Greetings one and all and welcome to this week's TLFG.
How was your Easter weekend? Did you manage a game every day? How many of you squeezed in a double or two?
Sadly I had to work the whole thing, but my railway job got me down to Kew Bridge a couple of times to drop off and pick up fans either side of the Brentford v Brighton game.
As football fans go, they behaved in an exemplary fashion and gave me no problems at all - Brentford crowds very rarely do to be fair.
Aside from that, I'm excited to report that Non-League Day (NLD) discussions with a potential first Bundesliga partner began this week.
They were very impressed with what they heard and seem keen to get involved so let's see what happens - it's very early days though.
Talking of international NLD partners - Athletic Bilbao made it to the semi-finals of the Europa League and will play Manchester United.
Discussions have already begun about possibly weaving a non-league element into their trip to Old Trafford next month but again, it's way too early to see if anything will come of that.
Over the weekend, some promotion and relegation issues were decided as leagues began to wrap up for the season.
In the National League South, Boreham Wood have confirmed a place in the play-offs but are still one of six teams who could win the title on the final day. At the bottom Aveley and Welling United have both been relegated.
In the Isthmian Premier, Dartford lost their place at the top but they now share the lead with Billericay Town and Horsham ensuring an incredibly nervy final day - remember, only one of them can get promoted automatically. Cray Valley PM have also guaranteed a play-off spot. At the other end, Hendon went down.
In the parallel seventh tier Southern League Premier South, Walton & Hersham will finish third whatever happens in their final game, meaning they'll host Gloucester City in the play-offs on Wednesday 30 April.
Moving into the eight tier, only Uxbridge have so far confirmed a play-off spot with one game to go in the Isthmian League South Central but Ashford Town (Middlesex) and Sutton Common Rovers found the going too tough and will be in the ninth tier next season.
There were also relegations for Sporting Bengal United in the Isthmian North and Phoenix Sports in the Isthmian South East.
It's a more successful story in the ninth tier where Egham Town won the CCL Premier North and Bedfont Sports and Harefield United have so far claimed play-off places. In the CCL South, AFC Whyteleafe and Cobham will contest the play-offs but Spelthorne Sports went down.
With a game to go, Woodford Town and Barking have secured play-off places in the Essex Senior League as have VCD Athletic in the SCEFL Premier. There's also set to be a mouthwatering north London derby between Cockfosters and London Lions in the SSML Premier play-offs after the sides finished third and fourth respectively.
In the 10th tier, Westside and Belstone have secured play-off places in the CCL Division 1 whilst FC Deportivo Galicia suffered relegation.
Over in the SCEFL Division 1, Forest Hill Park and SOUL Tower Hamlets have confirmed play-off places but more importantly are in a three-way battle with Faversham Strike Force for the title with only goal difference separating the three going into the final game. Just below them, Croydon have also confirmed a play-off place too. At the wrong end, Meridian VP and Welling Town have both been relegated.
Finally, in the ECL Division 1 South there was also bad news from north-east London where Newbury Forest also went down after a disappointing campaign.
Most non-league competitions will conclude this weekend, so we'll have a far more complete picture of what's going on come Saturday evening.
THE WEEK AHEAD
This week's highlights include games in the Premier League, EFL, FA Cup, National League, Women's Champions League, Women's Super League and lots of other games featuring our local non-league and women's clubs.
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. 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
Thursday fixtures - purple 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.
Tuesday 22 April
Premier League International Cup Semi-Final
Fulham v Lyon @7pm - the biggest crowd of the night should be at Craven Cottage for this important U21 game. With Crystal Palace and PSV making the last two finals, this year's final four are a completely fresh crop who've never made it. The Cottagers have made the semis a couple of times so they'll be hoping that it's third time lucky. Lyon beat Valencia and West Ham in previous rounds so will be dangerous opponents. The winners will play Nottingham Forest in the final after they beat Athletic Bilbao.
Tickets
CCL Premier North
North Greenford United v Wembley @745pm - everyone else in this division completed their seasons over the weekend but not these two who have this one game left and it's a huge one. Put simply, NGU need only to draw to steal the last play-off place away from Burnham whilst Wembley have to win or they'll be relegated. Tickets are £8 on the gate
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Wednesday 23 April
Premier League
Arsenal v Crystal Palace @8pm - for some reason we've got this random derby taking place all on it's own on Wednesday - the teams haven't got any games in hand so I'm not too sure why. Anyway, there's a not an immense amount immediately riding on it either. With five games to go, the Gunners look pretty certain to finish second whilst Palace are playing for position in midtable, with a top-ten finish still on the cards. To be fair, the difference between finishing 10th and 12th is over £5m in prize money so there's plenty of incentive for the owners at least. Tickets are only available to members but
hospitality packages are available from £495
Women's Super League
Chelsea v Crystal Palace @715pm - after their Champions League humbling at the hands of Barcelona on Sunday, the Blues will want to put in a very strong showing here to rebuild confidence. They won't get a much better opponent as Palace are bottom and seemingly heading down. Drop any points here and the wheels might start coming off. This is being played at Kingsmeadow.
Tickets
Middlesex Intermediate Cup Final
Hayes & Hillingdon v Shepherds Bush @745pm - two 11th tier MCFL Premier clubs meet at Northwood for this juicy bit of silverware. Both sides' league seasons are still ongoing and with H&H well ahead of their opponents in third, they will start as favourites.
Tickets
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Thursday 24 April
Suburban League Shield
Molesey v Metropolitan Police @745pm - the only match I'm aware of on Thursday is this U23 game in south-west London. Entry to games at Molesey at this level is usually £3
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Friday 25 April
Professional Development League
There are a couple of games in this U21 competition on Friday.
Watford will host Cardiff City at Vicarage Road at 2pm and you can buy
tickets now. The other one is the derby between
QPR and
Brentford which is being played at the R's training ground. It's also a 2pm start but check with the club what the admission requirements are as it does change. It's usually always free entry but sometimes they insist on spectators
pre-registering
CCL Division 1
PFC Victoria London v Colliers Wood United @745pm - if you fancy a bit of groundhopping on Friday night then get yourself along to the recently reopened Robert Parker Stadium. Following the installation of a new 3G pitch, matches are being played again after around a six-month hiatus. There's not a huge amount riding on this 10th-tier game, with both sides in no danger of being promoted or relegated. Tickets are £6 on the gate
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Saturday 26 April
FA Cup Semi-Final
Crystal Palace v Aston Villa @515pm - Wembley plays host to semi-final weekend with game one taking place at tea-time on Saturday. The Eagles have never won this competition but have been to the final twice in my lifetime. They also made it to this stage three years ago before losing to Chelsea. Of the remaining clubs, they are the lowest ranked and aren't expected to progress. Although Villa are the next lowest-ranked team, they're in great form in the league and won the second leg of their Champions League tie against PSG in midweek too. It's going to be tough but not impossible. Tickets have sold out
Premier League
Chelsea v Everton @1230pm - talking of Champions League, the Blues are still trying to make sure of their place in it. With the top five all qualifying for next season's competition, Chelsea are one point adrift with five games to go. Although Everton haven't become the most exciting team to watch in recent weeks, David Moyes has made them tough to beat and they could easily come away with at least a point.
Tickets
Championship
Millwall v Swansea City @3pm - the Lions' play-off hopes live on after they managed to beat Norwich on Monday. With the clubs immediately above them all losing, they're now three points back with two games to go. With five victories on the bounce, the midtable Swans are the division's form team and, mathematically, they still have the slimmest of play-off chances so they'll be wanting to win at all costs too.
Tickets QPR v Burnley @1230pm - in the early game, the R's welcome the title-chasing Clarets to Loftus Road. After the joy of beating Preston on Friday, QPR's four game unbeaten run ended on Monday when they became Swansea's latest victims. With absolutely nothing to play for, it will be interesting to see how they approach the Burnley game. Last year they obliterated Leeds at a similar stage in the campaign and condemned them to the play-offs - they could do the same to Burnley here. However, with their ridiculously miserly defence (15 conceded all season) and only two defeats, I think that's highly unlikely.
Tickets
League One
Leyton Orient v Wycombe Wanderers @1230pm - the O's came from behind to win 2-1 at struggling Cambridge United on Monday to keep their place in the top six. Next up they face a side who have already booked their play-off place and are still fighting hard for automatic promotion. With Wycombe located just outside London, there's usually a derby feel to any game they have in the capital so this should be a cracker. Tickets have sold out
League Two
AFC Wimbledon v Port Vale @1230pm - overall it's a pretty massive afternoon of EFL action in the capital with this hugely important game at Plough Lane too. With only one win in six, the Dons are still hanging on in fifth and will make sure of a play-off place if they win this. Vale, on the other hand, could go top if they come away with three points but could also end up back in the play-off places if they lose. Tickets have sold out
National League
Barnet v Aldershot Town @3pm - after going three games without a win, it was starting to look like the Bees might choke and throw away the title but after some nervous moments on Monday they came through and won at Sutton. Now six points clear with two games to go, they simply need to draw this to win the title and return to the EFL. The Shots have made it to the FA Trophy Final but Monday's derby loss to Woking means they're still not mathematically safe from relegation. A draw will save them though. Hmmm, I wonder what odds you can get on a draw here???
Tickets haven't sold out yet but they probably will so buy in advance
Dagenham & Redbridge v Altrincham @3pm - at the other end, the Daggers need a win. Although three points won't guarantee survival, anything less could send them down. Sadly for the east London club, Alty are still very much in the hunt for a play-off place so have plenty to play for too - it's going to be tense.
Tickets
National League South
Enfield Town v Worthing @3pm - the Towners drew the biggest crowd in their history for their big game against St Albans on Friday but the win they needed to guarantee safety eluded them and then they lost at Boreham Wood on Monday. Consequently, they can still be caught on the final day. For that to happen, they need to lose this and see both St Albans and Salisbury win their matches. So what are the chances? On paper, Enfield will do well to get anything out of Worthing who are one of six teams in a frantic fight to be crowned league champions. St Albans make the incredibly long journey down to Cornwall to play leaders Truro so their chances look really bleak but Salisbury have a very winnable game against already relegated Welling. For me, Enfield survive - just! Another huge crowd is expected so buy your
tickets in advance
Isthmian League Premier
Dartford v Carshalton Athletic @3pm - the game of the day in the seventh tier sees the Darts going for the title. As mentioned above, they are one of three teams heading into the final day on level points at the top. However, their goal difference is the worst so they'll need both Billericay and Horsham to drop points. Although Carshalton have nothing to play for, they're a decent side and if they avoid defeat they'll finish seventh.
Tickets
Isthmian League South Central
Hanworth Villa v Horndean @3pm - the hosts kept their play-off hopes on track with a 2-0 win at Met Police on Monday. With the table still really tight, only a win will ensure Hanworth go to the post-season. Horndean are in the bottom six but are safe and should be beaten. Tickets are £11 on the gate
Kingstonian v Ascot United @3pm - the game of the day in this division sees two of the top five meet at Raynes Park Vale's ground. To recap, the teams in second to fifth make the play-offs. These sides are in that group. A draw will be enough for Ascot but the K's have to win to be sure. Tickets are £10 on the gate
SCEFL Premier
Fisher v Hollands & Blair @3pm - the Fish have been there or thereabouts all season and need a draw to confirm a fourth-place finish and a place in the play-offs. Given they have a decent goal difference, even a loss will probably see them keep their spot. The visitors are in the bottom six, safe from relegation and should be beaten. Tickets are £8 on the gate
More previews for 26-27 April to follow
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.
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!
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