WEEKEND PREVIEW
In the following section, I list what are in my opinion the most notable games of the weekend and give some brief reasons for my choice. I no longer write previews for sold out matches or ones where membership is a minimum requirement for tickets so Premier League matches will rarely appear here - they will still be on the match maps though.
Friday 13 March
Premier League 2
The most eye-catching games of the day take place in this U21 competition. Arsenal host Leicester City at Boreham Wood, Fulham take on Nottingham Forest at their Motspur Park training ground and West Ham United welcome Reading to their Rush Green facility. All start at 7pm and admission varies but shouldn't be more than £5
ECL Division 1 South
Barkingside v May & Baker @745pm - there are also three matches in this 10th-tier division and they're all appealing in their own way. However, I've gone for this as it's between the bottom two who are both running out of chances to secure the points they need to stay up. The 'Side are at the foot of the table and 10 points adrift of safety. With just six games to go, it's looking pretty grim and a defeat in this will be almost terminal. The visitors are only three points below the relegation line so they really do have a chance. Admission should be around £7-8
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Saturday 14 March
Premier League
West Ham United v Manchester City @8pm - with tickets for the games at Arsenal and Chelsea restricted to members and hospitality, your best option for watching some top-flight football is to be found in east London. It's a pretty good-looking game too with the Hammers fighting to avoid the drop and City needing the points to stay in the title race. The hosts are winless in 22 in all competitions against Pep Guardiola's side so their chances don't look great. The late kick-off means you can easily combine this with a game pretty much anywhere in London earlier in the day.
Tickets
Championship
Millwall v Blackburn Rovers @3pm - the Lions are having one of their best seasons in years and their fans are even starting to believe automatic promotion to the Premier League is in their grasp. So much so that tickets for games at The Den are frequently selling out, something I can rarely remember happening for league matches. This game against lowly Rovers has sold out too in home areas but you can still buy online if you want to sit with the Blackburn fans.
Tickets
League One
Leyton Orient v Peterborough United @3pm - the O's picked up a hugely important away win at promotion chasing Stevenage in midweek to move out of the relegation zone. Only a point above the bottom four, they need to build some momentum. Posh are in midtable and winless in four so this could be another good opportunity for some points.
Tickets
League Two
Barnet v Newport County @3pm - with boss Dean Brennan serving a nine-match touchline ban for making sexist comments towards a referee, the Bees' form has been inconsistent. However, only three points shy of the play-off places they still have plenty to for though. Welsh club Newport are fighting to stay up and under Christian Fuchs they are making a fist of it. In pretty much identical form to Barnet, they should be capable of getting a point.
Tickets Bromley v Bristol Rovers @3pm - with only one win in six, the Ravens are still clinging on to top spot in this increasingly competitive division. If you told Bromley fans at the start of the season that they'd be in contention for the title, they probably wouldn't have believed you but they've been at the summit of the division for some time now. The visitors are way down in 19th but have won three of their last four to move well clear of the relegation zone.
Tickets
National League
Wealdstone v Solihull Moors @3pm - another team with three wins from four, the Stones are now back in the top 10 under new boss Gary Waddock. Still 11 points adrift of the play-off places, they do have two games in hand on seventh placed Halifax. Midlands club Solihull are just a couple of points behind but their form is among the worst in the division with their last win coming seven games ago.
Tickets
National League South
Enfield Town v Dagenham & Redbridge @3pm - the Towners looked to be heading back to the Isthmian League but with eight points from six games, there's still a bit of fight in them. Six points adrift of safety with 11 games to go, the task is not insurmountable. Next up at Donkey Lane are the team of the moment D&R. To much fanfare, celebrity KSI became an investor last week and they promptly went and beat leaders Dorking Wanderers. Defeat to in-form Maidstone followed but they still have a shot at reaching the play-offs.
Tickets
Southern League Premier South
Walton & Hersham v Farnham Town @3pm - arguably the non-league game of the day is this Surrey derby in the seventh tier. Both clubs have risen rapidly in recent years backed by young, wealthy and social media savvy owners. The hosts have been top for a while whilst Farnham are third. The visitors are 12 points behind but win this and their two games in hand and the gap will reduce to just three. It's a huge match and a four-figure crowd should easily be achieved.
Tickets
Isthmian League South East
AFC Croydon Athletic v Faversham Town @3pm - game of the day in the eighth tier sees two of the top six meet in south London. The hosts are another team who seem to be prospering under celebrity owners (Stormzy and Wilfried Zaha are involved here), with a place in the play-offs looking highly likely as a minimum this season. Faversham were crowned champions of the ninth tier SCEFL last season and only goal difference is keeping them out of the play-off places. There are a number of ticket promotions running for this including £1 entry for season-ticket holders of 'league clubs'. I'm not certain how much full price is but probably around £10
CCL Premier South
Cobham v Horley Town @3pm - the hosts became the first club in Steps 1-6 to win a league title this season. Their dominance of this ninth-tier division has been total. Currently 27 points clear of nearest challengers Tadley Calleva, they wrapped up the title at Redhill last Saturday. Horley are in the top five too but still have a lot of work to do to make sure of a play-off spot. How much effort Cobham put into this remains to be seen but they will lift the trophy after the game so that'll be worth going for if nothing else. Tickets are £8 on the gate
CCL Division 1
PFC Victoria London v London Samurai Rovers @3pm - this match could have a significant bearing on who makes the play-offs in this 10th-tier division as both sides are in the top five. Interestingly, these clubs have their roots in two of the capital's ex-pat communities (Polish for the former, Japanese for the latter) and they both groundshare at stadiums which are not too far from each other. Whether you can call it a derby is debateable but it should definitely be competitive. This is being played at Ashford Town and admission should be around £7-8
Premier League 2
Chelsea v Sunderland @2pm - there's also a random bit of U21 football at Kingsmeadow. The Blues are currently top of this 29-team division with 12 wins from 17 games and they should start as favourites against the midtable Mackems. Tickets are £4
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Sunday 15 March
Women's Super League
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton @1155am - with the men's game at Crystal Palace not on general sale and the women's game at London City Lionesses having sold out, this game at the THS is your next best option. After a pretty poor 2024/25, this season under new boss Martin Ho has gone very well indeed for Spurs. Fifth and still in the FA Cup, the women are showing the men's team how it's done. The Toffees were struggling but following a change of manager, their fortunes have improved too. Three consecutive wins have made relegation look far less likely.
Tickets
Women's Super League 2
Charlton Athletic v Sunderland @2pm - the Addicks appeared to be cantering to the title but on Wednesday they lost 2-0 at home to bottom club Portsmouth. What happened, only Karen Hills and her players can tell us but they'll want to re-set and move on quickly. Nine points clear, second place Birmingham have two games in hand so there can't be too many more slip-ups. The Mackems are down in eighth so, on paper, should be beaten.
Tickets Crystal Palace v Nottingham Forest @2pm - after suffering relegation last season, the Eagles are third and only a point off the automatic-promotion places. Forest are in midtable and will almost certainly remain there. Palace won the reverse fixture 2-1 back in September. This is being played at Sutton United.
Tickets
Capital Senior Cup Semi-Final
Brentford v AFC Wimbledon @3pm - unusually there are no Women's National League games in London on Sunday but we've got this intriguing county cup game instead. The Bees are currently top of their fifth-tier division whilst the Dons are struggling near the bottom of the third tier. The quality gap between divisions is often significant so cupsets are rare but with a final up for grabs, let's see what happens. This is being played at Bedfont Sports and I think admission is usually free but that might differ for a cup match - it shouldn't be more than £5 though
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