Midweek TV Preview: 5 - 8 January

(All times UK)

Monday 5 January

20:00 Blyth Spartans v Blackburn Rovers, FA Cup 3rd Round, Setanta Sports 1
Setanta have developed a habit of hiring actors to deliver corny monologues prior to some of their bigger live games, Danny Dyer's cringe-worthy effort before the Belarus v England game being a hideous example. Given the inherent romance of this quintessential 'David meets Goliath' Cup tie, it hardly seems necessary to add further layers of cheese. However, given the unbridled northern-ness of the encounter, I predict an out-of work ex-Corrie actor reciting some loathsome Alan Bennett durge just before the final ad break. That and a score draw.

Tuesday 6 January

19:45 Weymouth v York City, Blue Square Premier, Setanta Sports 1
Lower mid-table clash between two sides with only one win in the last five between them. The form book just tips York as does the head-to-head. Weymouth have never beaten City in the League.

20:00 Tottenham Hotspur v Burnley, Carling Cup Semi-final 1st Leg Sky Sports 1/HD1
Spurs have kept their 'Cup Specialist' tag. Still going in all competitions, Harry's team will feel in good shape to take on Burnley over two legs. Owen Coyle's men have had a rough Christmas and will hope to keep Tottenham's score down so they can have a crack at them at Turf Moor.

Wednesday 7 January

19:45 Derby County v Manchester United, Carling Cup Semi-final 1st Leg, Sky Sports 1/HD1
Will Nigel Clough be the manager of The Rams by Wednesday? If so, will he appoint Peter Taylor as his assistant? One thing is certain. Derby's League Cup dream ends at Old Trafford.

Thursday 8 January

19:45 Woking v Northwich, Blue Square Premier, Setanta Sports 1
Woking are unbeaten in five but all those pesky draws means they're languishing near the foot of the table. Three points against bottom club Victoria should move them up the table, for the time being.

League Spotlight: France / Ligue 1 / Le Championnat

Our first League Spotlight of the year focuses on France as Some People Are On The Pitch checks out Ligue 1 and asks the vexed question 'Can anyone challenge Lyon for the title?' Then, once we've answered with an emphatic 'Yes', we'll have a look at some of the other great clubs in Le Championnat, a league so good they named it twice.

It is impossible to start any round-up of French football with any other team except Lyon (seriously - I checked). It's also illegal for any Englishman to write about the French without referring to at least one tired cliché based on a national stereotype, so be warned.

The current French champions are leading the table once more, despite a recent blip in form. Recent defeats to Nantes and PSG plus goalless draws with Marseilles and Valenciennes has given the pretenders to their throne some hope. However, OL entered the Christmas break with a win at Caen. Furthermore with the Champions League group stages now successfully negotiated, top scorer Karim Benzema and the gang have a clear run until late February which should be plenty of time in which to get a stack of points under their belts.

One of the more interesting facts about Lyon's seven year 'Reign of Terror' is that they've gone through four different coaches in that time. Claude Puel is the latest, replacing Alain Perrin. You'd think that consistency at the coaching level would have been key to their success. Some credit should got to the Lyon board who, no doubt, have put their Champions League revenue to good and maintained their dominance. Another factor could be the decline of their rivals.

It has been a decidedly ropey 21st Century for Marseille. Once the daddies of French football, OM's decline can be traced back to the misdeeds of former president Bernard Tapie. Under the charismatic businessman, Marseille won the European Cup in 1993 (beating AC Milan in the Final). Unfortunately, allegations of corruption and match fixing meant the club were stripped of their French championship and were subsequently relegated. Worse was to follow after they signed former Millwall and Chelsea striker Tony Cascarino.

Since then, Marseille have never been able to hit the heights of before. In the early noughties they finished fifteenth for two consecutive years and have only finished in the Champions League places three times since the turn of the decade, two of those occasions being the last two seasons. Currently, OM lie fifth in the table, only three points off the leaders.

Above them are Paris Saint Germain. The capital's only top flight club are perennial under-achievers and rarely live up to the expectations that befit a club in their location. While they have done OK in the cup competitions, the closest PSG have come to winning the league was in 2000 and 2004 when they finished second. However, coach Paul Le Guen has slowly turned the club around and while a tilt at the top spot seems unlikely, they will fancy themselves to finish in those precious top three places.

That is, of course, if they can get past Stade Rennes who have only lost once so far this season. Rennes are on a roll, however their greatest concern is all those draws. Ten of their 19 games have ended in stalemate and coach Guy Lacombe will need to get a little more out of them if they are to truly live the dream.

Just one point above Rennes in second are Bordeaux. Laurent Blanc's team have enjoyed their season in the Champions League. Assuming they can keep hold of their manager, Bordeaux look well placed to challenge Lyon's hegemony.

Another team to look out for is St Etienne. This famous name of the past and ten times League Champions are not the force they were. However they enjoyed a brief renaissance last season and finished fifth, qualifying for the UEFA Cup. Unfortunately Les Verts had a terrible start to the season and have lost 12 games so for this campaign, only one less than bottom club Le Havre. Despite all his good work last time around, their coach Laurent Roussey was sacked and replaced by Alain Perrin. To his credit the former Pompey boss is turning things around and Saint-Etienne have one three from their last four. Nevertheless, they sit perilously above the drop zone with only Valenciennes , Sochaux and Le Havre beneath them.

Notable players in France include the aforementioned Benzema at Lyon along with Hatem Ben Arfur at Marseilles. Ligue 1's top scorer is Andre Pierre Gignac who plays for Toulouse. There is, however, a fantastic story in 30 year old striker Steve Savidan at Caen.

Savidan was a journeyman lower division striker for many years. In 2004 he pitched up at Valenciennes who were a third tier club at the time. Three seasons and forty two goals later, Savidan was a top flight striker and moved to Caen in a deal worth around £4 million. In November last year he made his debut for France as a substitute in Les Bleus' 0-0 draw with Uruguay. Quite a story.

Are you a fan of Ligue 1? Who is your team in France and which players do you rate? Fill in the gaps in our knowledge and leave us a comment...

FA Cup 2008/09: Third Round Preview

If it's January, it must be the Third Round of the FA Cup and the starting point for many a dream of reaching that Wembley Final (at least if you support a team from the top two flights of English and Welsh football).

The first match of the round - Tottenham v Wigan - has already taken place tonight (Spurs winning 3-1), but 28 more follow tomorrow with another two taking place on Sunday and one final match bringing up the rear on Monday.

So what can we expect and which are the games to look out for? Here's our summary of what's what in this year's Third Round...

Current holders Portsmouth might just find themselves on the receiving end of an upset as they face a Bristol City side that are looking for a third straight win. To be honest, The Robins have been on a pretty poor run of their own since early November, but their last two games have seen them pointing back in the right direction again. With Portsmouth without a win in their last seven outings, who wouldn't bet against Gary Johnson's men at least forcing a replay tomorrow?

In rather more confident mood will be Arsenal as they play host to Plymouth Argyle at the Emirates Stadium. This will be a repeat of the 1987 Fourth Round tie which George Graham's side won 6-1 and though the scoreline tomorrow will be less one-sided, Arsenal should come through it unscathed. That said, Burnley dumped them out of the Carling Cup this time last month, so you never know...

The Third Round has, if nothing else, dined out on the potential for 'David v Goliath' ties over the years, and fortunately this season's no different. Top of the Shop is surely the game between non-league Histon and Swansea City. The Swans, you'll remember, rode their luck last season when they limped through a gruelling Second Round match against Horsham only to go out in a second successive replay against Havant and Waterlooville.

This year they'll be feeling a little uneasy again as they travel to the team currently second in the Football Conference. Rather curiously, Swansea have drawn all of their last eight matches stretching back to November 25th. Maybe this is the one where the sequence will be broken, but we'd rather not say which way if it's all the same with you...

Derby, on the other hand, travel to Forest Green Rovers, sitting near the other end of the Football Conference table from Histon. This is the furthest Forest Green have ever gone in the FA Cup, and we hope they go a bit further still - if only so we get to see a bit more of their Barcelona rip-off badge which truly has a comedy value all of its own.

Two places above FGR in the Conference table are Barrow who travel to Middlesbrough tomorrow in an attempt to go one better than their only Third Round finish in 1991. They were knocked out 1-0 by Bolton that year and you have to say the challenge they face tomorrow looks even harder for them, but they'll take solace from their win over Brentford they had in the last round.

If you're looking for a dead-cert when it comes to non-league teams getting through to the Fourth Round, check out the match between Kettering Town and Eastwood Town. Kettering admirably survived an attempt at management by Paul Gascoigne in 2005 and have since gone from strength to strength. This season, they've already disposed of Lincoln and Notts County in the Cup and now have to be just as clinical against their opponents who have already claimed Wycombe Wanderers as a scalp from the Second Round.

Further up the league ladder there's a re-run of the 1976 FA Cup Final as Southampton welcome Manchester United to The Dell. There'll be no Lawrie McMenemy this time around, which always makes us a bit sad as we love an excuse to re-run those old Barbican adverts. Anyway, Southampton are in a bad way these days and must be hoping there's a Bobby Stokes lurking somewhere in the squad that can come up trumps tomorrow. If nothing else it would certainly take their mind off a doom-laden Championship campaign.

For a Tie of the Round, though, how about Hull at home to Newcastle? Both teams are desperate to be treated seriously as quality top-flight teams (albeit for different reasons) and for The Tigers it'll be a chance to get past their opening FA Cup tie for only the second time in seven seasons. Newcastle themselves haven't won any silverware since they nabbed the Fairs Cup in 1969 so both teams will surely be going all guns blazing tomorrow when the ref gets things underway at the KC.

Best of luck to you this weekend if your team's still involved in the Cup, and here's to a few days packed with great football and goals galore too.

The Friday List of Little or No Consequence #94

All downhill from here...
14 Randomly Chosen Countries And The Point At Which The Reached Their Peak In The FIFA World Rankings

1. Belarus (57th from June to September 2008 - currently 84th)
2. Cameroon (11th from November 2006 to January 2007 - currently 14th)
3. Canada (40th in December 1996 and January 1997 - currently 90th)
4. Costa Rica (17th at various points between May 2003 and January 2004 - currently 53rd)
5. Finland (33rd in March 2007 - currently 55th)
6. India (94th in February and March 1996 - currently 143rd)
7. Japan (9th in February and March 1998 - currently 35th)
8. Paraguay (8th in March and July 2001 - currently 17th)
9. Poland (16th in September 2007 - currently 34th)
10. Romania (3rd in September 1997 - currently 21st)
11. San Marino (118th in September 1993 - currently 201st)
12. South Africa (16th in August 1996 - currently 76th)
13. Tunisia (19th in February 1998 - currently 46th)
14. Turkey (5th in June 2004 - currently 10th)