Sports on the TV? The action you must watch this weekend
This weekend sees a break in the Premier League but that doesn’t mean the sports grind to a complete halt across the coming days. Here are Morning Wire’s pick of five events to watch over the coming days to stay across the sporting landscape.
Football: FA Cup, Friday to Monday, ITV and BBC
The third round of football’s FA Cup is upon us and all 20 Premier League clubs are in action over the course of the next four days.
The third round gets underway tonight as Manchester United host Everton (ITV1, 8pm) at Old Trafford. United are looking to win their first FA Cup trophy since the 2015-16 season while Everton will use the competition to look for a much needed victory under Frank Lampard.
On Saturday Premier League outfit Leicester City travel to League Two side Gillingham (BBC1, 12:30pm), Wrexham – who have found fame with a pair of celebrity owners, Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney – head to Coventry (S4C via iPlayer, 5:30pm), Sheffield Wednesday host Premier League side Newcastle United (BBC1, 6pm) and Liverpool and Wolves complete in a top tier clash at Anfield (ITV4, 8pm).
Sunday sees Premier League outfit Leeds cross into Wales to play Cardiff (ITV1, 2pm) and arguably the tie of the weekend between Manchester City and Chelsea (BBC1, 4:30pm).
The third round concludes on Monday with Arsenal’s trip to Oxford United (ITV1, 8pm) as well as the draw for the fourth round (to be played 27 – 30 January).
Golf: Tournament of Champions, Thursday to Sunday, Sky Sports Golf
The first golf of 2023 commenced last night with the opening round of the Tournament of Champions in Hawaii (continues tonight until Sunday, 11pm, Sky Sports Golf).
Cameron Smith has not returned to the US oceanic state to defend the title he won last year due to his commitment to the Saudi Arabia-backed LIV Golf series.
Before the Australian’s victory last year you have to go back to 2010 to see another non-American so it seems likely we could see a home winner this year.
That said, Spaniard Jon Rahm was named the pre-tournament favourite with Scottie Scheffler, Xander Schauffele and Justin Thomas contesting the $15m purse, too.
Rugby: Gallagher Premiership, Friday to Sunday, BT Sport
The Premiership is back for one final round before the 11 teams break for a fortnight of European rugby action.
Top-of-the-table Saracens travel to Gloucester (Friday, 7:45pm, BT Sport 1) looking to back up their dominant win over Exeter last weekend with a victory against the top four outfit.
Defending champions Leicester Tigers head north to Newcastle (Saturday, 2pm, BT Sport 2) in search of a win after their 40-5 humiliation at the hands of Sale Sharks last weekend.
Harlequins host Sale Sharks (Sunday, 3pm, BT Sport 1) looking to stop a rut of two consecutive defeats. Sale are second in the league and will look to secure the four points down in London.
Tennis: United Cup, Sunday, BT Sport
The inaugural United Cup concludes on Sunday when two of Greece, Italy, Poland and the US compete in Sydney’s final (Sunday, 2am, BT Sport 2).
Great Britain were knocked out in the ‘group finals’ stages but some of the world’s best players – including Iga Swiatek – remain in the competition at the time of writing.
With the Australian Open coming up next week (Monday 17th, Eurosport), this competition see’s a $15m prize fund for the winners as well as all important ranking points.
US sports: NFL, Saturday and Sunday, Sky Sports
The countdown to the Super Bowl continues with week 18 of the NFL regular season.
The Chiefs open the billing at the Raiders before the Titans head to the Jaguars in the second live match (Saturday, from 9pm, Sky Sports Main Event).
Sunday evening sees the Bills host the Patriots before the Giants travel to the Eagles later in the evening (Sunday, from 6pm, Sky Sports Main Event).
The Chiefs lead the betting to win the Super Bowl this season with the Bills, 49ers and Eagles in behind the Kansas side.