Match of the Day 2 is a football

Football (soccer)

Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a sport played between two teams of eleven players with a spherical ball...

 highlights programme shown on BBC Two

BBC Two

BBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...

 in the United Kingdom

United Kingdom

The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...

. It was created in 2004 when the BBC

BBC

The British Broadcasting Corporation is a British public service broadcaster. Its headquarters is at Broadcasting House in the City of Westminster, London. It is the largest broadcaster in the world, with about 23,000 staff...

 regained the right to broadcast Premier League highlights.

Broadcast on Sunday evenings, usually later than 10 p.m., it is advertised as a "light-hearted look at the Premier League's action", referring to its more fan focused presentational style than the Saturday night version. Launched with an anchor of Adrian Chiles

Adrian Chiles

Adrian Chiles is a British television and radio presenter, currently working for ITV Sport presenting football coverage....

 and analysis from two pundits. Adrian Chiles became popular in this role. In 2010 he was replaced by Colin Murray

Colin Murray

Colin Murray is a Northern Irish sports and music radio and television presenter. He is the current host of the BBC Television show Match of the Day 2 on BBC Two, and the BBC Radio 5 Live shows 5 Live Sport and Fighting Talk, as well as a show on BBC Radio Ulster. He has previously hosted regular...

 who left Channel 5 to take up the position at the beginning of the 2010/11 season and to also host the BBC World Cup coverage in 2010. . Like its sister programme, it is broadcast from MediaCityUK in Salford Quays on the banks of the Manchester Ship Canal in Greater Manchester.

Format

The show features fewer games than Match of the Day due to there being fewer fixtures on a Sunday, therefore the latter half of the show is dedicated to recapping Saturday's action.

The programme follows a similar format to Match of the Day, with highlights of the days football followed by post match interviews and tactical analysis from the pundits.

Former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon is the staple pundit on the show as opposed to Alan Hansen of the Saturday night edition.

He is usually joined by a current/former manager such as Neil Warnock or Lawrie Sanchez or a current/former player such as Danny Murphy or Robbie Savage.

Occasionally when there is a big match Alan Hansen or Mark Lawrenson will feature alongside Lee Dixon. Previously on MOTD2 Gordon Strachen and Gavin Peacock featured as guest pundits but have since left the show.

The show originally featured a "Top 5" countdown based around a current event or a guest pundit on the show, such as "Worst Haircuts", "Shocking refereeing decisions" or "Golden Oldies". This was replaced by "2 Good, 2 Bad" which offered a humorous look at the goings on of the football weekend in England, such as embarrassing gaffes, unusual celebrations, intimacy between players and managers or supporters falling asleep.

Occasionally, the show features comical animations of rival managers or players, for example a mock up boxing match between former Manchester City manager Mark Hughes and new manager Roberto Mancini.

Since Colin Murray took over from Adrian Chiles, the 2 good 2 bad theme has not appeared in the same capacity, however at the end of each show Murray usually looks at something he has noticed from a game or off-field event in a similar format to 2 good 2 bad.

Controversy

In March 2009, Alan Pardew

Alan Pardew

Alan Scott Pardew is an English football manager and former player, currently the manager of Newcastle United....

 was condemned for his own gaffe on the show when he seemed to say that midfielder Michael Essien

Michael Essien

Michael Kojo Essien is a Ghanaian footballer who plays for Chelsea and the Ghanaian national team. He is a midfielder who has often been touted as a box-to-box midfielder for his ability to exert boundless energy in supporting offensive and defensive play...

 had "absolutely raped" player Ched Evans

Ched Evans

Chedwyn Michael "Ched" Evans is a Wales international footballer currently playing as a striker for Sheffield United.Born in St Asaph, Denbighshire Evans was an inexperienced youth striker with Manchester City, when he arrived at Norwich City on loan in 2007...

 during a midfield tussle for the ball.

Selected pundits

• Tony Adams
• Mark Bright
  Mark Bright
  Mark Abraham Bright is a former English footballer who is now a sports pundit and BBC London's sport presenter, as well as a coach at Crystal Palace....
  
  
• Lee Dixon
  Lee Dixon
  Lee Michael Dixon is a former English professional footballer born in Manchester.He formed part of the Arsenal defence from the late 1980s, through till 2002. He was capped 22 times for England, scoring once....
  
  
• Iain Dowie
  Iain Dowie
  Iain Dowie is a former footballer and manager. He is currently without a club. He has previously managed Hull City and Queens Park Rangers and was assistant manager of Newcastle United...
  
  
• Les Ferdinand
  Les Ferdinand
  Leslie "Les" Ferdinand MBE is a former English footballer. His playing career included spells at Queens Park Rangers, Besiktas J.K., Newcastle United, Tottenham Hotspur, West Ham United and Bolton Wanderers F.C., during which period he earned a number of appearances for England...
  
  
• David Ginola
  David Ginola
  David Karl Ginola is a French former international football player who has also worked as an actor and model.Ginola was born in Gassin, Var...
  
  
• Alan Hansen
  Alan Hansen
  Alan David Hansen is a Scottish former football player and BBC television football pundit. He played as a central defender for Partick Thistle, Liverpool and Scotland...
  
  
• Martin Keown
  Martin Keown
  Martin Raymond Keown is a former English footballer. Widely regarded as one of the best man-markers of his generation, Keown played for six different football clubs during his career but it was with Arsenal that he will be best remembered. Keown made over three hundred appearances for Arsenal...
  
  
• Mark Lawrenson
  Mark Lawrenson
  Mark Thomas Lawrenson is a former professional football player, a defender in the Liverpool and Irish football teams of the 1980s; he since became a radio, television and internet pundit for the BBC and Today FM. He was born in England, but played for the Republic of Ireland because his...
  
  
• Graham Poll
  Graham Poll
  Graham Poll is an English former football referee in the Premier League and is considered the best English referee of the last 25 years in a list maintained by the International Federation of Football History and Statistics...
  
  
• Alan Shearer
  Alan Shearer
  Alan Shearer OBE, DL is a retired English footballer. He played as a striker in the top level of English league football for Southampton, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United and for the England national team...
  
  
• Gary Speed
  Gary Speed
  Gary Andrew Speed, MBE was a Welsh football player and manager. He was captain of the Wales national football team until he retired from international football in 2004 and he remains the most capped outfield player for Wales and the second overall, having appeared 85 times at senior level between...
  
  
• Neil Warnock
  Neil Warnock
  Neil Warnock is an English former footballer who is currently manager of English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers....
  
  

Occasionally footballers who are still playing with a Premier League team are invited onto the show to express their views. They usually have played on Saturday, therefore allowing them to appear on Sunday night. These have included D.J. Campbell, Clarke Carlisle

Clarke Carlisle

Clarke James Carlisle is an English professional footballer who plays as a central defender for Football League One side Preston North End, on loan from Burnley. Born in Preston, he began playing football at a young age, taking inspiration from his father who played semi-professionally. Carlisle...

, Brad Friedel

Brad Friedel

Bradley Howard Friedel is an American soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League....

, Marcus Hahnemann

Marcus Hahnemann

Marcus Stephen Hahnemann is an American international soccer player who plays as a goalkeeper for Everton.Graduating out of Seattle Pacific University, he played for the Seattle Sounders between 1994 and 1996. Between 1997 and 1999 he turned out for the Colorado Rapids, signing with English club...

, Danny Murphy, Graeme Murty

Graeme Murty

Graeme Stuart Murty is a footballer. He has made more than 400 appearances in the Football League playing for York City, Reading, Charlton Athletic and Southampton...

, Michael Owen

Michael Owen

Michael James Owen is an English professional footballer who plays as a striker for Manchester United.The son of former footballer Terry Owen, Owen began his senior career at Liverpool in 1996. He progressed through the Liverpool youth team and scored on his debut in May 1997...

, Linvoy Primus

Linvoy Primus

Linvoy Stephen Primus is an English former footballer.Born in Forest Gate, England, to Caribbean-born parents, Primus began his professional career at Charlton Athletic; where he made four league appearances...

, Jason Roberts

Jason Roberts (footballer)

Jason Andre Davis Roberts MBE is an English-born Grenadian footballer who plays as a striker for Premier League club Blackburn Rovers. Born in Park Royal, London, Roberts began playing football from an early age, and spent time in the youth academies at several professional clubs, but was not...

, Paul Robinson and Robbie Savage

Robbie Savage

Robert William "Robbie" Savage is a football pundit and former Welsh professional footballer who played predominantly as a midfielder. During his career he captained Derby County, and also played for the Welsh national team. He now presents 606 on BBC Radio Five Live on Sunday evenings alongside...

 as well as Serie A

Serie A

Serie A , now called Serie A TIM due to sponsorship by Telecom Italia, is a professional league competition for football clubs located at the top of the Italian football league system and has been operating for over eighty years since 1929. It had been organized by Lega Calcio until 2010, but a new...

 star Clarence Seedorf

Clarence Seedorf

Clarence Clyde Seedorf OON is a Dutch footballer who currently plays as an attacking midfielder for Serie A club Milan. Seedorf is the first player to have won the Champions League with three different clubs - Ajax in 1995, Real Madrid in 1998 and Milan in 2003 and 2007...

. Notable managers such as Gordon Strachan

Gordon Strachan

Gordon David Strachan OBE is a Scottish football manager and former player. He is currently without a club, having last managed Middlesbrough. Strachan played for Dundee, Aberdeen, Manchester United, Leeds United and Coventry City, as well as the Scotland national team. Prior to Middlesbrough,...

, Chris Coleman

Chris Coleman (footballer)

Christopher "Chris" Coleman is a Welsh football manager and former player. He is currently the manager of Greek Side Larissa....

, Alex McLeish

Alex McLeish

Alexander "Alex" McLeish , is a Scottish former professional footballer and manager, who is currently managing English Premier League club Aston Villa...

, Roberto Martinez

Roberto Martinez

Roberto Martinez is the name of:* Roberto Martínez Lacayo, President of Nicaragua* Roberto Martínez y Gutiérrez, Mexican bishop consecrated by Moisés CarmonaSports* Roberto Martínez , Honduran boxer...

, Slaven Bilić

Slaven Bilic

Slaven Bilić is a former Croatian footballer and current head coach of the Croatia national team. His playing tenure predominantly comprised extended vocations in his hometown with Hajduk Split and a combination of foreign spells in Germany and England...

, David Moyes

David Moyes

David William Moyes is an association football manager and former player, currently managing English Premier League club Everton. He was the 2003, 2005 and 2009 League Managers Association Manager of the Year...

, Alan Curbishley

Alan Curbishley

Llewellyn Charles "Alan" Curbishley is an English football manager and former professional player....

 and Phil Brown have also appeared as pundits on the show.