Weekend TV Preview: May 22 - 25

Friday 22 May

20:00 Arsenal v Liverpool, FA Youth Cup Final, 1st Leg, Setanta Sports 1
A chance to see next year's Arsenal first team in action.

Saturday 23 May

11:00 JEF Utd v Yokohoma Marinos, J-League, British Eurosport 2
Well past time we had a League Spotlight on the J-League don't you think? Especially with the Europeans about to head off on their holidays. I'm assuming that the "JEF" in JEF United refers to the local industrial concern rather than the stuff they use to clean the bogs.

12:30 Inverness CT v Falkirk, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
Bleeding hell what a game! Falkirk are bottom and two points adrift of their opponents. Hats off to the SPL's Clausura format for throwing up such an all or nothing match at the end of the season. Falkirk manager John Hughes has urged his team to "...be free spirits and express themselves". SPAOTP thinks he should stick to making films.

12:30 St Mirren v Hamilton Academical, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 2
Even though the home side are also on 37 points, they should be OK thanks to a slightly superior goal difference.

15:00 Gillingham v Shrewsbury Town, League Two Play-off Final, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Six points separated the Gills in fifth and the Shrews in seventh. But at Wembley, anything goes. Not sure if either team will sell their full allocation of tickets. A fact that will render fans of Chelsea and Everton mildly miffed.

20:00 Barcelona v Osasuna, La Liga, Sky Sports 1
Into the penultimate round of Lar Leega and it's all sorted, title wise at any rate. At the bottom, there's work to be done. Osasuna are in the final relegation place and praying that Barcelona put out there under 11s.

20:00 Bordeaux v Monaco, Ligue 1, Setanta Sports 2
Laurent Blanc's team are going for their tenth straight league win which may crown them as champions. Only Marseille can catch them. They play Nancy at the same time. Should OM slip up, the celebrations can start.

Sunday 24 May

13:00 Millwall v Scunthorpe Utd, League One Play-off Final, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Uncle Pete's team versus the landing point of the Duffman clan when they settled on these shores from the Netherlands before the Great War. Come on the Iron! (sorry Uncle Pete).

13:00 Dundee Utd v Rangers, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
A win for Rangers will seal the SPL title. It won't be easy though. The Old Firm have failed to win at Tannadice this seaon it says here.

13:00 Celtic v Hearts, Scottish Premier League, Setanta Sports 2
To that end Celtic will be lying in wait while Hearts apply the bikini wax.

16:00 Aston Villa v Newcastle Utd, Premier League, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
Sky Sports "Survival Sunday" is back! The last time we saw it was back in 2005 when West Brom survived on the last day at the expense of Norwich and Palace. In those pre-Credit Crunch days the event had Ford as a sponsor. Perhaps the car giant chose not to take up that option as it did not want to be associated with losers. To the match then: Newcastle must win and hope things go there way elsewhere although a point may do it thanks to the magic of goal difference.

16:00 Hull City v Manchester Utd, Premier League, Sky Sports 3 & HD3
What words can we use to describe the supposed threats of legal action against United if they don't field a full strength team for this crunch match against Hull? Let's see. There's hilarious, pathetic, unlikely, desperate and contemptible for a start. However, the word I would use is "irrelevant" since Fergie could filed a Fetus XI and they'd still win.

16:00 Sunderland v Chelsea, Premier League, Sky Sports Interactive
Relegated to the red button as no one believes that either Hull or Newcastle have it in them to overhaul Sunderland. This is as well since they'll most likely lose 6-0.

16:00 West Ham Utd v Middlesbrough, Premier League, Setanta Sports 1
Meanwhile, Setanta wil spend an hour of build up trying to convince their subscribers that Middlesbrough are still in with a chance and this game is worth watching. Expect the theme to Mission Impossible to feature heavily. But don't expect it to be Lalo Schifrin's original arrangement. Setanta don't have the class.

20:00 Real Madrid v Mallorca, La Liga, Sky Sports Xtra
Move along, nothing to see here.

Monday 25 May

15:00 Burnley v Sheffield Utd, Championship Play-off Final, Sky Sports 1 & HD1
It's a Bank Holiday here in Blighty and what better way to celebrate the forthcoming summer than a Roses clash at Wembley. The stakes don't get much higher and the force is with Burnley for some reason. May not be pretty but drama and tension is guaranteed.