Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday
Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday:
SOCCER
Premier League
Liverpool bid to take down Man City
The form table suggests Liverpool have realistic hopes of disrupting Manchester City's waltz towards the Premier League title when they meet on Sunday, although they must quickly learn how to cope without Philippe Coutinho. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PREVIEW), moved, 500 words)
We also look ahead to the weekend's Premier League fixtures. (SOCCER-ENGLAND-TEAM/ expect throughout)
Spanish King's Cup
Levante v Espanyol (1830)
Sevilla v Cadiz (1830)
Barcelona v Celta Vigo (2030)
MADRID - Barcelona are expected to bring back Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez for their King's Cup last-16 second leg clash with Celta Vigo after resting the duo for the 1-1 draw last week. (SOCCER-SPAIN/CUP, expect by 2230 GMT/5:30 PM ET, by Richard Martin, 300 words)
U.S. men’s team open training camp
LOS ANGELES - Members of the U.S. Men’s National Team, fresh off their calamitous failure to make the 2018 World Cup, will address the media on their first day of training camp in Los Angeles. (SOCCER-USA/ expect by 2300 GMT/6 PM ET, by Rory Carroll, 300 words)
WINTER OLYMPICS
Canada announces men’s ice hockey lineup
Canada announces their men’s ice hockey roster for the Pyeongchang Winter Games that will go in search of an Olympic gold medal hat-trick. (OLYMPIC-2018-ICEH/CAN, expect by 2200 GMT/5 PM ET, by Steve Keating, 400 words)
U.S. men’s ice hockey team discuss Olympics
Members of the U.S. men’s ice hockey team, including head coach Tony Granato and captain Brian Gionta, discuss the Feb. 9-25 Pyeongchang Olympics on a conference call where the final two members of the squad will be revealed. (OLYMPIC-2018-ICEH/USA, expect by 2345 GMT/6:45 PM ET, by Frank Pingue, 400 words)
We are also moving a series of features and previews ahead of the Feb. 9-25 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.
Kadono, Hirano aim for Japan's first snowboarding gold
Japan gave snowboarding its Olympic debut in 1988 but of the 30 gold medals handed out in the sport since the Nagano Games none have been draped around the neck of a Japanese athlete. (OLYMPICS-2018-SNO/JAPAN (PIX), moving at 1300 GMT/8:AM ET, by Jack Tarrant, 400 words)
Hanyu takes aim at 66-year-old record as fans cheer him on
Japan's Yuzuru Hanyu hopes to be the first man to win back-to-back gold medals in figure skating since 1952 - the year Britain's Queen Elizabeth came to the throne - and thousands of fans are cheering him on. (OLYMPICS-2018-FIGS/HANYU (PIX), moving at 1300 GMT/8 AM ET, by Elaine Lies, 400 words)
United States embraces technology to bridge funding gap
BIRMINGHAM - The United States may have claimed at least nine gold medals in each of the last four Winter Olympics, yet remarkably, all of this success has been achieved without government funding. (OLYMPICS-2018-FSKI/COACHING (TV), moving at 1300 GMT/8 AM ET, by Jack Tarrant, 400 words)
Taiwanese luge athlete Lien Te-an trains under scorching sun
TAIPEI CITY - When Lien Te-an sets off on his luge for practice runs there is no biting cold or sound of blades scraping the ice, only a swoosh before he disappears down a steep mountain road into the shimmering heat of eastern Taiwan's Yilan County. (OLYMPICS-2018-LUGE/TAIWAN (PIX, TV), moving at 1300 GMT/8 AM ET, by Fabian Hamacher, 400 words)
TENNIS
Australian Open (15-28)
Nadal, Halep top seeds for year's first grand slam
MELBOURNE - Draw for the first grand slam of the season with Spain's Rafa Nadal for the men and Simona Halep for the women. Men's champion Roger Federer will be seeded second, while women's champion Serena Williams is absent as she recovers her match fitness after having a baby. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/DRAW, expect by 0900 GMT/4 AM ET, 500 words)
Serena absence gives chance for a new superstar to emerge
SINGAPORE - Women's tennis starts its 2018 campaign with the usual early focus on the Australian Open and a huge question mark over who can fill the yawning gap left by the absence of Serena Williams. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/WOMEN (PIX), moved, by John O'Brien, 797 words)
Sydney International (to 13)
Radwanska faces giant-killer Giorgi
SYDNEY - Agnieszka Radwanska will take on qualifier Camila Giorgi in the quarter-finals, while former world number one Angelique Kerber will also be in action against Dominika Cibulkova. (TENNIS-SYDNEY/, expect throughout, 300 words)
Kooyong Classic
MELBOURNE - Dominic Thiem's preparations for the Australian Open suffered another setback on Thursday when the world number five was forced to pull out of the Kooyong Classic exhibition tournament. (TENNIS-KOOYONG/ (PIX), expect throughout, 300 words)
Hobart International (to 13)
Mertens takes on Niculescu in final re-match
Big-hitting Belarussian teen Aryna Sabalenka will look to continue her strong run against fifth seed Lesia Tsurenko while defending champion Elise Mertens will take on Monica Niculescu in a rematch of last year's final. Former champion Heather Watson will also be in action. (TENNIS-HOBART/WOMEN, expect throughout, 300 words)
Auckland Classic (to 13)
Ferrer takes on Chung for place in semis
Four-time winner David Ferrer will take on Hyeon Chung in the quarter-finals, while 2015 champion Jiri Vesely will clash with fifth seed Roberto Bautista Agut. (TENNIS-AUCKLAND/MEN, expect throughout, 300 words)
GOLF
PGA Tour: Sony Open, Honolulu, Hawaii (to 14)
Thomas, Spieth headline field at Waialae
Defending champion Justin Thomas, who opened with a 59 here last year en route to capturing his fourth PGA Tour title, and British Open champion Jordan Spieth head the field at Waialae Country Club on the Hawaiian island of Oahu for this week’s Sony Open. (GOLF-SONYOPEN/ (PIX), expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, 400 words)
EurAsia Cup, Malaysia (12-14)
Europe eye EurAsia win over Asia with Ryder Cup on mind
Thomas Bjorn will look to lead Europe to a comprehensive win against hosts Asia in this week's EurAsia Cup with the event also serving as a dress rehearsal for September's Ryder Cup. (GOLF-EURASIA/ (PREVIEW), expect by 0800 GMT/3 AM ET, 500 words)
NBA
LeBron’s Cavs battle Raptors LeBron James and the Cleveland Cavaliers visit the Toronto Raptors in a clash of Eastern Conference contenders while the San Antonio Spurs visit the Los Angeles Lakers in two of the four games on the National Basketball Association’s schedule. (BASKETBALL-NBA/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by Field Level Media, 500 words)
NHL
Lightning host Flames, Caps battle Canes
The Tampa Bay Lightning, led by league scoring leader Nikita Kucherov, try to pad their lead atop the overall standings when they host the Calgary Flames while Alex Ovechkin and the Washington Capitals host the Carolina Hurricanes in two of the three games on the National Hockey League schedule. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by Field Level Media, 300 words)
NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS
Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0100 GMT/8 PM ET, by Field Level Media, 500 words)
SQUASH
LONDON - Squash has routinely failed to make itself appealing to the Olympic movement but is having another push with a range of technical innovations. (SQUASH-TECHNICAL/, moving at 0900 GMT/4 AM ET, by Rod Gilmour, 550 words)
MOTOR RACING/RALLYING
Autosport International show
World rally championship preview
BIRMINGHAM, England - The World Rally Championship presents teams and drivers for the 2018 season, ahead of this month's opening Monte Carlo Rally. (MOTOR-RALLY/ (TV), expect by 1400 GMT/9 AM ET, By Jack Tarrant)
We will also have stories and interviews from the world of Formula One, with McLaren executive director Zak Brown and Pirelli's Mario Isola among those attending the show. (MOTOR-F1/, by Alan Baldwin, expect by 1400 GMT/9 AM ET, 500 words)
Dakar rally: stage six
Peterhansel leads the way after Loeb retires
Stage six goes from Arequipa in Peru to La Paz, Bolivia. French veteran Stephane Peterhansel, chasing a record 14th overall win in the event, has a commanding lead of more than half an hour in his Peugeot. (MOTOR-RALLY-DAKAR/ (PIX, TV), expect by 1800 GMT/1 PM ET, 300 words)
(Asia desk editor: Peter Rutherford)
