SOCCER FOOTBALL 24H

Bournemouth v Leicester Saturday 30 September, 15:00 Bournemouth struggling Having finished last season so well, Bournemouth have started the new campaign poorly with five defeats in their first six Premier League games. Their sole league win was 2-1 at home to promoted Brighton, which they followed four days later with an EFL Cup 1-0 home victory over the same opponents. Last Saturday's match at Everton was looking good when they held a 1-0 lead inside the final quarter of an hour but then they conceded twice in five minutes to lose again. Only pointless Crystal Palace are below them in the table. Harry Arter, ever-present in midfield until missing the Everton game with an achilles problem, looks likely to return. Striker Callum Wilson is still sidelined, along with defender Tyrone Mings. Tough start for Leicester Leicester are just two places above Bournemouth with four points, gained from a 2-0 home win over Brighton and a 1-1 draw at Huddersfield, another of the ...

Huddersfield vs Tottenham Saturday, 12:30 Live on Sky Sports Premier League Huddersfield's improbable rise Huddersfield must have entered this Premier League season with low expectations. But that was probably similar last year too when, as outsiders for promotion, David Wagner's men came from nowhere to make a run at the play-offs - and even then only scraped through on penalties against Reading. Once they reached the Premier League, their improbable rise has continued. They currently sit in eighth thanks to two wins and three draws from their opening sixth games and although it is still such an early stage in the season, the Terriers must be feeling increasingly optimistic at their chances of survival. The arrival of club record signing Steve Mounie from Montpellier, his strike partner Laurent Depoitre and the permanent signing of playmaker Aaron Mooy all look like shrewd acquisitions and Terriers fans will be hoping those attacking threats can fire them to safety. U...

Stoke v Southampton Saturday September 30 Potters' patched-up defence a cause for concern Six Premier League games have yielded just five points for Mark Hughes' side, and Stoke go into this fixture in 16th place. Though beaten 4-0 by Chelsea last time out, home form is far more impressive than away and the Potters can point to a defeat of Arsenal and a draw with Manchester United as evidence of their continued ability to mix it with the big boys in the top-flight. Hughes has a few concerns at the back - Geoff Cameron and Ryan Shawcross are definitely out and Bruno Martins Indi and Kevin Wimmer are doubts. That leaves the club short in central defence for this clash. Same old story for Southampton so far this season... As pointed out in last week's Southampton preview the south coast side are really struggling for goals and so it proved as they lost 1-0 at home to Manchester United. There's no shame in that - only Stoke have scored against United in the league t...

Ostersunds v Hertha Berlin Thursday September 28, 18:00 Live on BT Sport Extra A bit of a sickener for us last night. With Birmingham City and Sheffield Wednesday locked together at 0-0, Owls' striker Gary Hooper had a perfectly good goal ruled out for offside. Not long afterwards, Isaac Vassell bagged the winner for the hosts. You know that GIF of Captain Picard from Star Trek: The Next Generation putting his head in his hands? That. We're off to the Winter City, Ostersund in Sweden. Ostersunds are facing Hertha Berlin in the Europa League. The rise of Ostersunds is really quite a remarkable story. Manager Graham Potter took over the team when the club was languishing in the fourth tier of Swedish football. In six years they have risen to the top flight, and last season they won the Swedish Cup, their first ever major trophy. Since then, they have knocked out Galatasaray in the UEL qualifiers, and they won their opening group match 2-0 at Zorya. Ostersunds tend to ha...

Ludogorets v Hoffenheim Thursday September 28, 20:05 Live on BT Sport Extra After the best season in their history, Hoffenheim have continued their  excellent form  in the Bundesliga, but European success has eluded them so far. In Germany's top flight, Hoffe remain unbeaten, and have overcome Bayern Munich this season. However, in the Champions League they were beaten home and away by Liverpool, and the first Europa League game in their history turned out to be a  huge disappointment. Julian Nagelsmann's side started well at home to Braga, but having conceded an equaliser on the stroke of half time, they then lost their nerve. A  lack of European experience  as a unit told, as Braga nudged in front, and then used every trick in the book to maintain their advantage. On that basis, I'm very surprised to see Hoffenheim trading at odds-on to win this. Ludogorets' domination of the Bulgarian league in recent years has given them plenty of experience in the Ch...

BATE Borisov v Arsenal Thursday September 28, 18:00 Live on BT Sport 2 Kings of Belarus keen to make their mark BATE Borisov have dominated the football scene in Belarus for over a decade. They have won the last 11 top-flight titles, not bad for a club that was only founded in 1996. BATE (Borisov Automobile and Tractor Electronics, if you must know) have built up a big bank of European experience, and they have lost just one of their last ten Champions League home matches. In that time, they have beaten Roma and held Bayer Leverkusen to a draw, and their only defeat was a 2-0 reverse against Barcelona. BATE are in strong form. A month ago they won 4-0 at title rivals Shakhtyor, and they have put together a run of six matches unbeaten. Wenger wary of fatigue as Gunners journey east Given that Arsenal played West Brom on Monday night, Arsene Wenger has a case when he describes the fixture list as cruel to his team this week. His squad will undergo a 2,400-mile round trip as...

Everton v Apollon Limassol Thursday September 28, 20:05 Live on BT Sport 2 Injury-hit Everton struggling to convince I must admit I totally over-estimated Everton ahead of their Europa League trip to face Atalanta. At what was effectively a neutral venue, many miles from Atalanta's Bergamo base, I thought the Toffees could get a result. However, they were dismantled 3-0, with all three goals coming in the first half. Everton's lack of pace was once again exposed on Matchday One, as it has been several times this season. Home wins over Sunderland in the League Cup and Bournemouth in the Premier League have salved a few wounds, but overall it's been a disappointing start to a season that appeared to promise so much given the investment in the squad over the summer. Everton have lost four of their last six games in all competitions, and have won just twice in the last eight. Of course, an injury crisis hasn't helped, and centre-backs Michael Keane and Phil Jagiel...

Paris St-G v Bayern Munich Wednesday, 19:45 BST Live on BT Sport Extra 2 Neymar returns for hosts, Robben doubtful for visitors Neymar returns after missing PSG's 0-0 draw at Montpellier at the weekend. With the Brazil international back in the team the hosts can field their strongest line-up. For Bayern Munich, Arjen Robben is doubtful with an ankle injury. James Rodriguez may start in his place. Frenchmen Kingsley Coman and Franck Ribery are competing for a place on the opposite flank. Trouble in home camp hands Bayern an edge Paris St-G 2.04, Bayern Munich 3.75, The Draw 4.00 At first glance PSG's price of 2.04 makes sense given how much quality they have in the side. After all, the club from the French capital have assembled the most expensive forward line in history in the form of Neymar, Edinson Cavani and Kylian Mbappe. Yet PSG go into this game on the back of the trickiest week of their season to date. There has been an almighty fall-out over an on-pitch argu...

CSKA Moscow v Man United  Wednesday 27 September, 19:45 Live on BT Sport 3 From Russia with Love CSKA Moscow are Champions League stalwarts, although Opta does tell us that they have failed to reach the knockout stages in their previous four Champions League appearances, and that the last time they made the Round of 16 was in 2011/12 when Real Madrid eventually knocked them out. Manager, Viktor Goncharenko, will be hopeful of ending four years of hurt this time around as they have a relatively decent group, with Benfica and Basel being the other two teams in Group A. The Russians opened up with a shock 2-1 win at Benfica, which goes to show that they aren't amongst the also-rans in this competition this season. They also have a fairly decent record on this ground in this competition too - losing just two of their last dozen in front of their own fans, and that includes draws against Monaco, Manchester United, Roma and Manchester City, and victories over Sporting Lisbon and ...

Sporting Lisbon 8.40 v Barcelona 1.40; The Draw 5.70 Wednesday, 19:45 Live On BT Sport Extra Sporting look destined for third placed finish Sporting Lisbon have been handed an unlucky draw having been paired with both Barcelona and Juventus in Group D, but got off to the best possible start with a 3-2 away victory at Olympiakos. A cynic might say that result has merely earned Sporting a spot in the Europa League, such is the gulf between them and two of European football's giants. Sporting's campaign in the Champions League last season certainly points to this outcome, as they lost four tight games against Borussia Dortmund and the eventual winners Real Madrid. Barcelona are certainly in the type of form that suggests that they'll inflict another defeat. Since losing both legs of the Super Cup against Real Madrid, they have won every match. They now lead La Liga by four points and have gone a huge way towards winning this group with their 3-0 home win over Juventus. ...

Atletico Madrid v Chelsea Wednesday 27th September, 19:45 Live on BT Sport Atletico Madrid deserve maximum respect at home Semi-finalists in three of the past four seasons, Atletico Madrid should rightly be feared on the Champions League circuit. Diego Simeone's squad might not be the most aesthetically-pleasing on the continent but what they lack in style and swagger, they make-up for in organisation, resilience and work ethic. Los Colchoneros have been snubbed in the outright market by the odds makers but the La Liga high-flyers deserve maximum respect from punters. Despite starting their campaign with a 0-0 draw at Roma, Atletico dominated the encounter, hitting the woodwork twice and firing in ten on-target efforts. The hosts have also had time to bed-in to their new home and surroundings at the Wanda Metropolitano. An uninspiring and limp victory over Malaga here was followed by an eye-catching triumph at Athletic Bilbao before the capital club ground out another three...

Juventus 1.15 v Olympiakos 26.00; The Draw 10.00 Wednesday, 19:45 Live On BT Sports Extra Barca a blip? It's quite possible that Juventus' heavy 3-0 defeat by Barcelona will prove to be their biggest of this season. At this point Juve's opening loss in the Champions League can be seen as a hiccup, rather than a symptom of deeper problems. Juventus have started their Serie A season in typically dominating form, winning all six of their games, in which they've only conceded three goals. Over the weekend they warmed up for this one with a 4-0 thrashing of their local rivals Torino. Though Torino suffered a first-half sending off, Juventus took full advantage as they attempted to boost their goal difference and catch up with the league leaders Napoli. Now they will look to claim their first European win of the season against an Olympiakos team in poor form. The Greeks have only won one of their last five games, which is a run that includes an opening Champions Leagu...

Barnsley v QPR Tuesday September 26, 19:45 Swedish success for us  last night,  and for Malmo, but not for poor old Elfsborg. Malmo took another big step towards the Allsvenskan title, as they crushed their opponents 6-0. The first four goals were all we were interested in. We don't often include the English Football League in these columns, but we will today. We're off to Barnsley, who are up against QPR in the Championship. Both teams are on  poor form.  The Tykes have only picked up seven points this season, and they have lost their last three games in all competitions. They were very close to what would have been a creditable draw at Wolves at the weekend, but having equalised in the 90th minute, they then conceded an even later Wolves winner. After such a heartbreaking defeat, boss  Paul Heckingbottom  bemoaned his team's tendency to switch off at vital moments. QPR have picked up impressive home wins against Hull City and Ipswich Town in the ...

Anderlecht v Celtic Wednesday, 19:45 Live on BT Sport Managerless locals need a win Celtic fans believe they have got Anderlecht at exactly the right time, confident of a victory that would bring an end to their miserable away form in this competition. The Belgian champions have endured a nightmare start to the season, and can be found kicking their heels down in seventh place in the First Division A table. Just three wins from their first eight starts means they're already nine points off early leaders Club Brugge. That poor league form, as well as a hurtful 3-0 loss away to Bayern Munich, was more than the Anderlecht board could handle, those in charge of the Purple and Whites sacking manager Rene Weiler. They got the response they were looking for, Anderlecht picking up three points on Saturday, courtesy of a 2-1 away win over Waasland-Beveren, but it was far from convincing, the performance throwing up more questions than answers.  Only a sublime showing from goalkeep...

Borussia Dortmund v Real Madrid Tuesday, 19:45 Live on BT Sport Extra Yellow peril for Madrid? How do you warm up for your toughest game of the season so far? Ideally by flexing your muscles in the league and preserving a bit of energy. By that metric, it was job done for Borussia Dortmund on Saturday: Peter Bosz's were 3-0 up at half-time against Borussia Monchgladbach, eventually winning 6-1 to secure their place at the top of the Bundesliga. Dortmund have now won their last three games by an aggregate score of 14-1 and have a league goal difference of +18, meaning confidence will be high in the camp. Indeed the only blemish on their copybook so far this season was their Champions League opener against Spurs - a 3-1 reversal for which they will be keen to make up on Tuesday night when Real Madrid come to town. Bosz is still without a number of senior players - Marco Reus, Raphaël Guerreiro, André Schürrle, Erik Durm and Marcel Schmelzer are all injured - but the squad dept...