James dissects the week's football news with a little help from John Ashdown, Paul Doyle and, fresh from his sunshine break in Seville, Barry Glendenning.
They look at the few highlights of the Carling Cup, including an improved Portsmouth performance which hints at better things to come for the south coast side. There's also a preview of the weekend's Premier League games, including Stoke v Manchester United.
In La Liga things are taking a predictable shape, with Real Madrid and Barça looking unstoppable and the Ronaldo v Messi Balon d'Or battle already in full swing. Luckily Sid Lowe has more interesting news such as why Almeria have the friskiest supporters, and news of Europe's worst team, Xerez.
