Table of contents for 5-Dec-2017 in MATCH!

MATCH is so buzzing for the festive footy period! Christmas football looks set to be one of the most exciting ever this year! We’ve put together a wish list of all the footy things we want under our Christmas tree on the 25th! Check it out… EPIC DERBIES! This festive period has got some of the biggest rivals going head-to-head! Liverpool and Everton will lock horns in the Merseyside derby, and there’s atop-of-the-table clash between the Manchester clubs. Look out for Arsenal hosting London rivals Chelsea in the New Year, too! MAGIC MOMENTS! Last Boxing Day we had Henrikh Mkhitaryan’s outrageous Scorpion kick finish, copied a few days later by Olivier Giroud! Can somebody else give us another Goal Of The Season contender this year? LOADS OF GAMES! This year’s…

LONDON DERBY! West Ham v Chelsea Saturday, December 9 12.30pm ★ Sky Sports Prem This is a fierce London derby that usually delivers drama! There have been goals in the 89th minute or later in each of the last four meetings between the two sides, so MATCH is hoping for more late action! Four of the last five fixtures have ended 2-1 too, so expect it to be a close one! MAGPIES FACE THE FOXES! Newcastle v Leicester Saturday, December 9 5.30pm ★ BT Sport 1 The last time these two met, Leicester were marching towards the Prem title while Newcastle were exiting the top flight! That match was Rafa Benitez’s first game in charge of The Magpies, and they have improved loads since then. Can his side beat The…

Christmas Special 1 Merry Mascot: Tottenham. Beardy Weirdy: 1. Mohamed Salah; 2. Alvaro Morata; 3. Jamie Vardy; 4. Leroy Sane. Frosty Badges: 1. B. Dortmund; 2. Bournemouth; 3. Liverpool; 4. Napoli; 5. Atletico Madrid; 6. PSG. Secret Santa: Paulo Dybala. Footy At The Films: Kevin De Bruyne. Name The Team: 1. Julian Draxler; 2. Edinson Cavani; 3. Adrien Rabiot; 4. Thiago Silva; 5. Alphonse Areola; 6. Neymar; 7. Dani Alves; 8. Marco Verratti; 9. Layvin Kurzawa; 10. Kylian Mbappe. Boxing Day Bruiser: Marcus Rashford. Festive Footy Heroes: A-1; B-3; C-2. Christmas Special 2 Santa’s Grotto: Granit Xhaka & Sead Kolasinac. Guess The Stars: 1. Dele Alli; 2. Peter Crouch; 3. Wilfried Zaha; 4. Eric Dier. MATCH Winner: Andre Gray. Crazy Kit: Huddersfield. Snow Balls: 1. Bundesliga; 2. Premier League; 3.…

CHRISTIAN KABASELE ★ WATFORD CHRISTIAN SAYS: “For me, it’s dessert! I like Christmas pudding – I know mince pies are popular here, but we don’t have them in Belgium, so I’ve never tried them!” NACHO MONREAL ★ ARSENAL NACHO SAYS: “I don’t really know how to say it in English, but in Spain it’s called Turron and it’s a sweet chocolate dessert. That’s really nice!” LEROY FER ★ SWANSEA LEROY SAYS: “It’s definitely between turkey stuffing and Christmas pudding. I’m going with the turkey stuffing – it tastes so good and it’s not as fattening!” ROB ELLIOT ★ NEWCASTLE ROB SAYS: “I’m actually a veggie now, so I don’t eat meat. I’d probably say the best part of Christmas dinner is the roasties – you can’t go wrong with roast…

MATCH Annual 2018 Signed By Monreal! MATCH got class Arsenal and Spain LB Nacho Monreal to sign the best annual on the planet – and one lucky reader can win it! NBA 2K18! We’ve teamed up with our massive mates at 2K to offer five readers the top-quality NBA 2K18 game on PS4! The highest rated* annual sports title of this console generation has unrivaled realism and true NBA gameplay. For more information, check out the @NBA2K Facebook page! HOW TO ENTER!  WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘Win’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full T&Cs are available online.…

Beardy Weirdy!  Spot the Prem stars rocking the Santa look! SECRET SANTH!  Which European goal machine is ready to get on his sleigh for Christmas Eve? MERRY MASCOT  Which Prem club’s mascot is rocking anepic Christmas jumper? FROSTY BADGES!  These club badges have been given a snowy makeover – can you figure them out? FOOTY AT THE FILMS! Which Prem hero is starring in the classic Xmas film Home Alone? NAME THE TEAM!  Can you remember the PSG starting XI that beat Celtic 7-1 in Paris last month? BOXING DAY BRUISER! Which Man. United superstar looks ready to have a mega scrap on Boxing Day? FESTIVE FOOTY HEROES! These Prem stars all bagged on Boxing Day 2016, but against which teams?…

Get a load of these awesome MAN. CITY Xmas pics! The league leaders are defo getting into the festive spirit with tons of XL versions of top board and card games. Sick! The epic special edition board and card games can be found on City’s website. Top stuff! JANUARY SALES! Everyone loves getting a good deal after Christmas, and there could be a great one over in Germany! Bundesliga spies say DORTMUND are looking to offload PIERRE-EMERICK AUBAMEYANG for £53 million next month, which is grabbing the attention of Prem giants Liverpool and Chelsea!…

How excited do you get about Christmas, Nacho? NACHO SAYS: “Since I moved to London, I’m normally just fully focused on football. We play too many games over Christmas, I don’t really have enough time to think about it all! Plus, Danny Welbeck never invites me to his for Christmas either!” Which Arsenal players love Christmas the most? NACHO SAYS: “Theo Walcott likes to wear a Christmas jumper every year! I like Christmas, it’s a great time for kids and for meeting up with your family. It’s different for me now in England because my family stay in Spain. It’s still a nice time of year, though.” Have you done all of your Christmas shopping yet? NACHO SAYS: “No, not really! I always wait until the last moment to buy…

IF KIMMICH BAYERN MUNICH RB Joshua Kimmich was included in TOTW 5, and his epic In-Form card had an OVR boost of five compared to his original card! No FUT defender has higher Dribbling or Passing stats than the Germany young gun. Hero! RONALDO ICON ST Brazilian Ronaldo is arguably the greatest striker of the last 20 years, and if you can sign him on FIFA he’s practically unstoppable! The footy legend is in the 90s for 12 different stats, and has five stars for skills and his weak foot. Sick! HENRY ICON ST Like all other ICONS, Thierry Henry has three different cards, but this is his only one as a striker. With 94 Pace and Finishing, plus 91 Dribbling, he absolutely devastates defences – just like he used…

Epic MATCH Book Bundle! MATCH is giving away a wicked prize this Christmas – five lucky readers will each win a MATCH Goal Machines 2018, Barcelona Annual 2018 and Real Madrid Annual 2018. Sweet! All three books, published by Pillar Box Red Publishing Limited, are on sale now, RRP £8.99. They’re available in all major retailers, including WHSmith, Bookpeople & Amazon. Awesome BraZen Gaming Chair! We’ve got this jaw-dropping BraZen Sabre 2.0 Surround Sound Gaming Chair up for grabs! It’s compatible with games consoles, MP3 players, TVs and smartphones, plus two embedded speakers provide a sick surround sound experience! What are you waiting for? Gaming chair available from... www.BoysStuff.co.uk HOW TO ENTER! WWW.MATCHFOOTBALL.CO.UK Then click ‘Win’ in the navigation bar on the MATCH website. Full T&Cs are available online.…