Sport Weekend Preview: Premier League, Ashes, NFL, Africa Cup of Nations, and Racing Coverage
This weekend's sports coverage includes Premier League matches, The Ashes cricket series, NFL games, the Africa Cup of Nations, and horse racing updates.
In the Premier League, Nottingham Forest will host Manchester City at 12:30 BST on Saturday. Manchester City is chasing the top of the table, while Forest recently lost 1-0 to Fulham on Monday. The club is also mourning the passing of Forest legend John Robertson, who died aged 72 on Christmas Day. At 3pm, Arsenal face Brighton, with Kai Havertz potentially returning after knee surgery as he has been training recently. Chelsea will play Aston Villa at 5:30pm; Aston Villa are on a seven-game Premier League winning streak, and Chelsea are unbeaten in their last three league games against teams above them this season.
On Sunday, Sunderland take on Leeds at 2pm. Sunderland's top scorer Wilson Isidor has four league goals, but the team has only scored one goal in four December league matches. Later, Crystal Palace will face Tottenham at 4:30pm. Palace will be without Chris Richards, but Dean Henderson is set to return. Tottenham will miss captain Romero and Xavi Simons, and players Udogie, Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, and Dominic Solanke are sidelined.
The Ashes cricket series continues with Australia versus England live from the MCG on Saturday night, with coverage starting at 11:30pm hosted by Rob Smyth and James Wallace.
NFL action will feature nine games on Sunday evening, including Panthers versus Seahawks and Eagles versus Bills, as the Panthers push for playoff contention.
In the Africa Cup of Nations, Côte d'Ivoire plays Cameroon at 8pm in Marrakech. Amad Diallo scored Ivory Coast's opener against Mozambique, and Wilfried Zaha has been recalled to the Ivory Coast squad after more than two years. Cameroon has left out Onana, while Karl Etta Eyong scored early against Gabon.
In racing news, Haiti Couleurs, an eight-year-old National Hunt Chase winner, returns to Chepstow after racing in Merseyside. The horse has a history of victories at Cheltenham and Fairyhouse and is aiming to rebound on home turf this weekend.
