AFRICAN FOOTBALL FEAST ...
The 30th staging of Africa’s biggest competition opens on Saturday as Equatorial Guinea hosts the Africa Cup of Nations, having stepped into the breach when Morroco pulled out because of fears over the Ebola virus. Nigeria are the holders but Ivory Coast go in as favourites for a tournament likely to be intriguing if not top quality (from Saturday, Eurosport), due to the strength of their squad, a fact that will not be lost on English fans as, should the Ivorians go all the way to the final on 8 February, Manchester City would miss Yaya Touré for five games, including their key clash with Chelsea. Ivory Coast also boast Liverpool’s Kolo Touré, Newcastle’s Cheik Tioté and Swansea’s Wilfried Bony. With the Asian Cup (Eurosport) taking place at the same time it’s tough too for Crystal Palace, who lose four players including Yannick Bolasie, and Southampton, who lose three. Algeria, with Porto’s Yacine Brahimi – African Player of the Year in 2014 – are next best to Ivory Coast and City fans may hope they can free up Touré with a win at their potential meeting in the quarter-finals.
BALLS ON THE BAIZE ...
The best of the best go cue-to-cue Sunday in the invitation-only Masters snooker at Alexandra Palace, pitting the top 16 players against one another (BBC/Eurosport). It’s a format that ensures some formidable pairings. The world champion, Mark Selby, comes up against the 2005 Crucible winner, Shaun Murphy, in the first round, while last year’s winner and recent victor at the UK Championships, Ronnie O’Sullivan, faces a repeat of his 2014 quarter-final against Ricky Walden. The latter, who won the International Championship in China last November, has a point to prove after O’Sullivan crushed him 6-0 last year, scoring a record 556 points without reply.
WORLD CUP PREVIEW ...
A welcome series of previews to June’s Women’s World Cup begin this week in Canada Calling (World Service, Sunday, 6.30pm), which will cover the buildup to the tournament once a month. The opening programme includes an interview with Tatjana Haenni, Fifa’s deputy director and head of women’s competitions, and Kara Lang, the broadcaster and former Canada player who is now an official ambassador for the competition.
HOOP DREAMS ...
Crunch time for the New York Knicks in London as they face the Milwaukee Bucks on Thursday (sold out, BT Sport, 8pm). Rock bottom of the Atlantic division of the Eastern Conference with a win-loss record of 5-34 – the worst in the NBA – the Knicks are on a 14-game losing streak. Indeed so bad has it got that the New York Daily News adapted the Clash’s London Calling as a preview: “The ice age is coming / the sun’s zooming in / meltdown expected / the wins growing thin.” There is a chink of light in that the injured seven-times All-Star Carmelo Anthony hopes to make his comeback at the O2 but the Bucks will feel confident of their chances – coach Jason Kidd seems to like the city, it is his third visit, having played in the capital with the Knicks in 2013 and in his role as coach of the Brooklyn Nets last year.
CUP CLASHES ...
Sky host a feast of Spanish football this week as the Copa del Rey reaches the second leg of the last-16 stage. The highlight of this is the Madrid derby, with Atlético holding a 2-0 advantage over Real from the first leg (Thursday, Sky Sports 1, 6.30pm). The city rivals are currently separated by only four points in La Liga and while it was Valencia who ended Real’s 22-game winning streak, Atlético following it only days later with another defeat will not have gone down well. All auguring well for a proper ding-dong at the Bernabéu. Also on offer is: Espanyol v Valencia and Levante v Málaga (Tuesday SS5, 6.55pm/9pm); Real Sociedad v Villarreal and Sevilla v Granada (Wednesday, SS5, 6.55pm/9pm); while Barcelona take a 5-0 lead into their meeting with Elche (Thursday, SS1, 9pm).
