Ben Haines, Ellen White, Jen Beattie and Emma Sanders host a Christmas special!

The team do a mid season review and revisit predictions made at the start of the season and whether they expect much to change. Emma gives an insight into what recruitment we could see in the January transfer market, plus a look at the WSL2 with play-off spots up for grabs.

Bristol City manager Charlotte Healy and Newcastle boss Tanya Oxtoby join the pod and share how they are working to get promoted to the WSL. Tanya also shares how important pigs in blanket are to her team!

And who will be crowned the Women’s Football Weekly friends quiz champion?

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How has Unai Emery masterminded Aston Villa's rise? Will United and Liverpool compete for Semenyo? And who are Africa's new superpower, how is Mo Salah viewed in his home continent and why has a major change been made to the African Cup of Nations?

Chris Sutton, Rory Smith and Pat Nevin join Mark Chapman to discuss and debate the big questions of the week on the Monday Night Club.

Guillem Balague, author of 'The Rise of the Villans: Inside Unai Emery's Aston Villa Revolution', joins the panel to provide insight into Emery's excellent work at Villa Park.

The group then consider the other side of Sunday's 2-1 victory over Manchester United, who have lost talismanic captain Bruno Fernandes to injury. How can they replace him, and might it force the Reds into a transfer battle with bitter rivals Liverpool? Arne Slot's title holders are waiting for further news on Alexander Isak, with reports suggesting their record-breaking signing has suffered a leg break.

African football journalist Maher Mezahi joins us from AFCON to explain a major change to the competition, how Morocco and Senegal are competing to be the continental superpower and how Mo Salah is viewed by those in his home nation and continent after controversy at Liverpool.

Plus, what is Pep Guardiola's Christmas diet for his Man City players, and how does it compare to Chris and Pat's from back in the day?

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Commentaries coming up this week:

Ben Haines, Luke Edwards and Clinton Morrison discuss the weekend’s Premier League action. After Morgan Rogers scored another brace for Aston Villa in their 2-1 win over Manchester United, is he one of the most in-form players in the league right now? And how fearful should Manchester United fans be after Bruno Fernandes left the field at half time due to injury? In the weekend’s other matches, they discuss whether Arsenal’s lack of convincing wins should be concerning, and one of the games of the season – Newcastle v Chelsea. Should there have been a penalty? Plus, what does Alexander Isak’s injury mean for Liverpool, and how concerning is Tottenham’s discipline? And at the bottom of the table, is there any way back for Rob Edwards’ Wolves?

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02:25 – Aston Villa’s Morgan Rogers

Sunderland defender Dan Ballard speaks to BBC Sport's Betty Glover about the Wear-Tyne derby win, promotion and the impact Granit Xhaka has had on the Black Cats. They discuss how everyone has adapted so well to the Premier League and his teams aim for the rest of the season. They also get into his ability to step up in big games and how he's improved himself since last season.

John Murray, Ian Dennis & Ali Bruce-Ball discuss what it’s like being a commentator at Christmas. They look ahead to the festive schedule, Ian aims to stretch his lead in Clash of the Commentators, there are more unintended pub and film names, and which commentary phrases will end up in our Great Glossary? Suggestions welcome on WhatsApp voicenotes to 08000 289 369 & emails to [email protected]

00:40 What is Christmas like for commentators?

5 Live / BBC Sounds Premier League commentaries:

Great Glossary of Football Commentary:

DIVISION ONE

Steve Crossman is joined by James Horncastle, Julien Laurens and Rafa Honigstein to break down the biggest stories across European football.

They discuss PSG being ordered to pay Kylian Mbappé €60m, Cesc Fabregas’ fallout with Senegal over Assane Diao, and Fiorentina’s dramatic collapse to the bottom of Serie A.

The panel are also joined by Benfica academy director Guilherme Müller to explore why Benfica are world leaders in youth development, before touching on the rapid rise of teenager Lennart Karl.

02:35 PSG Pay Mbappé

It’s a busy one on the pod as we are at Tannadice Park, St James’ Park and the Etihad – as Steve Crossman gets the latest from the EFL Cup quarter-finals and asks what’s next for Celtic as they suffer another defeat.

The pod starts in Scotland after Wilfried Nancy has now lost all of his first four matches as Celtic manager. It's the first time since January 1978 that the club have had a run like that, that's after Dundee United came from behind to win 2-1. We hear from Nancy himself and Scottish football reporter Kenny Crawford who watched the action unfold.

Steve is joined by John Murray and Clinton Morrison as they witnessed Newcastle beat Fulham – in a game that nearly went to penalties! They also hear from Yoane Wissa after he scored his first goal for Newcastle. And not only that, Ian Dennis and Leon Osman join the pod from a very wet Etihad Stadium after they saw Manchester City beat Brentford 2-0 – even Pep Guardiola makes a cameo!

And we find out the state of play for the British teams in Women’s Champions League action on Wednesday night, after the final round of league phase fixtures.

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01:20 – Celtic section.

Aaron Paul and Jobi McAnuff are joined by the new Bristol Rovers manager Steve Evans. They chat about his reasons for taking the job, and his sadness at it being of the expense of his friend Darrell Clarke. How did Mrs Evans react when the family’s Christmas holiday was cancelled? Steve’s old Stevenage captain Carl Piergianni is up for debate for the ‘Ultimate Hard Men Squad’, and Steve poses a tribute to former player Sol Bamba. Plus, with boxing back on BBC TV, Barnsley’s Callum Simpson pops by to chat about his upcoming fight on Saturday evening – what does he make of Barnsley’s season? And what do Aaron and Jobi make of Preston and Hull, the surprise packages at the top of the Championship?

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Commentaries This Week:

Two subs come to Chelsea’s rescue in the Carabao Cup, and is Bruno Fernandes right to be annoyed?

Former Cardiff City striker Danny Gabbidon and ex-Chelsea goalkeeper Mark Schwarzer join Kelly Cates and Alistair Bruce-Ball to review a 3-1 win for Enzo Maresca’s side in the Carabao Cup quarter-final.

Cardiff did themselves proud with their performance, but Chelsea come out on top, and what does that mean for Blues boss Maresca? We also hear reaction from double-goalscorer Alejandro Garnacho and Cardiff manager Brian Barry-Murphy, whose team will return to focusing on their League One promotion bid.

Later in the show, the panel preview Wednesday night’s two quarter-finals: Newcastle v Fulham and Manchester City against Brentford.

Away from the Carabao Cup, Ally considers the news that FIFA has released a new tier of cheaper World Cup tickets, and how significant that really is. Our pundits also look at the situation of Bruno Fernandes at Manchester United, after the Reds captain revealed the club told him they wanted to sell him in summer.

And Julien Laurens joins Kelly to delve into the news that Kylian Mbappe has won in court against his former club, PSG.

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Commentaries coming up this week:

Mark Chapman is joined by Phil Jones, Chris Sutton and Rory Smith to discuss a mixed weekend for managers across Scotland and the Premier League.

Is Wilfried Nancy already under pressure at Celtic, just three games into the job? The latest defeat came at the hands of St Mirren in the League Cup final and their former captain Stephen McGinn joins the pod.

The top three in the Premier League - Arsenal, Manchester City and Aston Villa. What should we take from the fact that those three clubs have Spanish managers all of whom have authority over many aspects of the club which has been built in their image?

What's upset Enzo Maresca and does the Chelsea boss get the credit he deserves?

Plus, not for the first time this season, Thomas Frank has come under fire after their defeat to Nottingham Forest. The Spurs boss says it's not an easy fix, but is he right?

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