Masters Snooker, BBC2, 1.35pm, 11.20pm
An emotional day at Wembley as Paul Hunter takes on Mark Williams, and Steve Davis plays Stuart Bingham. Hunter is fighting against cancer and will have the crowd behind him, but former world No 1 Williams is also suffering as he plummets down the rankings. As if that were not enough, Davis reached the final of the UK Championship, where he played some of the best snooker of his life. The Nugget loves Wembley, so don’t be too surprised to see him mount another title challenge
Premiership, Sunderland v Chelsea, Sky Sports 1, 3.30pm, kick-off 4pm
Advertisement
Mick McCarthy is looking forward to this in the way that a man with sore gums, a cracked tooth and a missing filling looks forward to seeing the dentist. Poor old Sunderland, with one win in the league this season, haven’t an earthly
MONDAY
Australian Open, Melbourne, British Eurosport, 8.30am, midnight
Advertisement
Can anybody stop Roger Federer? He has already won his first title of 2006 and will be delighted that the defending champion, Marat Safin, Andre Agassi and Rafael Nadal are injured. Don’t expect too much from Andy Murray, who is learning the hard way that the world of professional tennis isn’t all milk and honey
WEDNESDAY
Advertisement
FA Cup, third-round replay, Manchester United v Burton Albion, BBC1, 7.30pm, kick-off 8pm
Nigel Clough’s minnows prepare to enjoy their night at Old Trafford, where anything less than a convincing win for United will send Sir Alex Ferguson’s blood pressure through the roof
THURSDAY
Advertisement
Abu Dhabi championship, Sky Sports 1, 6.30am, 11.30am
Vijay Singh, Colin Montgomerie, Sergio Garcia and John Daly head an impressive field at the inaugural Abu Dhabi championship. One can only imagine what the locals will make of Daly in this sober part of the world
FRIDAY
Advertisement
Championship, Crystal Palace v Reading, Sky Sports 1, 7.30pm, kick-off 7.45pm
Reading manager Steve Coppell refuses to let his players talk about promotion, but they are entitled to dream. The beauty of Coppell’s team is that there are no stars, just a squad of talented professionals who are prepared to work for one another. And it is all built on sound defence