Saturday
Football
8am-12pm (all times BST) Matchday live
Emillia Hawkins welcomes all-comers to the weekend’s football action with a sprightly mix of breaking news, reader observations and vibes from around the grounds. It’s a frantic day in the Premier League, with five fixtures culminating in the evening clash of Manchester City and Newcastle. Elsewhere, there’s a full Championship and EFL programme. In the Scottish Premiership, the leaders, Hearts – unbeaten at home this season – tackle Falkirk. Continental matters feature Real Madrid, Bayern Munich and Inter, with the clash of Juventus v Como the pick of the bunch in Serie A.
Winter Olympics
9am-9pmMilan Cortina live
Aldred asked, Billy Munday and James Wallace buckle up for day 15 of these compelling Games, which brings the prospect of a British curling gold medal. Bruce Mouat and his rink of Grant Hardie, Hammy McMillan and Bobby Lammie face Canada in the final (6.05pm-9. 20pm) looking to upgrade the silver they won in Beijing four years ago. Other highlights include the opening two heats of the four-man bobsleigh (9am and 10.57am), Britain’s Zoe Atkin in the women’s halfpipe final (6.30pm-8.05pm) and the spectacular massed start of cross-country skiing’s very own marathon, the 50km, with the British skier Andrew Musgrave going in his fifth Winter Olympics.
T20 World Cup
1.30 p.mNew Zealand v Pakistan live
Tim de Lisle is on over-by-over duty as New Zealand open their Super 8s campaign against Pakistan in Colombo, before matches against Sri Lanka and England at the same venue. The Black Caps must adapt quickly to Sri Lankan pitches after playing all their matches so far in India. Pace, bounce and spin in Colombo will be markedly different to Chennai and Ahmedabad, where New Zealand played their group matches. Pakistan have played all their four matches in Sri Lanka and possess a potent spin attack.
Premier League
3pmClockwatch
No lunchtime kick-offs in the Premier League on Saturday, but Dominic Booth will keep the updates flowing across the afternoon’s three 3pm kick-offs. Leeds will strive to maintain their momentum in their survival fight at Aston Villahaving lost only two of their past 15 matches in all competitions. Daniel Farke’s side sit 15th, six points above the relegation zone, freshly invigorated by last weekend’s shootout win at Birmingham that sealed their place in the fifth round of the FA Cup. Unai Emery’s third-placed side beat Brighton in their most recent league game, though they crashed out of the Cup in a 3-1 home defeat by Newcastle. Burnley travel to Chelsea having finally cracked their 16-game blank streak by beating Crystal Palace 3-2 at Selhurst Park, only to be dumped out of the Cup by League One Mansfield in the shock of the round. Brentford huffed and puffed against non-league Macclesfield in the FA Cup on Monday, but stand seventh as they confront Brighton. A run of just one win in the past 13 Premier League games has left Fabian Hürzeler’s crew in 14th, seven points above the bottom three but still within reach of a European place.
Six Nations
2.10pmEngland v Ireland live
Ireland won in Dublin last year but the rivals have been on different trajectories since. While England responded by embarking on their winning run, Andy Farrell’s side finished third in the Six Nations, endured a disappointing autumn and have yet to set this championship alight. Injuries, a period of transition and a hangover from supplying the largest contingent to last summer’s British & Irish Lions tour have taken a toll on a squad that is now scrambling to be ready for the 2027 World Cup. Recent history favours them for Saturday, however, as they have won five of their past six meetings with England. Steve Borthwick’s team remains confident they can still seize France’s crown despite their emphatic 31-20 mauling by Scotland at Murrayfield setting alarm bells ringing. Lee Calvert hosts our blog, with Robert Kitson, Michael Aylwin and Luke McLaughlin filing reports and analysis.
Six Nations
4.40 p.mWales v Scotland live
After a thrilling win over England at Murrayfield last weekend, a revitalised Scotland head to Cardiff to take on a Wales team that have not won a home game in the Six Nations since the Scots came calling in February 2022. For the inconsistent Scots, this is a chance to continue wiping away the memory of their opening defeat in Rome and put themselves back in the title race, while ailing Wales can finally kickstart their campaign. Scotland have won their past three Six Nations matches against struggling Wales, including an epic contest in Cardiff in 2024 when they raced into a 27-0 lead but had to hold on grimly for a 27-26 victory. Daniel Gallan keeps the updates flowing, with Sarah Rendell reporting from the Principality Stadium.
Premier League
8pmManchester City v Newcastle live
Newcastle renew their quest for a first win at the Etihad Stadium and a first in the league –they have lost on their past 16 visits to City – since September 2000. Newcastle won the reverse fixture 2-1 in November, so they have an opportunity to complete their first top-flight double against the hosts since 1955-56. Pep Guardiola’s title contenders are fixed on faltering Arsenal, aiming to chip away at the gap at the top and secure a third straight league win. Scott Murray ringmasters our minute-by-minute commentary, with Jamie Jackson reporting.
Premier League
5.30 p.mWest Ham v Bournemouth live
Nuno Espírito Santo is in no doubt his West Ham players have the character needed to fight their way to Premier League survival. A run of five wins in the last seven games across all competitions has lifted the mood around the London Stadium. The Hammers, who are also through to the fifth round of the FA Cup, are now just three points behind Nottingham Forest, with both Tottenham and Leeds in their sights. “We see them work, getting ready for the game, speaking to each other and helping each other,” says Nuno. “This togetherness is what we want and need. We need character and I think we have shown character in tough circumstances.” After an indifferent spell, Bournemouth have found their form again: Andoni Iraola’s side are unbeaten in their last six league games, winning four. Taha Hashim leads the blog while Ben Bloom reports.
Sunday
Winter Olympics
9am-9pmMilan Cortina live
The last day of the Games presents an enticing programme featuring the men’s four-man bobsleigh (9am-12.20pm); women’s cross-country 50km mass start (9am-12.35pm); women’s curling (12.05pm-1.35pm); and the men’s ice hockey (12.40pm-3.40pm) gold medal match. Plus the closing ceremony (7pm). Tom Bassam, Children El-Shaboury and Graham Searles keep the updates coming, and Beau Dure covers the men’s ice hockey final.
Photograph: Andrew Milligan/PA
T20 World Cup
9.30amSri Lanka v England
Rain is forecast as England attempt to put a difficult group stage behind them, with their top-order unconvincing. The 2022 champions lost comfortably to the only Test-playing side they faced, West Indies, and were unconvincing in wins against the associate nations Nepal, Scotland and Italy. Despite being underwhelming so far, Harry Brook’s side warmed up for the World Cup with three T20 wins over Sri Lanka at Pallekele, the same venue where they will meet the tournament co-hosts on Sunday. James Wallace steers our over-by-over coverage, with Simon Burnton reporting.
Women’s FA Cup
1.30 p.mChelsea v Manchester United live
The competition’s two most recent winners seek a place in the quarter-finals, and notable recent Cup clashes add spice to the tie. In last year’s final at Wembley, Chelsea claimed the trophy in a 3-0 win over the holders, United. The season before that, United booked their place in the final by overcoming Chelsea in the semi-finals, having lost to the Blues in 2023. With both sides struggling in the league and facing tough opponents in the Champions League – Chelsea will face Arsenal in the quarter-finals, while United must overcome Bayern Munich – the prospects of a trophy are getting slimmer. That said, one will emerge with silverware on 15 March when they meet in the League Cup final. Haimaca Awoyungbo hosts the blog, with Sophie Downey reporting from Kingsmeadow.
Premier League
2pmNottingham Forest v Liverpool live
In Vítor Pereira, Arne Slot is facing his third different Forest manager in four matches but is still looking for his first win, having lost one and drawn one to Nuno Espírito Santo and been defeated by Sean Dyche at home in November. “Back then they were under different management as well because I think it was Sean Dyche’s third or fourth game,” says the Liverpool manager. “That sometimes makes it a little bit more difficult because we only have [one game] to see if this manager changes personnel, changes tactics but we, of course, know him because he worked last season in the Premier League as well. It was a difficult game for us.” Glaringly, the last six Forest managers to lead the club in the Premier League have lost their first match. John Brewin pilots the live blog while Ben Fisher reports from the City Ground.
Six Nations
3.10pmFrance v Italy live
France are in formidable form, having battered Ireland 36-14 and hammered Wales 54-12 in rounds one and two. The reigning champions next face Italy in Lille before Scotland away and England in Paris with the slam still on for The Blues. But they will not take Italy lightly. A 13-13 draw at the same venue two years ago provides food for thought. Italy’s set-piece prowess could prove the deciding factor, hence Fabien Galthié has recalled the second-row bruisers Thibaud Flament and Emmanuel Meafou, the only changes to France’s XV from Cardiff. Daniel Gallan will be live-blogging the match, while Raphaël Jucobin reports.
Premier League
4.30 p.mTottenham v Arsenal live
Daniel Harris is at the controls for a blockbuster north London derby. Much-travelled Igor Tudor knows all about fast starts as he takes the controls of a spiralling Spurs desperately in need of three points, with a relegation battle staring them squarely in the face. The new manager has launched each of his past five managerial reigns with a victory, from his second spell at Hajduk Split in 2020 through to Juventus last year, via Verona, Marseille and Lazio. The Gunners, meanwhile, are experiencing a colossal wobble after the league leaders’ title credentials were undermined at Molineux in the midweek draw. Mikel Arteta’s fragile side have now failed to win from a leading position in three of their past five league games. Yet Arsenal’s record against Tottenham cannot be ignored: they have also won six of their last seven league games against Spurs, including each of the past four NLDs. David Hytner and Jonathan Wilson report from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.
