So I thought that, with the World Cup final taking place on Sunday, there would be a football-free week, at least amongst major leagues, until the Premier League kicked things off with their round of Boxing Day fixtures next Monday. How wrong I was. The English FA has scheduled Carabao Cup ties this week, and while most of them involve no more than one Premier League side, there are two exceptions. Add to that the Women’s Champions League and few other games here and there, and you’ve got at least a game a day all the way through. Without further ado, here’s your football viewing schedule for the week between the World Cup and Christmas.

All times are listed CST; do your own math.

Yesterday (12/19) – Come on. Even God had a day’s rest.

Today (12/20) – Newcastle United – AFC Bournemouth (Carabao Cup, Round of 16) ESPN+, 1:45 PM. Get on it!

Tomorrow (12/21) – Olympique Lyonnais – Juventus (Women’s Champions League, Round of 16) DAZN via YouTube, 1:45 PM. In the unlikely event of a Juventus win, they would sneak past Lyon into the quarterfinals. Or, if you’re sexist, there’s Man U – Burnley in that Carabao Cup at 2:00 PM on ESPN+.

Thursday (12/22) – Manchester City – Liverpool (Carabao Cup, Round of 16) ESPN+, 2:00 PM. Seriously? Is there any chance Klopp won’t be fielding Merseyside’s U-16 squad? Or, if you’re sexist, there’s Chelsea – Paris Saint-Germain playing for top spot in their group in the Women’s Champions League, also at 2:00 PM on DAZN via YouTube.

Friday (12/23) – Brisbane Roar – Western Sydney Wanderers (A-League, Australia) Paramount Plus, 2:45 AM. Or, maybe just go Christmas shopping already.

Saturday (Christmas Eve) – Trabzonspor – Fenerbahçe (Süper Lig, Turkey) BEINSports, 10:30 AM. Only six points separate seventh place Trabzonspor from the visiting league leaders. Or, if you’re racist, there’s Celtic – St Johnstone (Scottish Prem) on CBS Sports/Paramount Plus at 6:30 AM. Only 21 points separate first place Celtic from fifth place St Johnstone. Though Celtic do have a game in hand . . .

Sunday (Jesus’s Birthday [observed]) – Bnei Sakhnin – Hapoel Tel Aviv (Premier League, Israel) ???, 12:15 PM. I’ll admit that if you actually want to watch a game, it would be easier to find Giantep – Beşiktaş, a mid-table Süper Lig clash on BEINSports at 7:00 AM. But surely, tenth place Hapoel’s visit to eighth place Sakhnin, just north of Nazareth, in between Haifa and the Sea of Galilee, is the game of the day. Only a point separates them . . .

However you choose to spend this week before the resumption of the English Premier League, I wish you and your family the best. Happy holidays!