Newton v Manning in Super Bowl 50, West Ham v Liverpool in the FA Cup: Five things to watch this week

Be ready for an all-nighter to watch Super Bowl 50 to see if Cam Newton can guide the Carolina Panthers to victory over Peyton Manning’s Denver Broncos; watch West Ham United and Liverpool lock horns again in the FA Cup plus more Six Nations rugby.

American football: NFL, Super Bowl 50, Monday, 3.30am, (TV) BeIN Sports

The culmination of the NFL season takes place at San Jose, California, as the Carolina Panthers bid to win the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history. They face the Denver Broncos, who are looking to win the title for the third time, with their last success in 1998.

Football: FA Cup, fourth-round replay, West Ham United v Liverpool, Tuesday, 11.45pm, BeIN Sports

With aspirations of a top-six finish in the league, both of these sides could have done without this replay in the middle of an already congested fixture list. The first match last month was a fairly drab affair, and both suffered bruising Premier League results on Saturday: West Ham United losing 1-0 away to Southampton, who played more than an hour of the game with 10 men, while Liverpool surrendered a two-goal lead to Sunderland as the match at Anfield finished with honours even.

Cricket: New Zealand v Australia, first Test, Friday, 1.30am, OSN Sports Cricket

Following three one-day internationals, a two-match Test series between the sides begins with the first Test at Wellington on Friday. Both sides are in good form, with the Black Caps beating Sri Lanka in their most recent series, and Australia defeating the West Indies 2-0 last month.

Football: Arabian Gulf League, Sharjah v Al Ahli, Saturday, 8.15pm, Abu Dhabi Sports, Dubai Sports

With this the final fixture of Round 18, second-place Al Ahli could find themselves five points behind leaders Al Ain if the Arabian Gulf League champions can secure three points at Dibba 24 hours earlier. Cosmin Olaroiu’s side were 1-0 victors over Al Wasl last in the previous round, while Sharjah’s revival under their caretaker Emirati coach, Abdulaziz Al Anarbi, was sharply halted by Al Nasr on Saturday.

Rugby union: Six Nations, France v Ireland, Saturday, 6.25pm, BeIN Sports

France began the Guy Noves era with a last-gasp and fortuitous 23-21 win over Italy in their Six Nations opener. France trailed for much of the match but were the beneficiaries of generous refereeing against Italy talisman Sergio Parisse for Jules Plisson to land a monster penalty for the winning score. Ireland, the two-time defending Six Nations champions, open their tournament on Sunday against Wales and will do so without the legendary lock Paul O’Connell following the Toulon tower’s international retirement after last year’s World Cup.

[ sluckings@thenational.ae ]

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