Apologies for the slightly late publication, I was a bit down yesterday evening and pretty tired so called it a day earlier than normal.
As regular readers know, I work on the railway and Saturday was spent dealing with all the people attending the 'Unite the Kingdom' march in central London.
Although I didn't suffer any abuse or aggression directly, colleagues from ethnic-minority backgrounds did - it was a bad day and I've been under a cloud since.
I had hoped my trip to watch Actonians play bottom of the league and winless MK Dons would improve my mood but they contrived to lose 1-0 to put a real dampener on things.
Anyway, hopefully the week ahead will be filled with more hope on all fronts.
Lastly, many thanks to Lewis D-A from Essex and Kelvin W from Ealing who very kindly donated to TLFG's coffee-drinking fund - it's hugely appreciated.
THE WEEK AHEAD
This week sees the return of the Champions League and the next batch of games in the Premier League and EFL.
We've also got the next rounds of the EFL Cup, EFL Trophy, FA Vase and FA Youth Cup, there also some FA Cup replays too.
In the women's game, there are some WSL games, many matches in the divisions below and the next round of the Women's FA Cup.
As always, please make sure you check with clubs before you travel just in case a game has been called off or the venue or kick-off time has changed - this is highly possible for some of the lower non-league clubs and development matches. Also, please let me know if anything is wrong or missing.
Details on all of this week's games can be found on the following match maps. If you've never used them before, please note that when there is more than one match at a specific ground you'll only be able to see individual match pins if you zoom right in. If you don't, the pins obscure each other and you might miss them. To avoid this, you can also scroll down the list of games on the drop down menu at the top of the map page to make sure you get all the information. Games are listed from top to bottom in date order so Monday's games (yellow pin) will appear first and Sunday's (orange pin) last. Games are also ranked in terms of status so the higher the division, the higher up the list they will appear on each day.
Also if you're unfamiliar with the English league structure I indicate the level at which an individual league sits in the national 'pyramid' with the Premier League at the top (Level 1) and various minor leagues at the bottom (Level 10). Typically a top level game will see crowds of anywhere between 20,000-60,000. These figures will gradually decline as you go down the leagues until you get to Levels 8-10 where attendances of 150 or less are most common.
It should also be noted that the top four levels are for fully professional teams. Level 5 has a mixture of professional and semi-professional teams, while Levels 6-10 will see most players paid but it will vary from no more than travel expenses at the bottom, right up to several hundred pounds a week at the top.
MIDWEEK MATCH MAP
Monday fixtures - yellow pin
Tuesday fixtures - green pin
Wednesday fixtures - turquoise pin
Friday fixtures - black pin
WEEKEND MATCH MAP
Saturday fixtures - blue pin
Sunday fixtures - orange pin
TLFG DAILY DIGEST
In the following section, I list what are in my opinion the most notable games of the week and give some brief reasons for my choice. Check the maps above for kick-off times, ticket info and directions.
Monday 15 September
Isthmian League Premier
Aveley v Folkestone Invicta @745pm - the Millers suffered relegation from the NLS last season and have yet to properly settle in the seventh tier but they are holding their own. On Saturday they enjoyed a 2-1 win at AFC Sudbury in the FA Cup. Kent club Folkestone are in the top four and also progressing well in the FA Cup after their really fine win over county rivals Maidstone at the weekend. Tickets are £14 on the gate
ECL Division 1 South
Newbury Forest v Barkingside @745pm - in the 10th tier we have a derby on the north east side of town. After being given a reprieve from relegation last season, the hosts have made a cracking start and are third coming into this. Matches at this stadium are always bittersweet for 'Side fans whose ground it once was but it's a long story and you can look it up. On paper this looks like a home win. Tickets should be in the £5-7 bracket
FA Youth Cup First Round Qualifying
Aside from the non-league options on offer, there will also be games in this U18 competition most nights this week. On Monday we have ties at Hampton & Richmond Borough and Walton & Hersham but the pick of the ties for me is probably the south London derby between Carshalton Athletic and Tooting & Mitcham United where it's free entry
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Tuesday 16 September
UEFA Champions League
Tottenham Hotspur v Villarreal @8pm -with the qualifying rounds out of the way, the group phase of the Champions League gets underway this week. Despite having one of the worst league campaigns in decades, Spurs still made it into this competition thanks to their victory in the Europa League. They begin their campaign with a home game against the club which finished fifth in Spain last year and they arrive in N17 in fifth again. This will be Tottenham boss Thomas Frank's first big European test, let's see how he manages. Tickets are on general sale
EFL Cup Third Round
Brentford v Aston Villa @8pm - the Bees grabbed an injury-time equaliser in the derby against Chelsea on Saturday as they recorded a 2-2 draw and kept their decent record against the Blues going. Villa have made a worrying start and picked up only their second point of the season with a 0-0 draw at Everton this weekend. Brentford have never made the final before whilst the visitors have won it five times. Unlike Premier League games at the GTech, tickets are on general sale
Crystal Palace v Millwall @8pm - in one of the ties of the round, these two south London rivals will meet again. Earlier this year, they met in the FA Cup in a bad tempered affair which saw the Eagles win after the Lions had their goalkeeper sent off for a terrible foul in the opening minutes. Ultimately Palace went on to win that competition and they'll hope for another great cup run this season. For security reasons, tickets are not on general sale
EFL Trophy
AFC Wimbledon v Crystal Palace U21 @7pm - elsewhere in south London, the Eagles' youngsters make the trip over to Plough Lane for this. We're still in the group stage at the moment and neither side have won a game yet. The Dons got thrashed by Stevenage in their opener whilst Palace lost on penalties to Bromley. Interest in this competition is notoriously low so getting tickets will be easy
National League Cup
There are also a couple of games in this competition which is incredibly similar to the one above - instead of U21 teams playing League One and Two sides, they play National League ones instead. On Tuesday, Sutton United welcome Brighton & Hove Albion and Wealdstone take on a young side from Leicester City
FA Cup Second Round Qualifying Replays
Dagenham & Redbridge v Bedford Town @745pm - the Daggers got relegated last season and have continued to find things difficult in the NLS. On Saturday they travelled to NLN strugglers Bedford and drew 1-1. The Daggers haven't played in the FA Cup this early since 2000 so it would be quite a disappointment to go out, especially when you consider they made the Third Round proper last season. Tickets
Isthmian League South Central
Hayes & Yeading United v Bedfont Sports @745pm - marginally the non-league pick of the day is this eighth-tier derby on the west side of town. The hosts spoiled Hanworth Villa's big pitch unveiling on Saturday to climb back into the top eight. Bedfont spent Saturday pulling off a shock FA Cup win over Hanwell Town and are unbeaten in their three league games so far. Tickets are £12 on the gate
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Wednesday 17 September
FA Cup Second Round Qualifying Replay
Woodford Town v Bury Town @745pm - ninth tier Woodford have made an impressive start to their season. Second in the Essex Senior League, they drew 1-1 at Bury who play two levels above them. Now back on home turf, this could be one to keep an eye on. Tickets are £7 on the gate
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Friday 19 September
Women's Super League
Tottenham Hotspur v Manchester City @730pm - the biggest game of the day is this one at Brisbane Road. Despite predictions they would struggle, Spurs have begun with two wins over West Ham and most recently Everton - ruining the Toffees' opening game at Goodison Park. After losing to Chelsea in their first game, City beat Brighton on Friday to pick up their first three points. Tickets
Premier League 2 & Professional Development League
There are also several U21 games on Friday. If you want to see two games today, head to Vicarage Road for 2pm where Watford host Cardiff City. Later in the day, Fulham play West Bromwich Albion and West Ham United play Birmingham City. Both matches are at the clubs' training grounds and start at 7pm
FA Vase Second Round Qualifying
The next round of this national knockout competition for clubs in the ninth and tenth tiers with its final at Wembley takes place this weekend. There are three ties on Friday:
Tooting & Mitcham United v Guildford City @745pm - in the all ninth-tier tie of the night, two CCL Premier South teams meet at Imperial Fields. The Terrors have only recently returned to this competition after over 20 years but they've yet to make it beyond this stage. Their chances look pretty good as Guildford are bottom of the division. Tickets are £8 on the gate
Cannons Wood v Great Wakering Rovers @745pm - the hosts are struggling towards the wrong end of their tenth-tier division so they're going find this match against the leaders of the Essex Senior League incredibly challenging. GWR made it all the way to Wembley in 2024 but lost to Romford. Tickets are £7 on the gate
Lymore Gardens v Frenford @745pm - in the final tie of the day, we've got a derby at Redbridge's ground in north-east London. Lymore Gardens are new to the tenth tier and competing in the Vase for the first time. They've started well in the league and pulled off a stunning win over Woodford Town in the last round. That result should give them every confidence of beating another team from the same division. Tickets are £7 on the gate
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Previews for 20-21 September to follow
GET INVOLVED
If you're going to see a game, whether you're a local or a visitor, please let me know what you've been up to. If you're interested in reviewing a ground in the London area for this blog then get in touch. I also very much welcome photos of your football travels.
NEED HELP?
Got any questions about visiting London? Don't hesitate to ask - be they football or more general travel/touristy queries. I do not charge for this advice like some other sites so don't hold back!
Has this blog been helpful? Donate to TLFG's coffee-drinking fund here
Hi James, thanks as always for this. Just to say that the AFC Croydon game tonight is taking place at Merstham’s ground due to ongoing work after the fire at their home ground.
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