Digitalb Premier League Schedule - 23-26 October

CET, deduct 1 hour for UK time

E ENJTE 23 TETOR
Schalke 04 vs Paris SG 18:15 SS1
Galatasary vs Olympiacos 20:15 SS2
Hertha vs Benfica 20:30 SS3
Heerenveen - Milan 20:45 SS1
Partizan vs Sampdoria 21:00 SS4
Aston Villa vs Ajax 21:15 SS5
E PREMTE 24 TETOR
Leverkusen-Koln 20:30 SS1
E SHTUNE 25 TETOR
Everton-Man Utd 13:00 SS1
Sunderland-Newcastle 13:45 SS2
Dinamo-Partizani 14:30 SS3
Bayern-Wolfsburg 15:30 SS1/SSHD1
Hannover 96-Werder 15:30 SS5
Siena vs Catania 18:00 SS2
Blackburn-M'brough 18:30 SS1
Rennes-Le Mans 19:00 SS3
Osasuna-Betis 20:00 SS2
Fluminense x Palmeiras 20:00 SS5
Juventus vs Torino 20:30 SS1/SSHD1
Toulouse-Monaco 21:00 SS3
Barcelona-Almeria 22:00 SS2
Porto - Leixões 22:00 SS4
E DIELE 26 TETOR
Chelsea-Liverpool 14:30 SS1/SSHD1
Besa-Vllaznia 14:30 SS2
Inter vs Genoa 15:00 SS3/SSHD2
Atalanta-Milan 15:00 SS4
Udinese-Roma 15:00 SS5
West Ham-Arsenal 17:00 SS1/SSHD1
Sevilla-Malaga 17:00 SS2
Hoffenheim-Hamburg 17:00 SS3
Nancy-Sochaux 17:00 SS4
Villareal-At Madrid 19:00 SS2
Benfica - Naval 20:00 SS4

Also, Eurosport appear to have won the rights to show Bundesliga in Northern and Eastern Europe, starting from next season, meaning next season Digitalb won't carry this league. Their Saturday afternoons could quickly become sparse if the English League doesn't return!
Palermo vs Fiorentina 20:30 SS1
Marseille-Paris SG 21:00 SS3
Real Madrid-Bilbao 21:00 SS2

Serie A in the UK update

According to posts on the DigitalSpy website, the Eurosport round-up show EUROGOALS showed the goals from this week's round of Serie A matches.

In another post on their forum, it appears the Setanta deal may not be totally dead:

James Richardson gave another update on the Setanta situation in the Guardian Football Weekly podcast yesterday. Apparently the deal is not necessarily dead. It's still possible, though far from certain, that Setanta will show Serie A this season.

I haven't got round to listening to this week's Football Weekly podcast yet, but will post back if there is any further information.

UEFA Cup Draw

Click here to see the draw

I caught the end of the UEFA Cup draw on Eurosport, and was surprised at just how quick they can draw the teams compared to yesterday's drawn out Champion's League draw. Showing, as if any proof were needed, just how UEFA regard their other major club competition.

A much more unfashionable competition which lacks the hype of the Champions League, and one which I find far more interesting, because it's a proper European competition, not one hopelessly biased against teams from the major nations like the Champions League. English sides face trips to Poland, Belgium, Bulgaria and Cyprus for instance, far removed from the glamour ties of it's big brother. All the English sides must fancy their chances of getting through to the group stage, though usually one or more sides come unstuck, and after Manchester City's troubles getting past Midtjylland, they won't be relishing their trip to Cyrus.

Irish side St Pat's are rewarded for reaching the first round with a trip to Germany and HerthaBerlin, while other big ties see Napoli take on Benfica and Borussia Dortmund playing Udinese.

Liverpool vs Middlesbrough; Fulham vs Arsenal; Betting Update

I watched the last 25 minutes or so of Liverpool's match against Middlesbrough at Anfield. Liverpool looked poor against a well-organised Boro team, and it was Boro who took the lead with a well-take long range goal from Mido. Liverpool then put Babel on, and threw the kitchen sink at Boro, first of all equalising near the end when a Carragher strike took a massive deflection, and then deep in injury time, Gerrard struck a thunderbolt from the edge of the area - one of those ones that could equally clear the top of the stand, but today went in the top corner. So, two wins in a row after playing badly. Anfield also seems to have given in to the curse of electronic score-boards, which is a pity.

Then onto Fulham vs Arsenal, which I missed the start of as I was at the gym. A shame, as according to the radio commentary on the way home, they managed to put the Plymouth - Swansea match that was on Sky on the big screens around the ground, which sounds quite amusing. Fulham were looking to get a home win on the board to get some confidence in their new-look team to try and avoid a repeat of last season's escape, and Arsenal were looking to play better than they did in their rather fortunate win over West Brom on the opening day of the weekend. Fulham took the upper hand when Hangerland knocked in a corner to give them the lead. Adebayor struck the post shortly after, but Fulham deservedly went in ahead at the break. With the missing Fabregas and Rosicky, and the departed Hleb and Flamini, Arsenal's midfield has completely changed since last season, and it shows with the lack of fluency in their game. Late Arsenal pressure set up an exicting finish, but for all of Arsenal's possession, Schwarzer was hardly tested. Should Wenger not strengthen his side before the transfer window slams shut, many more performances like this could see Arsenal's qualification for next season's Champion's League in doubt. Of course, it's far too early in the season for such speculation, but with massive debts from the new stadium, such a reduction in revenue could have severe repercussions for the team.

In today's betting, I had a success in my Rotherham vs Chester, Birmingham vs Barnsley and Celtic vs Falkirk treble, to turn my 3p stake into 8p. After finding 56p in my Blue Square account yesterday, I've managed to gamble it up to a massive 68p so far, a 20% return so far. I've taken a massive 10p and stake it on tonight's Lyon vs Grenoble match which I plan to watch later. It matters more when there's money on it apparently!