[FOOTBALL] Weekend Football 23-26 October (Chinny Special - Man Utd vs Man City)

[P_3]

This week sees the Manchester derby hit our screens. City top the table on 21 points with Utd just two points behind. Over the last five meetings, City have got four wins under their belt, though Utd did win last season at home. Without Aguero, City must rely on Bony for their goals, whilst Utd might need to call on the young Frenchman Martial if the struggling Rooney continues to bottle it. Although Rooney is the current top goalscorer in Manchester derbies with 11, so who knows. Our betting will concern the winning margin for the victorious team with no score/score draws to cater for all. This week we will allow multiple bets to make up for the midweek shambles, but remember, when you stop having fun, stop. Bet odds taken from bet365.

15:00 kick-off time unless stated otherwise.

Friday 23rd
Championship:
Rotherham v Sheff Wed - Sky Sports 1, 19:45

Spanish La Liga:
Rayo Vallecano v Espanyol - Sky Sports 5, 19:30

German Bundesliga:
Hoffenheim v Hamburg - BT Sport Europe, 19:30

French Ligue 1:
Caen v Nantes - 17:30
Lille v Toulouse - BT Sport 2, 19:30

Dutch Eredivisie:
Zwolle v FC Utrecht - 19:00

Saturday 24th
Premier League:
Aston Villa v Swansea
Leicester v Crystal Palace
Norwich v West Brom
Stoke v Watford
West Ham v Chelsea
Arsenal v Everton - Sky Sports 1, 17:30

Championship:
Blackburn v Burnley - Sky Sports 1, 12:30
Fulham v Reading - 13:30
Bolton v Leeds
Brighton v Preston
Charlton v Brentford
Huddersfield v Derby
Hull v Birmingham
Nottm Forest v Ipswich
QPR v MK Dons
Wolves v Middlesbrough

Scottish Premiership:
Aberdeen v Motherwell
Dundee v Kilmarnock
Hearts v Ross County
Inverness CT v St Johnstone
Partick Thistle v Hamilton

Spanish La Liga:
Celta de Vigo v Real Madrid
Granada CF v Real Betis - Sky Sports Red Button, 17:15
Sevilla v Getafe - Sky Sports 2, 19:30
Málaga v Deportivo de La Coruña - Sky Sports 2, 21:05

German Bundesliga:
1. FSV Mainz 05 v SV Werder Bremen - 14:30
Bayer Levkn v VfB Stuttgart - 14:30
Bayern Mun v 1. FC Köln - 14:30
Hannover 96 v Eintracht Frankfurt - 14:30
SV Darmstadt 98 v VfL Wolfsburg - 14:30
FC Ingolstadt 04 v Hertha BSC - BT Sport Europe, 17:30

Italian Serie A:
Empoli v Genoa - 14:00
Carpi v Bologna - BT Sport 2, 17:00
Palermo v Inter Milan - BT Sport Europe, 19:45

French Ligue 1:
Lorient v Rennes - 16:00
Angers v Guingamp - 19:00
GFC Ajaccio v Nice - BT Sport 2, 19:00
Montpellier v Bastia - 19:00

Dutch Eredivisie:
Willem II v sc Heerenveen - 17:30
De Graafschap v Heracles Almelo - 18:45
FC Twente v PSV Eindhoven - Sky Sports 5, 18:45
Roda JC Kerkrade v Excelsior - 19:45

Sunday 25th
Premier League:
Sunderland v Newcastle - Sky Sports 1, 12:00
Bournemouth v Tottenham - 14:05
Man Utd v Man City - Sky Sports 1, 14:05
Liverpool v Southampton - Sky Sports 1, 16:15

Scottish Premiership:
Celtic v Dundee Utd

Spanish La Liga:
Levante v Real Sociedad - Sky Sports 4, 11:00
Las Palmas v Villarreal - Sky Sports Red Button
Barcelona v Eibar - Sky Sports 5, 17:15
Atl Madrid v Valencia - Sky Sports 5, 19:30

German Bundesliga:
Bor Dortmd v FC Augsburg - BT Sport Europe, 14:30
Borussia M'gladbach v Schalke - BT Sport Europe, 16:30

Italian Serie A:
Sampdoria v Verona - BT Sport Europe, 11:30
Juventus v Atalanta - BT Sport ESPN, 14:00
Milan v Sassuolo - BT Sport Extra 2, 14:00
Udinese v Frosinone - 14:00
Fiorentina v Roma - BT Sport 1, 17:00
Lazio v Torino - BT Sport Extra 1, 17:00
Chievo v Napoli - BT Sport 1, 19:45

French Ligue 1:
Reims v Monaco - BT Sport Extra 3, 13:00
Bordeaux v Troyes - 16:00
Lille v Marseille - BT Sport ESPN, 16:00
Paris St G v St Etienne - BT Sport Europe, 20:00

Dutch Eredivisie:
SC Cambuur Leeuwarden v ADO Den Haag - 11:30
N.E.C. v FC Groningen - 13:30
Vitesse v Ajax - Sky Sports Red Button,13:30
Feyenoord v AZ Alkmaar - Sky Sports Red Button, 15:45

Monday 26th
Championship:
Cardiff v Bristol City - Sky Sports 1, 19:45

Spanish La Liga:
Ath Bilbao v Sporting de Gijón - Sky Sports 5, 19:30

[Sam]

The effort used for this thread.

Off to Molineux tomorrow, train up from Cheltenham at 7:45am. Will be a brutal day.

[Weaver]

#SuperSuperSuperSunday in store this weekend. I'm out for the day for our derby and the other two games.

Some decent matches on Saturday as well - Leicester vs Palace could be 5-5, and Arsenal/Everton at the Emirates is usually good.

[Jimmy Floyd]

I assume Fulham v Reading is an early kickoff because Waitrose closes at 5.

[phonics]

There's getting mad at a journalists opinion and then there's this:

[Sam]

Prices released for Ipswich away.

£37.50.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Worth every penny to watch Mick's men knock it into empty channels.

[Reg]

Preston tomorrow. There seems as much chance of us ending our unbeaten run by losing to one of the lower teams. We drew 2-2 with Bolton for instance, who are now bottom.

Sunday looks good. Too many good games to watch, even. I'll get sick of it if I watch more than 2, so I think I'll go with the Manchester derby then Fiorentina-Roma.

[Sam]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34610504

My local side. Banging curry as well.

[Jeet]

http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/34610504

My local side. Banging curry as well.

No Asian players....

Also:

[Sam]

It's open to everyone?

Also, who's the money on?

[Mazuuurk]

That Adele photo is quite intense.

[Luca]

Ross Barkley.

[Magic]

Nah it won't be anyone decent. This is clearly a career boosting move.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Jonjo Shelvey.

He's gay, even if he doesn't know it.

[Giggles]

Adele should really stop coming across as such a horrible cunt then.

[Luca]

Jonjo Shelvey.

He's gay, even if he doesn't know it.

A gay man would have too much self-awareness to mooch about looking like Lord fucking Voldemort's disabled younger brother.

[Disco]

Nah it won't be anyone decent. This is clearly a career boosting move.

The most interesting/revealing thing about this will be what their idea of an 'England Star' is.

[Magic]

Scott Parker or Rickie Lambert.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

A gay man would have too much self-awareness to mooch about looking like Lord fucking Voldemort's disabled younger brother.

He should get an £800 belt to help him out.

[Luca]

Nick Draper's brother.

[Lewis]

Does anybody ever think that that sort of HYPE is that makes it the 'taboo' it actually isn't? I can't help thinking that if players were just 'allowed' to go around being gay more of them would be willing to. If you have to be The Gay Footballer then you can't really win with all the responsibilities and pressure the FA and associated parasites would pile on your shoulders.

[Luca]

Does anybody ever think that that sort of HYPE is that makes it the 'taboo' it actually isn't? I can't help thinking that if players were just 'allowed' to go around being gay more of them would be willing to. If you have to be The Gay Footballer then you can't really win with all the responsibilities and pressure the FA and associated parasites would pile on your shoulders.

This is spot on, but it's likely not going to change until a few high-profile footballers bite the bullet (lol) and it becomes more accepted (as sad as that is).

[Giggles]

Look at the Michael Sam stuff in the US. The media were embarrassing.

[Sir Andy Mahowry]

Look at the Michael Sam stuff in the US. The media were embarrassing.

Indeed, the fans couldn't give a shit about his sexuality but the media were going nuts about the whole thing.

[Luca]

Turns out he's a bit of a cunt, Michael Sam. Came to play in Canada, was benched because he's a bit shit, and then quit, writing some letter to the team implying that he was better than the CFL.

[phonics]

A gay man would have too much self-awareness to mooch about looking like Lord fucking Voldemort's disabled younger brother.

I'm willing to hate on former Liverpool players as much as the next man but it's a disease....

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alopecia_areata

[Giggles]

Turns out he's a bit of a cunt, Michael Sam. Came to play in Canada, was benched because he's a bit shit, and then quit, writing some letter to the team implying that he was better than the CFL.

Yep. He hasn't exactly covered himself in glory as a person aside from the whole furore over his sexuality. He's basically not good enough and a bit of a tosser with it.

[Lewis]

When Gareth Thomas was The Gay Rugby Player he got a bit of grief from about three Castleford fans (which the RFL over-reacted to), but nobody else cared. Rovers hit him with 'You're gay, and you know you are', and he apparently loved it.

[phonics]

When Gareth Thomas was The Gay Rugby Player he got a bit of grief from about three Castleford fans (which the RFL over-reacted to), but nobody else cared. Rovers hit him with 'You're gay, and you know you are', and he apparently loved it.

"You're Gay, and that's okay although we're not really that comfortable with it" ringing around The Premier League

[Ian]

The most interesting/revealing thing about this will be what their idea of an 'England Star' is.

Anybody who plays in the Premier League is a PREMIER LEAGUE STAR.

It'll be Franny Jeffers.

[Disco]

Phwoar.

[Jimmy Floyd]

When a top gay player comes out there's going to be a dash across football to say how great they are, and so many platitudes used, that it will only serve to underline the true prejudices that form the heart of the sport's culture.

When Steven Davies came out in cricket, nobody has really mentioned it since, which is how it should be. I dunno about Gareth Thomas in rugby.

[Disco]

Nigel Owens doesn't seem to get much stick, I dread to think what his corollary in football would be faced with.

[Ian]

The HEROES who come out after they've stopped can fuck off because it can too easily translated to "career's over, need more cash." If it's that important to you, stake you career on it.

You shouldn't have to but isn't that the point?

[Jimmy Floyd]

The HEROES who come out after they've stopped can fuck off because it can too easily translated to "career's over, need more cash." If it's that important to you, stake you career on it.

You shouldn't have to but isn't that the point?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Justin_Fashanu

Why would you come out? Far too much risk when your profession is based on the subjective judgement of random middle aged men.

[Ian]

I get why they don't. But given the sane among us have all now realised footballers/sportsfolk aren't all in it for PASSION how has there not been a high-level sportsperson who is homsexual but also mercenary enough to realise they can make as much money as they need (not necessarily an equal amount) either way?

I fully appreciate that it's not a position I've been in and I might well be horribly misunderstanding it but those who come out once it doesn't matter surely aren't helping those involved that much?

I'd also hope a player who chose to come out now wouldn't choose the fucking Sun as their outlet.

[QE Harold Flair]

Fashanu was a different time. Gays are roundly applauded these days.

My money's on Jenas, with a side order of Ashley Cole.

[phonics]

I fully appreciate that it's not a position I've been in and I might well be horribly misunderstanding it but those who come out once it doesn't matter surely aren't helping those involved that much?

I think you underestimate the amount of pressure a person feels to 'come out' to his family. Let alone come out to hundreds of millions of people.

edit: I accidentally deleted some of the quote. I'm just commenting on the subject generally.

[Disco]

I get why they don't. But given the sane among us have all now realised footballers/sportsfolk aren't all in it for PASSION how has there not been a high-level sportsperson who is homsexual but also mercenary enough to realise they can make as much money as they need (not necessarily an equal amount) either way?

I fully appreciate that it's not a position I've been in and I might well be horribly misunderstanding it but those who come out once it doesn't matter surely aren't helping those involved that much?

I'd also hope a player who chose to come out now wouldn't choose the fucking Sun as their outlet.

I have a much insight as you, which is almost none, but I would guess the day to day effort of dealing with your situation mostly precludes the kind of high-minded selflessness necessary to start thinking of the bigger picture. I'm sure it's also a factor that high level sporting careers are often over by the mid to late thirties when someone might have matured enough to start considering the wider implications of how they live their life.

[Jimmy Floyd]

Coming out as gay is hard enough for a 'normal' person in a society which is basically set up to hate you. Coming out as gay and also having to take on pioneer status must be proper 'ceebs', as the kids say these days.

[QE Harold Flair]

It's that kind of statement which makes gays play the victim card as hard as they can. Do you actually know anyone who 'hates' gays? I don't.

[phonics]

No-one has done any moderating since this place started but I'm warning anyone that turns the Weekend Football Thread into a 'Lets Debate The Gays With Harold' thread.

[Boydy]

How come BT don't have any premiership games this weekend at all?

[phonics]

They probably swapped a fixture for another week.

[Magic]

How come BT don't have any premiership games this weekend at all?

Was thinking that myself.

[Lee]

I reckon we'll lose today. Palace are good away from home and can attack a set piece. We can't defend at all, especially at set pieces. Still, it will be fun. Leicester fans will remember this side forever, so entertaining. And quite good too.

[Magic]

I can't tell you how much shit like this:

11:38
Who would've thought Leicester v Crystal Palace would be a battle between fourth and fifth but, after storming starts to the season, it is and deservedly so based on the performances of both teams.

Fucks me off. Of course, how DARE two teams disrupt the absolute boredom of the same fucking Sky and Oligarch teams taking the same positions every year!

[Jimmy Floyd]

I'm amazed at what Ranieri has done at Leicester. Normally he likes his wingers and stuff, but it's built on solid foundations. Maybe he just reckons it's his last decent job and thought fuck it.

[Toby]

I assumed that would be a moan about them placing importance on league positions at this stage in the season, but it's far more amusing as a lower league seethe.