There is plenty happening in the world of sport once again this weekend, nothing bigger than the Australian Tennis Open where the remaining players will be pushing hard to make it into the second week.
It is around this time that the seeded players start to come together and we can expect to see some pretty big clashes taking place from Sunday onwards. So far it has been business as usual for the big names with the likes of Rafael Nadal, Novak Djokovic and Roger Federer cruising through the early rounds in the men’s draw and Serena Williams, Victoria Azarenka and Maria Sharapova doing the same in the women’s.
The big guns of the English Premier League all won comfortably last weekend but could we see some changes near the top this week? While Arsenal, Manchester City and Liverpool will all expect to take the three points at home, the big clash of the weekend sees Chelsea host Manchester United in what could prove decisive in the race for the title. Will Chelsea stay in touch with the front-runners or can Man U close the gap to the top four? Our gut says the Blues will be too strong for the inconsistent Red Devils.
It’s been a bad week for Chinese champion Ding Junhui, who fell to a shock loss against Shaun Murphy in the Snooker Masters this week, but the action will continue on as we look to crown our latest winner on Sunday. All eyes will be on reigning champion Mark Selby and four-time winner Ronnie O’Sullivan as they look to add another trophy to the cabinet.
And it’s all on the line in the NFL as the final four teams fight it out to book their place in the Super Bowl. The AFC Championship Game sees the New England Patriots face off against the Denver Broncos in a thrilling clash pitting legendary quarterbacks Tom Brady and Peyton Manning up against one another. The Patriots won their Week 12 clash against Denver in overtime and this promises to be a similarly tight affair.
Meanwhile it is the Seattle Seahawks and San Francisco 49ers going toe to toe in the NFC Championship game – two sides renowned for their hatred of one another. This could be a spiteful affair but of course this makes for some potentially riveting viewing so make sure you tune in.
Good luck and good punting