Plenty of sport to keep you occupied this week. The world’s best golfers are in town at the Abu Dhabi Golf Club while Leicester City and Tottenham Hotspur face each other for the third time in two weeks, this time in an FA Cup replay.
Golf: Abu Dhabi HSBC Golf Championship, January 21-24, 7.30am daily, OSN Sports 1
A star-studded line-up heads to the capital for the first leg of the European Tour’s Desert Swing. World No 1 Jordan Spieth makes his UAE debut, while other headliners include Rory McIlroy, Rickie Fowler and three-time champion Martin Kaymer. Four days of action at Abu Dhabi Golf Club, which starts on Thursday, a purse of US$2.7 million (Dh9.9m), and a chance to see the world’s finest golfers battle it out in the Tour’s first main stroke-play tournament of the year. What more could you want?
Tennis: Australian Open, Monday to January 31, coverage from 3am daily, BeIN Sports 8, 10
The first tennis grand slam of the year begins in Melbourne, with world No 1 Novak Djokovic in imperious form and looking a strong favourite to win a sixth men’s title. The women’s draw is more unpredictable. A catalogue of injuries threatens to play havoc and put more pressure on women’s tour organisers to reform the playing schedule. Injuries or illness have felled most of the women’s top 10 in recent weeks, in what is either a hefty dose of bad luck or something more avoidable. World No 1 Serena Williams is chief among the injury concerns after she pulled out of the Hopman Cup exhibition tournament with a sore knee. But the 21-time grand slam champion is not alone. Simona Halep, Garbine Muguruza, Agnieszka Radwanska and Maria Sharapova have all pulled out of build-up tournaments because of injury concerns. Additionally, Petra Kvitova and Angelique Kerber have been hit by gastroenteritis, while Lucie Safarova is skipping Melbourne because of problems linked to a bacterial infection. Could we see an outsider take the title at Melbourne Park?
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Also see: The National's Australian Open predictions – Can anyone stop Novak Djokovic?
Football: FA Cup third-round replays, Tuesday and Wednesday, 11.45pm and midnight kick offs, BeIN Sports
The pick of the third-round replays this week is Premier League joint-leaders Leicester City hosting fourth-placed Tottenham Hotspur on Wednesday. The sides drew 2-2 at White Hart Lane earlier this month, but Leicester subsequently won the Premier League fixture in North London 1-0 on Wednesday last week. Claudio Ranieri’s side have since been held to a 1-1 draw away at Aston Villa, while Tottenham recorded an emphatic 4-1 win at home to Sunderland over the weekend. Tuesday night replays include League Two Wycombe Wanderers away to Aston Villa and bottom-of-the-Championship Bolton Wanderers hosting Eastleigh, the only non-league team left in the FA Cup, while Liverpool host third-tier Exeter City on Wednesday.
GALLERY:
Christian Eriksen shines; Mousa Dembele scores as Spurs surge back – in pictures
Football: Al Jazira v Sharjah, Friday, 8pm, Abu Dhabi Sports
The Arabian Gulf League returns to action this weekend and Al Jazira fans will get the chance to see new imports Angel Lafita and on-loan striker Kenwyne Jones make their home debuts at Mohammed bin Zayed Stadium when they host Sharjah on Friday. Jazira’s new coach Henk ten Cate will look to the Spanish midfielder Lafita and Trinidad & Tobago international Jones to help the team climb the league ladder, with the Abu Dhabi club currently languishing 10th. AGL leaders Al Ain and second-place Al Ahli are in action on Saturday, taking on Al Wasl and Emirates respectively.
READ:
Kenwyne Jones and Angel Lafita handed debuts as Al Jazira leave Al Wasl with hard-fought draw
Cricket: UAE v Netherlands, Intercontinental Cup, Thursday-Sunday, 9.30am daily
The UAE’s preparations for their first official engagement of 2016 saw them lose and beat an England Lions team at the ICC Academy in Dubai last week. The national team, who face the Netherlands in a four-day and two 50-over matches this month, were soundly beaten by England’s second string last Thursday before exacting revenge with a two-wicket victory on Saturday, with Amjad Javed and Mohammed Shahzad taking three wickets apiece and Swapnil Patil hitting a half-century. The UAE face the Netherlands at Zayed Cricket Stadium in Abu Dhabi in a four-day, Intercontinental Cup match starting on Thursday, then play in the World Cricket League the following week.
READ:
Mohammed Shahzad stars with bat and ball as UAE XI defeat England Lions
England Lions savage UAE cricket team with five-wicket win at ICC Academy in Dubai
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