matchday.live@theguardian.com<\/a>\u00a0<\/p>\nMarie-Louise Eta is making her Bundesliga bow at Union Berlin on Saturday. Photograph: Filip Singer\/EPA<\/p>\n
Cricket<\/p>\n
11amCounty Championship<\/p>\n
Tanya Aldred clocks on for day two of our county cricket blog, with four fixtures under way. There\u2019s certain to be interest in England prospect Sonny Baker\u2019s progress as Hampshire face Somerset. The 23-year-old pace bowler hit a personal best 91.5mph in pre-season and gave the selectors a nudge with an astonishing triple-wicket maiden against Yorkshire last weekend. There has also been plenty of discussion surrounding the decision to allow permanent substitutions, with the new rule under scrutiny after just two weeks of the season.<\/p>\n
Premier League<\/p>\n
12.30pmBrentford v Fulham live<\/p>\n
Fulham have won their past three league games against their west London rivals, but Marco Silva\u2019s side have drifted to 12th in the table after a 2-0 defeat at Anfield. Brentford are currently perched in seventh place, but are just three points above Fulham. The race for European football keeps the stakes high as Tim de Lisle hosts the live blog and Taha Hashim reports from Craven Cottage.<\/p>\n
Women\u2019s Six Nations<\/p>\n
1.30pmScotland v England live<\/p>\n
England are on a record winning run of 34 games, chasing an eighth straight Six Nations title and fifth consecutive grand slam, but the Red Roses must come to terms with a growing list of absentees as they travel to Murrayfield. England\u2019s head coach, John Mitchell, has made five personnel changes to the starting XV, handing a debut to the 19-year-old Demelza Short at blindside flanker and switching star player Ellie Kildunne to the left wing as England look to build on the 33-12 victory against Ireland. Daniel Gallan helms the live blog and Sarah Rendell reports from Edinburgh.<\/p>\n
Premier League<\/p>\n
3pmClockwatch<\/p>\n
John Brewin keeps an roving eye across the two mid-afternoon kick-offs. Leeds host Wolves knowing they can take a huge step towards Premier League safety; victory would move Daniel Farke\u2019s side nine points clear of the bottom three. Wolves will be officially relegated if they lose at Elland Road and other results go against them. Eddie Howe\u2019s flailing Newcastle tenure faces a tough examination against his former club,\u00a0Bournemouth, and there\u2019s plenty of EFL action too. Aaron Bower reports from Elland Road, with Lousie Taylor filing from St James\u2019 Park.<\/p>\n
Jos\u00e9 S\u00e1 may have to keep Leeds out at Elland Road to ensure Wolves are not relegated on Saturday. Photograph: Brett Patzke\/WWFC\/Wolves\/Getty Images<\/p>\n
Premier League<\/p>\n
5.30pmTottenham v Brighton live<\/p>\n
With no wins in their past 14 league games, Tottenham are in the drop zone, two points below 17th-placed West Ham, and in danger of relegation for the first time since 1977. Defeat for Roberto De Zerbi\u2019s side against his old club Brighton could leave them adrift with five games left if Nottingham Forest and West Ham pick up points on Sunday and Monday. Simon Burnton buckles up for the blog while Ed Aarons reports from the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium.<\/p>\n
Premier League<\/p>\n
8pmChelsea v Manchester United live<\/p>\n
The evening kick-off could be a cracker, as Rob Smyth keeps pace with events at Stamford Bridge. Recent results have threatened Chelsea\u2019s Champions League qualification hopes, with one win from their last seven league games leaving Liam Rosenior\u2019s side four points outside the top five. A must-win game, then, as the Blues look to salvage what has become a disappointing season. Jacob Steinberg reports from the ground.<\/p>\n
Sunday<\/p>\n
Football<\/p>\n
8am-12pmMatchday live<\/p>\n
Tom Bassam rises early to offer all the news and vibes for a Sunday featuring two compelling Premier League clashes \u2013 the Merseyside derby and the title face-off between Manchester City and Arsenal. There\u2019ll be plenty of aftershocks from Saturday\u2019s matches plus a look ahead to Aston Villa v Sunderland, Nottingham Forest v Burnley and Monday night\u2019s Crystal Palace v West Ham. North of the border, St Mirren will seek Scottish Cup joy against Celtic in the semi-final at Hampden Park. Back in December, the Buddies brought the Scottish League Cup trophy back to Paisley with a 3-1 win over the Hoops in the final.<\/p>\n
St Mirren are a game away from another cup final. Photograph: Stuart Wallace\/Shutterstock<\/p>\n
Cricket<\/p>\n
11amCounty Championship live<\/p>\n
James Wallace picks up the baton for day three of our county cricket blog. With four games in progress, he\u2019ll be providing updates from Hampshire v Somerset and Warwickshire v Essex in Division One, plus a pair of Division Two fixtures: Gloucestershire v Lancashire and Northampton v Middlesex. Email James or comment below the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Premier League<\/p>\n
2pmEverton v Liverpool live<\/p>\n
Daniel Harris is on overwatch for the first Merseyside derby at Everton\u2019s new Hill Dickinson Stadium. Liverpool remain in the race for Champions League qualification with 52 points in fifth place \u2013 five points above Everton in eighth spot \u2013 but the champions\u2019 underwhelming season has thrust manager Arne Slot\u2019s future into sharp focus. After his side were bundled out of the Champions League by Paris Saint-Germain in midweek, the Dutchman must avoid another dispiriting defeat. David Moyes\u2019s hosts, meanwhile, are seeking a third win in a row at their new home for the first time. Andy Hunter reports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Premier League<\/p>\n
4.30pmManchester City v Arsenal live<\/p>\n
Rob Smyth is braced for what could be the decisive match in this season\u2019s title race. Arsenal are six points clear at the top but in stuttering form, and a rejuvenated City will know that victory the Etihad Stadium would make them marginal favourites to reclaim the crown. If Pep Guardiola\u2019s side prevail and then win at relegation-bound Burnley three days later, they will draw level at the top \u2013 but an away win on Sunday would all but end the race. Our big match reporting team are David Hytner, Barney Ronay and Jamie Jackson.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Saturday Football 8am-12pm (all times BST)Matchday live Tom Bassam sets the weekend\u2019s football coverage in motion\u00a0by previewing a…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":384770,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[111,139,69,213],"class_list":{"0":"post-384769","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sports","8":"tag-new-zealand","9":"tag-newzealand","10":"tag-nz","11":"tag-sports"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384769","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=384769"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/384769\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/384770"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=384769"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=384769"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/nz\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=384769"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}