SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Derby v Manchester United FA Cup Fourth Round Friday, 19:55 Live on BBC1 Derby Monday night's 4-1 defeat at Burnley was certainly harsh on the Rams who more than matched their opponents for most of the game only to be undone by uncharacteristic errors defensively, but the bare facts are that it was a  fifth game  without a win - their worst run under head coach Paul Clements. They have conceded seven goals in their last two games and look to be feeling the burden of expectation having  spent heavily  to try and secure promotion to the top tier. His side do have a much  stronger squad  that most of their Championship rivals though - former England striker Darren Bent hasn't even been on the bench for the past two games - so the short turnaround between that game and this clash shouldn't affect them. New signing  Nick Blackman  is available, having not played for Reading in the third-round, and the Rams' third signing of the window, left-back...

Barcelona v Atletico Madrid Saturday, 15:00 The irrepressible  resilience  of Diego Simeone's Atletico is eerily reminiscent of that impossible 2013/14 La Liga campaign. This is not supposed to be happening. Not again. The team that were 66/1 to win the title have  lost just once in their last 22 games  and are level on points with Barcelona at the top of the table - despite selling £160 million worth of star players in the past three seasons. Simeone is arguably the best defensive coach in world football; his team's off-the-ball shape is phenomenally compact, with a stop-start pressing system used to hassle key players off the ball and drop deep during sustained periods of pressure. A  swarming collective , Atletico's incredible form over the past three seasons owes much to the intelligence and diligence of their system. They utilise a 4-4-2 formation, although in truth the tactical complexity and positional fluidity of each individual player makes tra...

Derby v Man Utd Ince v Borthwick-Jackson Friday, 19:55, Live on BBC One This is an FA Cup fixture that neither side will be looking forward to. Whilst  Louis van Gaal  is fighting for his job once again after tepid performances against Liverpool and Southampton, Derby are on a poor run of form that peaked with a 3-0 defeat to Birmingham City in their last home game.  Tom Ince  has been the most consistent attacking threat for the Rams this season, and he may fancy his chances against youngster Cameron Borthwick-Jackson. Ince has benefited greatly from the stability of playing in a possession dominant team this season (53.8% average) that looks to release the ball to him as quickly as possible on the right flank. Ince has amassed eight goals and three assists so far this season, averaging  2.3 key passes  per game (fifth most in the Championship). There is no doubt that his pace and trickery cutting inside from that flank will be the biggest thr...

Bet 1 :  Atletico Madrid (HOME) @ 1.44 (4/9) The first leg between these two finished 0-0 at  Balaídos  last week and with the hard part now out of the way, I fully expect Atletico Madrid to book their place in the semi-finals of the Copa del Rey. Diego Simeone's  side were actually held here on Sunday by Sevilla but prior to that it was nine straight wins in all competitions in front of their own fans. Celta Vigo  have been impressive this year but they were truly dire in Saturday's 3-0 loss at strugglers, Rayo Vallecona, and while it can be argued that they had one eye on this game, the fact is that they aren't on Atletico's level. Bet 2 :  PSV (AWAY) @ 1.4 (2/5) Over in Holland, PSV look nailed on to close the gap on leaders Ajax to just a single point as they travel to an  Excelsior  side who are in dire form. The hosts have lost their last four matches in a row in the  Eredevisie  and they haven't won in seven. That app...

Man City  1.56  v Everton  6.60 ; The Draw  4.70 Wednesday, 19:45 Live on Sky Sports 1 Man City Manuel Pellegrini appeared to be the man with  the answer to the Everton problem . Whereas Man City lost nine in 12 to these opponents prior to his arrival, his first five meetings yielded four triumphs and a draw. The New Year has brought some old bad habits though, as they were beaten 2-1 in the first-leg of this Capital One Cup semi-final at Goodison Park on January 6 and held 0-0 at the Etihad Stadium a week later. The Citizens suffered a sixth stumble in 11 domestic fixtures at West Ham on Saturday, trailing twice before rescuing a 2-2 draw. The good news is that while they haven't earned successive victories throughout that sequence, they  haven't gone two games without a win  either, so a response is due. Vincent Kompany and Samir Nasri won't be on hand to help issue it, but those long-term absentees are expected to be the only men unavaila...

Arjen Robben hopes to quickly return to the Bayern Munich starting line-up, but respects Pep Guardiola's team selection. Robben came on as an 81st-minute substitute in Bayern's 2-1 victory over Hamburg last Friday, making his return from a muscle injury in his first competitive appearance since the 4-0 Champions League win over Olympiacos in November. The Dutchman is eager for more game time in order to rediscover his best form, but will not question Guardiola's authority in naming the team. "I noticed that I'm getting stronger. I need rhythm, I need games. This time it was only 10 minutes," Robben is quoted as saying by TZ. "Of course [I'd like to be playing more], but this is the coach's decision and you have to accept it." "I haven't even been in training for two weeks; I still need a little more time, but I will do everything in training." The 32-year-old urged his team-mates to settle back into regular action ...

Real Madrid have a buy-back clause in their transfer agreement with Arsenal for Mesut Ozil, according to another leaked transfer document. It’s the latest in the line of football contract leaks after it was revealed Tottenham have a buy-back option for Welsh wizard Gareth Bale, while details of Anthony Martial’s move to Manchester United were also released. And now, contract details released by website Football Leaks have shown that the Gunners must alert Real if they ever intend to sell World Cup winner Ozil to another club in Spain. It also reveals the La Liga giants would be entitled to a considerable percentage of any fee if Ozil leaves the Emirates Stadium, while it disclosed the true transfer fee of Ozil's move to north London in 2013. The leaked report claims the financial terms of the offer received for the Germany playmaker would be disclosed to Real, who would have 48 hours to decide whether to match the offer, or until noon London time on the final day of the r...

Liverpool v Stoke  Tuesday January 26, 19:45 Live on Sky Sports 1 Liverpool Wow! It's been a highly entertaining first few months of the Jurgen Klopp era, but when they write the story of the German's time at Anfield they'll need an entire chapter for Liverpool's last result - that incredible  5-4 win  at Norwich. That game ended with enjoyable scenes as Klopp was mobbed by his team on the Carrow Road sidelines. Results have been mixed of late - four league games have been lost in the last two months - as the former Borussia Dortmund manager tinkers with his personnel. He looks to have dropped on one with  Roberto Firmino though - the summer signing has scored four in his last three game with braces against Arsenal and Norwich. First choice central defenders Martin Skrtel and Dejan Lovren are unlikely to make this fixture. The same is true of Philippe Coutinho and a trio of long-term injured forwards including Daniel Sturridge. Stoke There's no shame in l...