Blues - Blades up first

FOOTBALL LIVE ON SKY SPORTS
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Sky Sports will broadcast Birmingham City v Sheffield United as the first live Coca-Cola League match of the new season.

The match, which kicks-off at 12.45pm on Saturday, August 9, will be the first of 70 live Coca-Cola League games to be shown on Sky Sports in the 2008-09 season.

In consultation with the Football League, we can confirm nine live matches featuring 14 different clubs over the first four months of the season. Further live matches will be announced as they are confirmed.

Following Birmingham's lunch-time meeting with Sheffield United, the next live game will be Nottingham Forest vs Reading on Sunday 10 August (KO 1.15pm).

Other live fixtures confirmed include:

WATFORD v IPSWICH TOWN - Play-Off Semi-Finalists from the 2007-2008 season lock horns with Ipswich at Vicarage Road on Saturday, August 30 (KO 5.20pm).

READING v QPR - The Royals take on their hooped counterparts from west London on Saturday, October 25 (KO 5.20pm).

SOUTHAMPTON v BRISTOL CITY - Last season's beaten Play-Off Finalists travel to St Mary's on Saturday, November 8 (KO 5.20pm).

SWANSEA CITY v CARDIFF CITY - The South Wales derby from the Liberty Stadium on Sunday, November (KO 11.30am).

Also in August, Sky Sports will screen two live games from the First Round of the Carling Cup with Chester City v Leeds United on Tuesday, August 12 and Wycombe Wanderers v Birmingham City on Wednesday, August 13.

This season Sky Sports will screen, exclusively live, 70 matches from across all three divisions of the Coca-Cola Football League, plus the end of season Play-Offs and all three Play-Off Finals from Wembley Stadium.

We will also show 92 live matches from the Barclays Premier League, a choice of over 100 live games from the UEFA Champions League; live ties from the Carling Cup and Scottish Cup, Spain's La Liga, the Carnegie Premier League from Northern Ireland and live internationals including World Cup qualifiers featuring Northern Ireland, Republic of Ireland, Scotland and Wales - plus South American nations including Argentina and Brazil.