WEEK AHEAD: A big week for darts fans as the World Grand Prix is back, whilst there’s also midweek Champions League action and a mouthwatering Premier League clash to close out the week.
Monday gets the week of sport into gear with the World Grand Prix Darts, which begins its week-long tournament at 19:00 (Sky Sports). Two weeks of little action and a majorly dreary international break, will leave football fans pleased the Premier League has returned for the foreseeable future. Leicester City restart their campaign with a visit from Nottingham Forest at 20:00 (Sky Sports), in a game where Brendan Rodgers’ men will be desperate for a good result, before another NFL cracker in LA Rams v San Francisco 49ers supplies some late-night entertainment from 01:15 (Sky Sports).
The Champions League returns at full throttle once again, and Liverpool v Rangers is the highlight of Tuesday evening (20:00, BT Sport). The World Grand Prix Darts continue at 19:00 on Sky Sports, and Frankfurt v Tottenham is another attractive Champions League tie for English football fans at 20:00 (BT Sport). The Championship throws up some interesting match-ups in Cardiff v Blackburn and Reading v Norwich, both at 20:00 (Sky Sports).
RB Leipzig v Celtic, Chelsea v AC Milan and Manchester City v Copenhagen, are the pick of the Champions League ties of Wednesday evening, all on BT Sport at 17:45, 20:00 and 20:00 respectively, while the World Grand Prix Darts continues for a third day at 19:00 on Sky. Watford face Swansea in their first home game under Slaven Bilic at 19:45 in the Championship (Sky Sports). Can the ex-West Brom man get them where they want to be? And Burnley v Stoke is the other interesting Championship tie of the evening at 19:45, also on Sky Sports.
It might be getting wet and windy in the UK but the Spanish don’t have to worry as the Open de Espana tees off at 12:30 on Sky Sports. Thursday also marks the return of the Europa League as Omonia Nicosia host Manchester United at 17:45, the same time that West Ham visit Anderlecht in the Europa Conference League (BT Sport). The Irish league leaders Shamrock Rovers face Norwegian opposition Molde at 17:45 also on BT Sport, before another golf tournament in Shriners Hospitals for Children Open gets underway at 17:30 (Sky Sports). World Grand Prix Darts continues at 19:00 (Sky Sports), and Hearts v Fiorentina and Arsenal v Bodo/Glimt closes out the evening (both 20:00, BT Sport). In the NFL, Indianapolis Colts v Denver Broncos is the route to Friday morning at 01:15 (Sky Sports).
Friday sees the Open de Espana and the Shriners Hospitals for Children Open continue on Sky Sports at 12:30 and 17:30 respectively, and the World Grand Prix Darts maintains it’s 19:00 slot (Sky Sports). Bristol Bears v Exeter Chiefs is the Premiership Rugby fixture of the day at 19:45, (BT Sport), and QPR face Reading in the Championship at 20:00 (Sky Sports). England Women host the best side in the world, USA Women, in a friendly at Wembley, live on ITV at 20:00.
The Open de Espana, Shriners Hospitals Open and World Grand Prix Darts all continue on Sky Sports at 12:00, 19:00 and 22:00 respectively on Saturday. St Johnstone v Celtic is a big clash in the Scottish Premiership 12:30 (Sky Sports) and Bath v Gloucester in the Premiership Rugby is live at 15:00 on BT Sport, before a hard to predict Premier League, fixture Brighton v Tottenham, kicks off the evening at 17:30 (Sky Sports).
The Japanese Grand Prix will kick off Sunday morning with a roar at 06:00 (Sky Sports), before Australia and England’s first T20 gets underway at 09:10 (BT Sport). Will England make amends for some poor performances against Pakistan? The Championship throws up an interesting fixture in Huddersfield v Hull at 12:00 (Sky Sports), and the Open de Espana, World Grand Prix Darts and Shriners Hospital Open continue on Sky Sports at 12:00, 19:30 and 22:00 respectively. Crystal Palace face Leeds United at 14:00 on Sky Sports, at the same time Wasps take a visit from Northampton (BT Sport), before two cracking Premier League fixtures. Arsenal v Liverpool and Everton v Manchester United will play out from 16:30 and 19:00 respectively (Sky Sports, BT Sport), to round off an epic week of sport across the globe.
