SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

France v Netherlands Thursday 31 August, 19:45 Live in Sky Sports Football A bad choice in Badalona  last night,  as our selection Elche won their Copa del Rey tie, but only after a penalty shootout. The 2-2 draw that preceded it was no good to us, and we move on. A bit of World Cup glamour awaits us this evening, as France take on the Netherlands in Paris. A late error from Spurs keeper  Hugo Lloris  gifted Sweden a late winner against Les Bleus in the last set of qualifiers, and now the Swedes are level on points with Didier Deschamps' side, with the Dutch three points behind. Having missed out on qualifying for EURO 2016, the Dutch are once again in serious danger of failing to qualify for a major tournament. Coach Danny Blind paid the price for a series of poor results, and his replacement  Dick Advocaat  has taken the helm for the third time. He has led his side to a 5-0 WCQ win over Luxembourg, and comprehensive friendly wins over Morocco and I...

Malta v England World Cup Group F Qualifier Friday, 19:45 Live on ITV England in control despite unimpressive campaign England remain in control of Group F despite a far from impressive campaign to date, winning four and drawing two of their six games played. A 3-0 win over Scotland at Wembley in November has so far been the highlight, but  2-0 home victories  over group minnows Malta and Lithuania respectively merely 'got the job done', and nothing more. It's away from home where Gareth Southgate's men have  failed to impress however. The Three Lions needed a 95th minute goal in Slovakia to take the points, could manage just a 0-0 draw in Slovenia, and then required a 93rd minute Harry Kane equaliser to save their blushes at Hampden Park just a few months ago. England have also lost away International Friendly matches to Germany and France in between World Cup Qualifiers meaning they are yet to taste victory on their travels under Southgate's leadership. ...

Lithuania v Scotland Friday, 19:45 Live on Sky Sports Last chance saloon for Strachan and his boys Scotland travel to the LFF Stadionas for a must-win tie vs  Lithuania  on Friday night. In fact, every Group F tie between now and the conclusion of the World Cup qualifying campaign is a must-win if the Scots are to avoid missing out on another major tournament. France 98, the last time Scottish football was showcased on the big stage. That's almost two decades of hurt. A generation of  Tartan Army  members who have never witnessed the thrill of watching their heroes mix it with the sport's elite, and a generation of talented players who found they weren't good enough. Gordon Strachan's men face a unique situation. Struggling to qualify is nothing new to Scotland players, but this group are seeing fans run out of patience. The usually loyal to the end Tartan Army, who pack out Hampden and travel in their numbers, have now decided enough is enough. They wan...

Back France's Golden Generation to shine France v Holland Thursday, 19:45 Live on Sky Sports Picture the scene.  Didier Deschamps  finishes training for the day. He retires to his office at Clairefontaine, closes the door behind him and does a little dance, punching the air. Deschamps has to feel like the luckiest manager in international football right now. Five of the players in his squad have been involved in moves worth a combined  €333.5m  this summer and that figure could have been more. Benjamin Mendy  has been left in Manchester after his €58m switch from Monaco to Man City.  Ousmane Dembele  will also watch France's qualifiers from afar after going on strike train to push through his €105m transfer from  Borussia Dortmund  to  Barcelona . The term  golden generation  has perhaps never been more appropriate. Particularly when you consider  Paul Pogba  joined Manchester United for a world record fee on...

Nantes v Lyon  (15th v 4th) Sat, 16:15 BST Lyon's forward line is the reason they're a good bet to win at Nantes this weekend. Their formidable front quartet -  Bertrand Traore, Nabil Fekir, Memphis Depay and Mariano Diaz  - have excited and enthralled in equal measure and are strong enough to drive Lyon to victory on Saturday afternoon. Between them the four players have contributed eight goals and three assists across Lyon's opening three fixtures. If one doesn't get you, another one will - and that's the problem Nantes have to contend with. Nantes got their first points on the board thanks to a win at Troyes (1-0) last weekend. It was an impressive victory in the circumstances - several Nantes players were missing, and Claudio Ranieri's side played with 10 men for an hour after defender Chidozie Awaziem was sent off - but Lyon will provide a considerably stronger test. Nantes will put up the best resistance they can, but if Lyon's front four perf...

Alavés v Barcelona Saturday, 17:15 Live on Sky Sports Mix and Betfair Live Video It would be overly ambitious to expect all of their problems to disappear at once, but  the last week has been another chastening one  for Barcelona's PR department, what with lawsuits, social media hacks and ongoing frustration in their attempts to prise Philippe Coutinho away from Liverpool. At least Ernesto Valverde's charges had the wherewithal to ensure a positive start on the pitch last weekend. The Blaugrana beat Betis 2-0 but had a couple of  Lionel Messi 's 241 shots against the woodwork snuck in, the scoreline would have looked far more convincing. With no  Luis Suárez , the Argentine looked to have clicked into one-man-mission mode - probably no bad thing at the moment, although  Sergi Roberto 's tidy contribution from midfield should not be overlooked. Alavés are adjusting to life without Mauricio Pellegrino and did not offer a great deal away to Leganés in their o...

Roma v Inter  Saturday, 19:45 Live on BT Sport 3 Both sides started with solid wins, Inter more impressively than Roma, and now  Luciano Spalletti  takes his new club back to his old one, in what is the game of this Serie A season so far, by some distance. It's a match that will lay down a big early season marker in terms of realistic challengers to Juventus, and Inter must go to the Olimpico with a good deal of hope, given the manner of their victory against Fiorentina. They were effortless, albeit against a team that had early season injury issues, but Spalletti seems to have got his message across and I liked the spring in Inter's step as they got the job done, with Mauro Icardi grabbing the headlines, but plenty of his teammates impressing as well, particularly the new centre-half Milan Skriniar. Roma certainly looked like a different team in Bergamo: one that was determined to stay solid and get the job done, rather than dazzle and delight as previous incarnations o...

Manchester United v Leicester City Saturday, 17:30 Live on BT Sport 1 United on a high after electric start Six points, eight goals scored and zero conceded: as balance sheets go, Manchester United's after two games of the Premier League season is fairly unimpeachable.  José Mourinho's side have been thoroughly impressive  in the opening skirmishes of the campaign, sweeping both West Ham and Swansea aside with minimal fuss to justify their position among the favourites to take the 2017/18 title. True, the opposition was hardly the most testing. But if  Romelu Lukaku ,  Henrikh Mkhitaryan ,  Nemanja Matić  and  Paul Pogba  can keep up this form for a decent portion of the season, the Red Devils should have no trouble improving upon last term's sixth-placed finish. The Champions League will be a distraction, but this side clearly means business in his second season. With an international break coming up after this game, rotation is unli...