The Weekend Ahead

One of the features of our blog is going to be a look ahead to what is going on in the football world on the big matchdays.

So, let's start that tradition off in usual style by looking at one of the biggest weekends in the football calendar - the FA Cup semi-finals.

* Arsenal and Chelsea do battle in the first game at Wembley on Saturday tea-time. Whether or not you agree with the decision to host all FA Cup semis for eternity at the national stadium, this one is probably on the money, what with it being a London derby.

Both teams reached the Champions League semis this week - one in comfortable circumstances and the other in epic ones - so this promises to be a thrilling clash. The Gunners - playing at the new Wembley for the first time - won the only meeting between the two teams this season by winning at Stamford Bridge in November, but Guus Hiddink's Chelsea are flying.

* Sunday sees Manchester United face Everton, who are also at the new Wembley for the first time. That loveable little bulldog Wayne Rooney is at the centre of attention as the club he loved as a child faces the one which he now represents. He's even said that he might go and watch the final if the Toffees win, bless him. Another cracking clash in prospect though...

* In the Premier League, the big boys aren't playing (see above), so the focus is on the bottom of the table, where Middlesbrough look to build on their win over Hull when they host Fulham, Stoke play Blackburn and Newcastle travel to Spurs. But the biggest game at the bottom this weekend is between Sunderland and Hull at the Stadium of Light. Neither seem able to buy a win at the moment, but if one of them can get one here, it could just save them from the drop.

* The race for the three spots opening up in the top flight is nearing an end, with Wolves set to win promotion this weekend if they beat "THE RICHEST CLUB IN THE WORLD" QPR, but the battle for second goes on with Birmingham, Sheffield United and Cardiff all in the mixer for the second spot. After this weekend, the picture there could all be a hell of a lot clearer.

* In League One, Leicester will be champions if they win at Southend, while Cheltenham and Hereford are well on the way to dropping down to League Two. Brentford can win promotion from League Two themselves if they win and other results go their way, while Bournemouth and Chester meet at the other end in a game which could go a long way to deciding who joins Luton in the Blue Square Premier next season.

But that's not all there is - there's action all across the world this weekend, and we'll be following results all over the place as the European leagues hurtle towards the climax of the 2008/09 campaign.