Guardian Weekend Sport Coverage: World Darts Championship, The Ashes, AFCON, and Premier League Highlights
The Guardian’s weekend sport coverage features live blogs and up-to-the-minute reports across multiple sports including Premier League action, the Old Firm derby, Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), and European football, alongside major events such as the PDC World Darts Championship final and The Ashes cricket series.
In darts, the PDC World Championship final awards a £1 million prize. Luke Littler is the favourite to win a second consecutive title, needing to overcome Ryan Searle in the Friday semi-final, while Gian van Veen faces Gary Anderson in the other semi-final. Rob Smyth leads the leg-by-leg blog coverage with Jonathan Liew reporting from Alexandra Palace.
The Ashes fifth Test has begun at the Sydney Cricket Ground with England seeking to overcome Australia, who currently lead the series. Tim de Lisle and Angus Fontaine provide over-by-over coverage, with Ali Martin, Barney Ronay, and Geoff Lemon reporting live from Sydney.
Saturday’s football fixtures include Aston Villa versus Nottingham Forest and Celtic versus Rangers at 12:30, Wolves hosting West Ham at 3 pm, and Bournemouth playing Arsenal at 5:30 pm. AFCON knockout stage features Mali against Tunisia at 7 pm, with Sunday’s clockwatch covering Morocco versus Tanzania in the last 16 alongside further AFCON updates.
NFL Week 18 sees games such as Jaguars versus Titans, Broncos versus Chargers, Falcons versus Saints, Giants versus Cowboys, Vikings versus Packers, and Bengals versus Browns, with Graham Searles running the live blog.
Sunday’s matches include Leeds United facing Manchester United at 12:30. The 3 pm Premier League and AFCON clockwatch covers Fulham-Liverpool, Everton-Brentford, Newcastle-Crystal Palace, and Tottenham-Sunderland. The Morocco versus Tanzania last-16 game and day two of The Ashes starting at 11:30 pm are also highlighted.
In football management news, Enzo Maresca, described as the former Chelsea manager, reportedly held talks with Manchester City about replacing Pep Guardiola. Manchester City is described as resurgent and closing in on Arsenal in the league standings.
