Your Guardian sport weekend: Australian Open, NFL playoffs and the Afcon final
Ease into the football weekend with our essential rolling blog.Dominic Booth buckles up to bring you breaking news and insights from around the grounds with seven Premier League fixtures, kicking off at lunchtime with the Manchester derby.Jamie Jackson will be online at Old Trafford for a live Q&A before the match, so post your questions to matchday.live@theguardian.com.
There’s a full Championship programme, with an enticing clash as pacesetters Coventry face Leicester, plus two games in the fourth round of the Women’s FA Cup, troubled Real Madrid facing Levante at 1pm and Hearts going up against Falkirk in the Scottish Cup on Saturday evening,Talking points galore, so why not join the conversation,Michael Carrick steps into the dugout as Manchester United’s interim manager for the Manchester derby at Old Trafford, tasked with steadying a side that have wobbled through another bleak winter,United are seventh in the table with one win in their last six Premier League matches and last week’s FA Cup exit underlined their parlous state, but Carrick’s arrival, in the wake of Ruben Amorim’s sacking, brings a flicker of hope,His first challenge? Attempt to outwit Pep Guardiola, whose City team are six points behind Arsenal and second in the table, despite three consecutive draws.
Rob Smyth helms our live blog with Jamie Jackson and John Brewin reporting.Xaymaca Awoyungbo keeps the updates flowing from the 3pm kick-offs as well as sweeping up the lunchtime results, with his attention firmly fixed on two intriguing clashes.Tottenham v West Ham features two managers under unremitting pressure – El Sackico.Spurs’ Thomas Frank may not last the weekend in post should their relegation-bound London rivals pull off a shock away win.Frank could call on his new signing Conor Gallagher following his arrival from Atlético Madrid, while Nuno Espírito Santo and the Hammers, seven points adrift of safety in 18th, are winless in their last 10 Premier League games.
David Hytner and Jacob Steinberg report,Liverpool host Burnley unbeaten in their last 11 matches in all competitions, but they will be keen to end their run of three straight league draws,Andy Hunter is our man at Anfield,Barry Glendenning hosts our minute-by-minute coverage and Peter Lansley reports on the big game,Mikel Arteta’s pacesetters travel to the City Ground after a testing midweek win over Chelsea in the first leg of the EFL Cup semi-finals.
However, Forest’s home form is grim reading for Sean Dyche – his side have lost six of their 10 Premier League home games this season, one more than they lost at the City Ground in the whole of last season.With a Champions League meeting with Inter looming, Arteta may look to rotate his squad, and he said on Friday: “We have more players back now, we have better options.That’s very helpful.We are giving game time to almost every player.”Up with the lark is Daniel Harris to cover all the action from day one in Melbourne.
The women’s draw sees Aryna Sabalenka and Emma Raducanu fire up their campaigns.The world No 1 faces the French player Titi Rakotomanga Rajaonah, ranked 118 in the world, while the British hope meets the Thai Mananchaya Sawangkaew (195), although rankings count little when it comes to the capricious Raducanu.A shock quarter-final loss to the world No 204 Taylah Preston at the Hobart International was hardly encouraging.In the men’s draw, Carlos Alcaraz meets the local hope Adam Walton.The 22-year-old world No 1 would eclipse Don Budge as the youngest man to achieve the career grand slam by winning at Melbourne Park.
There’s also British interest with Cameron Norrie and Arthur Fery on court.Tumaini Carayol reports.Emillia Hawkins and Billy Munday also rise early to focus on the wash-up from Saturday’s games, as well as looking forward to Sunday’s fixtures with all the breaking news and the latest from around the grounds.As well as two Premier League games, Celtic are in action in the Scottish Cup against rank outsiders Auchinleck Talbot and there’s European interest with Milan, Roma and Barcelona all playing, not forgetting 12 Women’s FA Cup fourth round ties.There have been signs of life at Molineux of late, but Wolves’ awakening under Rob Edwards may have come too late.
His side are unbeaten in three league games and have earned more points from those – five – than they did from their previous 22 (three).The visitors are on something of an upward tick too in the league, and a victory against the bottom club means the Magpies – beaten by Manchester City in Tuesday’s Carabao Cup semi-final first leg – would have won their first three league games of a calendar year for the first time since 1996.John Brewin steers our live blog with Will Unwin at the ground.Aston Villa’s seemingly unstoppable surge lost some of its momentum last week as a goalless draw at Crystal Palace stalled their march on Arsenal’s top spot.But after dumping Tottenham out of the FA Cup, they approach Sunday’s late game against Everton with energy restored.
Unai Emery’s side are unbeaten in 11 home games in all competitions but face an Everton team who have won nine of their 19 league away games in David Moyes’ second spell,Billy Munday helms our live blog, with Ben Fisher at Villa Park,The rankings proved spot-on as Africa’s top two teams advanced to the final, with Morocco and Senegal setting up a heavyweight clash,But while Senegal overcame Egypt 1-0 in 90 minutes in Tangier on Wednesday, Morocco needed Youssef En-Nesyri’s calm spot-kick in a penalty shootout before disposing of Nigeria after a goalless draw in Rabat to book their place in Sunday’s decider,Morocco, whose only Cup of Nations triumph came half a century ago, are one of several underachievers, notably in recent years when the quality of their squad suggested they could win the trophy, but are now on the verge of success after going 26 matches unbeaten.
At this Cup of Nations as hosts they looked nervy initially under the burden of expectation but in their last two matches have shown the form that has seen them ranked top on the continent since their World Cup exploits in Qatar in 2022, when they became the first African country to reach a semi-final.Rob Smyth keeps the updates coming with Jonathan Wilson reporting.Graham Searles straps in for our unmissable NFL live blog as the Houston Texans face the New England Patriots in the AFC divisional round on Sunday night at Foxborough when an immovable force meets an unstoppable object.The Patriots coach, Mike Vrabel, says of the Texans’ defense: “They chase the football and they get a lot of hats to the football.They create turnovers.
They play physical.” His Texans counterpart DeMeco Ryans rates the Patriots’ QB Drake Maye as the key threat.“I think it really doesn’t get talked about much, but his athletic ability, his ability to escape the pocket has been really clutch for them.He’s made some big runs to really hurt a lot of defenses, so we have to be conscious of that,” the former two-time Pro Bowl linebacker says.
Wu wipes the floor with Xiao and books place in Masters semi with 6-0 rout
Wu Yize booked his place in the semi-finals of the Masters with a brilliant display of potting to thrash an underperforming Xiao Guodong 6-0 at Alexandra Palace.The young Chinese player got off to a flying start with breaks of 112, 93 and 60 as he raced into a clear 4-0 lead at the mid-session break over his countryman, who could not reproduce the form that saw him see off Mark Selby 6-2 in the first round.Xiao had chances in the first frame but failed to put away a routine blue to the middle and split the pack for his opponent. Some dreadful misses and poor safety play did not help as he struggled to make any progress.Wu fashioned a break of 84 as he took the fifth frame before rounding off a comprehensive victory with a run of 97
Thistle Ask seeks to sting rivals in Ascot’s all-star Clarence House Chase
The top-rated two-mile chaser in training takes on the most improved performer in the division in the Clarence House Chase at Ascot today and Thistle Ask (3.30) feels overpriced at around 7-1 to take the step up to Grade One company in his stride.Thistle Ask has made remarkable progress since joining Dan Skelton’s yard for just £11,000 in May, winning his first start for his new stable off a mark of 115 and completing a four-timer off 146 in the Desert Orchid Handicap Chase at Kempton’s Christmas meeting.The opposition there was a long way short of the three high-class rivals he will face on Saturday, but the visual impression of Thistle Ask’s frontrunning, 10-length success was backed up by a strong time figure and the form pushed his Timeform rating to 162, within 6lb of last year’s winner, Jonbon.Harry Cobden, who was announced this week as JP McManus’s new No 1 rider in Britain and Ireland from the start of next season, rides Jonbon for the first time on Saturday, but while the 10-year-old remains wonderfully consistent, recent runs have suggested that he may be just a little past his best
Alex de Minaur out to break new ground as next generation boost Australia hopes
World No 6 aims to progress past quarter-finals at a grand slam, while Maya Joint is Australia’s first seeded woman at Melbourne Park since 2022Amid the annual upheaval at the Australian Open, of party courts, one-point fairytales, and ever-expanding festivals, some things don’t change. Alex de Minaur has had the same locker every year of the 10 he has played at Melbourne Park, and he once again carries the hopes of home fans into the year’s first grand slam.On the Groundhog Day repetition of the international circuit, it’s the kind of familiarity that might breed superstition. But not for the 26-year-old. “Throughout my career I’ve tried to stay clear from superstitions, because I think it can consume you,” said the man entering the tournament – at No 6 – as the highest local men’s seed in two decades
Max Verstappen admits new F1 season is step into unknown amid rule changes
Red Bull formally began their tilt at the forthcoming Formula One season, unveiling the livery for their challenger, the RB22, in a showcase event in Detroit on Thursday, with Max Verstappen admitting the sweeping regulation changes for 2026 will be a step into the “unknown”.Before a highly anticipated season, with a swathe of big rule changes presenting a challenge across the grid, Red Bull are the first in what is due to be a hectic period of launches before pre-season testing begins.The four-time champion Verstappen finished second in last year’s championship, two points behind McLaren’s Lando Norris, but the Dutchman had to extract the maximum from a car that was off the pace for the opening half of the season.The team continued development of the car well into the season in order to better understand how it fed into this year’s model and Verstappen was eager to climb behind the wheel.“It’s all still a bit unknown,” said Verstappen in Detroit alongside his new teammate, Isack Hadjar
NFL divisional round predictions: which No 1 seed is set for an unpleasant shock?
The postseason continues with the Broncos and Seahawks entering the fray, but there could be trouble for one of the frontrunnersWhat the Bills need to do to win: Keep winning short-yardage situations. The tush push on fourth down that propelled Josh Allen 10 yards and helped secure Buffalo’s win over Jacksonville last weekend epitomised how the Bills dominated the game’s crucial moments. The Bills converted four of their five third downs with four yards or to go last Sunday, and they finished fifth in third-down rate in the regular season in the same situations. Denver were eighth this season in third-and-short defensive efficiency (50.6%)
Katie Boulter seeks to put dismal 2025 in past with help of Sharapova’s former coach
Katie Boulter is hopeful that she can rediscover her best form and return towards the top of the WTA Tour this year with the help of Maria Sharapova’s former coach Michael Joyce.Boulter opted to split with her previous longtime coach, Biljana Veselinovic, at the end of last year after an incredibly difficult season in which she fell from her career high ranking of No 23 at the end of 2024 to her current ranking of 113.She quickly hired Joyce, a former player who has worked with Johanna Konta, Jessica Pegula, Victoria Azarenka and Eugenie Bouchard, with his most recent partnership a four-year tenure with Ashlyn Krueger.“Personally I always really liked him,” said Boulter. “I thought he’s done a really good job with a lot of other players … Jessie, Ashlyn
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