesliga. The last time they faced each other back in August, it finished 5-2 to Bayer at which point you'd have been excused for thinking Hoff's great start to the season was already over. If after 19 games they still haven't convinced you, tune in for what could be Hoffenheim's revenge.

Saturday 14th February

12.45 Swansea City v Fulham, FA Cup 5th Round, ITV1 (excluding Scotland) / ITV HD (Freesat only) / Setanta Sports 2 (Scotland only)
Those Super Swans dumped Portsmouth out of the last round of the Cup, so why not Faltering Fulham too? Swansea are looking to make it sixteen consecutive matches unbeaten in all competitions with a win here and against a Fulham side that hasn't won away in the Prem thus far, it's entirely possible.

17:30 Watford v Chelsea, FA Cup 5th Round, Setanta Sports 1
The only slight relief for Watford is that Guus Hiddink will be watching this match from the stands rather than the bench. And that's about the only plus point we can think of, Hornets fans. Sorry...

19:00 Real Betis v Barcelona, La Liga, Sky Sports Xtra
The scoreline's been 3-2 after the last couple of meetings between these two - one in favour of Betis, the other, Barca. Given the latter's cold, clinical 3-1 demolition of Gijon last weekend, we think Betis will be lucky to score at all today.

20:00 PSG v St Etienne, Ligue 1, Setanta Sports 2
Paul Le Guen will be hoping Guillaume Hoarau has his shooting boots on against Les Verts. He's second-top goalscorer in Ligue 1 so far but has been a bit quiet of late. A return to form could consign Saint Etienne to the relegation zone.

21:00 Valencia v Malaga, La Liga, Sky Sports Xtra
Malaga have won only one of the last fifteen matches between these two, so it's 'home win' all the way as far as can see. That said, Malaga's recent loan signing from Inter, Adriano, might turn on the style and cause a shock reversal of fortunes for his side. 'Might' being the operative word.

Sunday 15th February

11:30 Ajax v Feyenoord, Eredivisie, Setanta Sports 2
Two teams on a decidedly poor run of form. Ajax are fourteen points behind Eredivisie leaders AZ, while Feyenoord are flirting unnecessarily with relegation. Two great teams to watch in today's live game, then.

12:30 Celtic v Rangers, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
SPAOTP new boy Seb ought to be giving you his considered opinion about this one, and if you ask him nicely, he might just do so in the not-too-distant future. Meantime, as far as league matches are concerned, it's 113 wins to Rangers, 96 to Celtic. Will the 'Draw' column be the benefactor today, however?

14:30 Everton v Aston Villa, FA Cup 5th Round, Setanta Sports 1
An intriguing tie, this, between two teams happily distancing themselves from all the mediocrity the Premier League has to offer. Given the battling qualities recently shown by Everton in the Cup, this could well go to a replay.

16:00 Sporting Gijon v Real Madrid, La Liga, Sky Sports 3
Last September, Real beat Gijon by seven (SIETE) goals to one. A more respectable scoreline is likely for Gijon tonight.

16:30 Derby County v Manchester United, FA Cup 5th Round, ITV1 (excluding Scotland) / ITV HD (Freesat only) / Setanta Sports 2 (Scotland only)
The Clough effect is already bearing fruit for Derby in the Championship, but this match might have come too soon for Nige and his men to cause any serious upsets. No harm in wishing for it, though.

18:00 Espanyol v Sevilla, La Liga, Sky Sports 3
You'd be inclined to think Sevilla should cruise to victory here, but recent form suggests a win is by no means in the bag. Espanyol have been making a nuisance of themselves recently too, so watch with interest if you dare.

19:30 Internazionale v AC Milan, Serie A, BBC3
Yes, BBC3 - the new home of Italian football (ahem). It's the big Italian derby tonight and though Kaka's out because of injury, there's still the draw of Golden Balls himself to lure people away from another re-run of Top Gear.

20:00 Atletico Madrid v Getafe, La Liga, Sky Sports 3
Sky's fifth Spanish game of the weekend. It's just a pity they can't get the rights to Serie A, then there'd be none of this tokenistic nonsense the Beeb are proffering at the moment. Home win.

20:00 Monaco v Marseille, Ligue 1, Setanta Sports 2
Monaco are finally on the up and Marseille are still serious title contenders too. A great match to end your weekend - unless you're a Monaco supporter, in which case a slim defeat might well be on the cards.

Four To Follow

Hoffenheim v Bayer Leverkusen
Chris: Home win; Duffman: Home win; Sp3ktor: Away win; Seb: Draw.

Celtic v Rangers
Chris O: Home win; Duffman: Home win; Sp3ktor: Home win; Seb: Home win.

Everton v Aston Villa
Chris O: Draw; Duffman: Draw; Sp3ktor: Draw; Seb: Away win.

Internazionale v AC Milan
Chris O: Home win; Duffman: Home win; Sp3ktor: Draw; Seb: Home win.