Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 3:19 — 6.1MB) | Embed
Subscribe: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Amazon Music | Blubrry | Email | TuneIn | Deezer | Youtube Music | RSS | More
This week’s listening practice report focuses on the big games taking place this weekend in Italy and in England. The top four teams in both leagues face off in possible title showdowns. You can listen to the report by clicking on the link above, and you can also read the transcript of the report (below). There are also explanations of key vocabulary (in bold) at the end of the post.Listening Practice: 2015-16 Serie A and Premier League Showdowns
It’s a huge weekend of football in England and Italy as we approach the business end of the season. In both leagues the top four face off in crucial games that will go a long way to deciding the title and which teams will play in next season’s Champions League.
Arsenal vs Leicester City
Arsenal have not won the Premier League title in 12 years and they are five points behind the leaders Leicester City who travel to face them this weekend; yet strangely the London club still start as favourites to win this top of the table clash. Maybe this is because Arsene Wenger’s men are seen to have more quality, at least on paper, with more international caps than their Leicester counterparts but this also reflects the feeling that surely the Leicester fairytale cannot continue? However, the Foxes have only been beaten twice all season (although one of those was against Arsenal) and have players such as Mahrez, Kante and striking sensation Jamie Vardy all in a rich vein of form. Would it be such a shock for them to win at The Emirates a week after doing the same at Manchester City?
Manchester City vs Tottenham
Tottenham travel to Manchester full of confidence on the back of a six-game winning run, four of those in the Premier League, while City have just suffered a demoralising home defeat to Leicester City last week. City also have injury problems though they do have a good recent record against the London side, especially at home. This game has some interesting match-ups with two of the best keepers in Hart and Lloris, two promising young England internationals Sterling and Dele Alli and of course, two in-form strikers in Agüero and Harry Kane.
Juventus vs Napoli
The top two in Italy face off this weekend in what promises to be a game that will go a long way in deciding the title. Napoli, who have not won the Scudetto since 1990, have won 8 games in a row but remarkably their opponents Juventus have managed 14 wins on the trot so something will have to give today. Which of the two Argentine strikers will prevail: Napoli’s Higuain or Juve’s Dybala? A mouth-watering evening of football lies ahead.
Fiorentina vs Internazionale
The last of the big four games this weekend sees the team in third place in Italy’s top division host the side in fourth in a battle over Champions League places. Remember, in Italy only the top three qualify for next season’s Champions League so with only one point between the two teams this game could prove pivotal.
Vocabulary
top of the table clash: A game between teams at the top of the divisionA
Arsene Wenger’s men: Arsenal players
counterparts: The meaning is ‘equivalents’ but here it refers to their opponents
the Foxes: Leicester’s nickname
on the back of: After a six game run
demoralising: Discouraging (a negative sense)
match-ups: Pairings
will go a long way in deciding the title: This will be a very important game
on the trot: Consecutively
something will have to give: Neither side can maintain their winning run so one of them, at least, cannot win today.
prevail: Win (come through)
mouth-watering: Many people are looking forward to the game
pivotal: Be very important indeed.
There are different ways of listening to our football podcasts:
- Subscribe to the show and receive automatic downloads every week
- Subscribe through i-tunes here
- Click for the latest shows here
- Click download on any of our podcast posts to save to your computer
- Podcast FAQ
