Learn English Through Football

This weekend sees one of the big rivalries in English football renewed: Liverpool v Manchester United.  – Liverpool travel to Manchester United for the North-West derby hoping to open up an eight point lead over the Red Devils. We try to predict the score for this game and others on this weeks show. We also have some English for football, and this week we explain the phrase ‘to sit up nicely‘ and one or two other phrases. To start the show, however, we’ll review some of the footballing news in our good, the bad and the ugly section, and the African Cup of Nations will feature. You can read the transcript for the show in our post below (Damian = DF, Damon = DB).
Learn English through Football Podcast: 2017 Liverpool v Manchester United


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Transcript of the show
DB: You’re listening to languagecaster’s football language podcast. Hello everyone! My name is Damon and I am based here in Tokyo and today has been a little cloudy and chilly outside – a nice day for watching re-runs of your favourite football matches. Now, Damian is in London and I hope he is down the line and ready to join us. Damian? How are things?
DF: Hi Damon. Good to hear from you! There has been snow and wind in some parts of the UK but here in London we have managed to escape that but it is still freezing here in London so a perfect day for watching football – and I am going to be cheering on my favourite team Spurs from the sofa later on this afternoon! What do we have on today’s show?
Line up
DB:  Well, on this week’s podcast we start by taking a look back at the football news in the good, the bad and the ugly and this week we  congratulate Real Madrid, feature a story from the African Cup of Nations, where there is trouble in Gabon, and remember a true football man who sadly passed away this week. After that, we take a look at the football expression ‘to sit up nicely‘ and answer a languagecaster follower’s question about the words ‘round, round up and fixtures‘. Then, we will have our regular weekly quiz question and look ahead to three of the big Premier League games taking place this weekend. 
DF: OK, let’s kick off with some of the good news from the world of football.
Good
DF: Well done to Real Madrid who came back to draw 3-3 with Sevilla in the second leg of their Copa del Rey game to break Barcelona’s record of 39 games unbeaten. The leaders of La Liga have now won 30 and drawn 10 of their last 40 matches and this has not only seen them claim a new unbeaten record but also go five points clear in Spain, qualify for the knock-out stages of the Champions League, reach the quarter-finals of the Copa del Rey and of course win the Club World Cup in December. Great stuff for Real Madrid! What about bad Damon?
Bad
DB: Well, it’s always bad when a cloud hangs over a tournament, and the political situation in Gabon, hosts of the 2017 African Cup of Nations, is certainly not ideal. It is not just the usual complaints of money being wasted on new stadia – a new one is being built in Libreville, the capital, but bizarrely it won’t be ready for the matches; instead a pre...