It’s been a disturbing and heartbreaking week or so in the world of football.

Initial plans to poke fun at Liverpool’s new mascot ... I mean teenage goal hero ... and José Mourinho’s sudden realisation he has the Bundesliga player of the year in his squad, just feel inappropriate.

All any football fan has or should be talking about resonates with much deeper emotions.

Firstly, we have been reading about the growing number of former players revealing they were victims of the most depraved and predatory child sex abuse you can imagine.

The long-lasting effect, as you can see in the tears and troubled lives of these guys when interviewed, is heartbreaking.

A total of 850 calls were made to a specifically established hotline in its first week alone.

The English game is staring in the face of a deep-rooted scandal featuring an unimaginable number of victims, cover-ups and horror stories that has shuddering echoes of the Catholic church and Jimmy Savile. Secondly, the game is coming to terms with the devastating loss of life in Brazil. Almost the whole team and staff of Chapecoense was wiped out in a plane crash.

A local reporter told a radio station they tried to get a club statement from the press office but that there was no one left to do it. A gut-wrenching, sobering thought.

11am kick offs unless stated

Tomorrow

Manchester City v Chelsea

8.30am

Chelsea have won their past seven matches and are the in-form team in the Premier League.

This is one of the games of the season and the meeting of two tactically astute minds. Watching how Pep counters Antonio’s 3-4-3 will be fascinating ... watching Victor Moses’s second coming will also be a treat. Who predicted that?

City to rise to the occasion but Chelsea to earn a draw.

Prediction: 1-1

Crystal Palace v Southampton

Manager Alan Pardew reportedly has two games to save his job after the chaotic 5-4 defeat to Swansea, paying the price it seems for trusting Christian Benteke to man mark at a corner ... three times.

Southampton have more than enough to ensure that Pardew has one game to save his job.

Prediction: 1-2

Stoke City v Burnley

Joe Allen returns to a team that is slowly re-establishing its foothold in midtable. Burnley away from Turf Moor are a less fearsome prospect.

Prediction: 2-0

Sunderland v Leicester City

What is going on with Leicester and, in particular, Jamie Vardy. Arsenal dodged a bullet with that one it seems.

Sunderland have shown signs of life and even though David Moyes parked a garage of London double buses at Anfield, there is a semblance of a football team emerging.

Prediction: 2-1

Tottenham v Swansea

Spurs looked excellent against Chelsea ... for 30 minutes, before Chelsea overran them.

Swansea should be pumped after their nine-goal thriller but Spurs have the quality to ensure a comfortable win.

Prediction: 3-0

WBA v Watford

The Hawthorns will welcome a poorer Tony Pulis to the ground tomorrow after he lost a legal battle with former club Crystal Palace, which could set him back upwards of $6.5 million all over a row over a staying up bonus. And some people say there’s too much money in the game!

Prediction: 2-0

West Ham v Arsenal

1.30pm

Hard to see past Arsenal having a reaction to the midweek defeat, especially given West Ham’s trouble settling into their new home. Dimitri Payet looks like he’d rather be back in France and manager Slaven Bilic ages with every game.

Prediction: 0-2

Sunday

Bournemouth v Liverpool

9.30am

Adam Lallana appears to be edging back to fitness, which will be critical. Bournemouth’s open style should suit Liverpool’s attacking swarm but they are, of course, going to be without Phillippe Coutinho until the new year.

Prediction: 1-2

Everton v Manchester United

Noon

Despite stuttering form and a sudden diminishing of Ronald Koeman’s standing among Everton fans, the team are still unbeaten at Goodison Park. They remain only one point and one place behind United.

Mourinho appears to have found the magic formula to creating a cohesive, winning team — lock yourself in a “secret location” and let someone else do the job.

Prediction: 2-2

Monday

Middlesbrough v Hull City

4pm

The unexpected resurrection of Alvaro Negredo should have got Middlesbrough three points last time out but they let it slip.

Hull, meanwhile, have advanced into the semi-final of the EFL Cup which just goes to show that forward planning and organisation are overrated when it comes to top-level clubs.

Prediction: 2-0