Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on television

Darts

It’s Christmas, so it’s that time of year when sports fans turn to darts for entertainment. The PDC World Championship runs until January 3rd – with a three-day break between Christmas Eve and St Stephen’s Day. England’s Michael Smith is the defending champion, and is back at Alexandra Palace in London chasing the £500,000 first prize. – Sky Sports, Dec 15th-Jan 3rd

Boxing

Former world heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua will hope to take a big step towards winning back his titles when he faces Otto Wallin in Saudi Arabia next weekend. The English man is hot favourite to prevail, but Wallin is no pushover – the Swede’s only loss in 27 fights to date was when he lost on points to Tyson Fury in 2019. The undercard includes Deontay Wilder fighting Joseph Parker. – DAZN, Saturday

American Football

While most of the sporting world takes a break for at least a day or two around Christmas Day, the NFL machine rolls on. On the evening of Christmas Day (Tuesday morning irish-time) there is a big game in San Francisco with the Baltimore Ravens in town. Currently, these two are favourites to win Super Bowl LVIII. There’s a full programme of American football games scheduled for Christmas Day, so, well, even non-NFL fans will probably be tuning in. – Sky Sports, Monday evening/Tuesday morning

MONDAY (Dec 18th)

• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 1.20am Baltimore Ravens @ Jacksonville Jaguars
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 2.15am – 1st Test, D5 Australia v Pakistan
• EQUESTRIAN – BBC Red Button, 6pm-10pm London International Horse Show
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Club World Cup – 6pm Fluminense v Al Ahly
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 7pm-11pm World Championship
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Serie A – 7.45pm Atalanta v Salernitana
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 8pm Girona v Alavés
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 8pm Birmingham City v Leicester City

TUESDAY (Dec 19th)

• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 1.15am Philadelphia Eagles @ Seattle Seahawks
• NBA – TNT Sports 3 – 2am Mavericks @ Nuggets
• CRICKET – Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am – 2nd ODI South Africa v India
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 12.30pm-4.30pm, 7pm-11pm World Championship
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga – 5.30pm Werder Bremen v RB Leipzig; 7.30pm Borussia Dortmund v Mainz
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Club World Cup – 6pm Man City v Urawa RD
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 6pm Rayo Vallecano v Valencia; 8.30pm Atlético Madrid v Getafe
• SPORTS – BBC 1, 7pm-9pm BBC Sports Personality of the Year
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 7.30pm – 4th T20 West Indies v England
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League Cup Quarter-final – 8pm Chelsea v Newcastle Utd
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 8.30pm Granada v Sevilla
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 3 from 9.30pm – 2nd ODI New Zealand v Bangladesh

WEDNESDAY (Dec 20th)

• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 0.30am Grizzlies @ Pelicans; 3am Celtics @ Warriors
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 12.30pm-4.30pm, 7pm-11pm World Championship
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga – 5.30pm Union Berlin v Cologne; 7.30pm Wolfsburg v Bayern Munich
• SOCCER – DAZN – Women’s Champions League – 5.45pm Ajax v Bayern München; 5.45pm Roma v PSG; 8pm Real Madrid v Paris FC
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 6pm Barcelona v Almería; 8.30pm Villarreal v Celta Vigo
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League Cup Quarter-Final – 8pm Liverpool v West Ham Utd
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Ligue 1 – 8pm PSG v Metz
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 4 – Ligue 1 – 8pm Nice v Lens
• SOCCER – DAZN & TNT Sports 2 – Women’s Champions League – 8pm Häcken v Chelsea
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 8.30pm Athletic Bilbao v Las Palmas

THURSDAY (Dec 21st)

• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 0.30am Knicks @ Nets
• CRICKET – Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am – 3rd ODI South Africa v India
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 12.30pm-4.30pm, 7pm-11pm World Championship
• SOCCER – DAZN – Women’s Champions League – 5.45pm Brann v Lyon; 5.45pm Eintracht Frankfurt v Benfica; 8pm Barcelona v Rosengård; 8pm Slavia Prague v St Pölten
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 6pm Real Betis v Girona; 8.30pm Alavés v Real Madrid
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 6pm Cádiz v Real Sociedad; 8.30pm Mallorca v Osasuna
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 1 from 7.30pm – 5th T20 West Indies v England
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 8pm Crystal Palace v Brighton & Hove Albion

FRIDAY (Dec 22nd)

• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 0.30am Pelicans @ Cavaliers
• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 1.15am New Orleans Saints @ Los Angeles Rams
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 12.30pm-4.30pm, 7pm-11pm World Championship
• SOCCER – TNT Sport 2 – Club World Cup – 2.30pm Third-place play-off; 6pm Final (from Jeddah)
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 – Serie A – 5.30pm Empoli v Lazio; 7.45pm Salernitana v AC Milan
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 4 – Serie A – 5.30pm Sassuolo v Genoa; 7.45pm Monza v Fiorentina
• RUGBY – TG4, BBC 2 & Premier Sports 1 – URC – 7.35pm Ulster v Connacht
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 2 – URC – 7.35pm Glasgow v Edinburgh
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 7.45pm Sale v Saracens
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 8pm Aston Villa v Sheffield Utd
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 4 from 9.45pm – 3rd ODI New Zealand v Bangladesh

SATURDAY (Dec 23rd)

• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 1am Clippers @ Thunder
• NBA – TNT Sports 3 – 3am Wizards @ Warriors
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 – Serie A – 11.30am Frosinone v Juventus
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 12.30pm-4.30pm, 7pm-11pm World Championship
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Premier League – 12.30pm West Ham Utd v Man Utd
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 12.30pm Leeds Utd v Ipswich Town
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 2 – URC – 1pm Zebre v Benetton
• RACING – Virgin Media One, 1.30pm-4pm; ITV4, 1.10pm-4pm Ascot
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Premier League – 3pm Tottenham v Everton
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – English Premiership – 3.05pm Bath v Harlequins
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 3.15pm Atlético Madrid v Sevilla
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 – Serie A – 5pm Inter Milan v Lecce
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 4 – Serie A – 5pm Hellas Verona v Cagliari
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 2 – Top 14 – 5pm Stade Francais v La Rochelle
• RUGBY – TG4 – URC – 5pm Stormers v Bulls
• NBA – TNT Sports 2 – 5.30pm Bucks @ Knicks; 8.30pm Celtics @ Clippers
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 5.30pm Liverpool v Arsenal
• BOXING – DAZN from 7pm – Riyadh Anthony Joshua v Otto Wallin
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Serie A – 7.45pm Roma v Napoli
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 1 – Top 14 – 8.05pm Toulouse v Toulon
• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 9.30pm Cincinnati Bengals @ Pittsburgh Steelers
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.25pm-11.50pm Match of the Day

SUNDAY (Christmas Eve)

• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 1am Buffalo Bills @ Los Angeles Chargers
• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 1am Lakers @ Thunder
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Scottish Premiership – Noon Motherwell v Rangers
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 1pm Wolverhampton v Chelsea
• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 6pm Cleveland Browns @ Houston Texans; 9.25pm Dallas Cowboys @ Miami Dolphins
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 11.05pm-11.40pm Match of the Day 2

MONDAY (Christmas Day)

• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 1.15am New England Patriots @ Denver Broncos
• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 5pm Bucks @ Knicks; 7.30pm Warriors @ Nuggets; 10pm Celtics @ Lakers
• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – 6pm Las Vegas Raiders @ Kansas City Chiefs; 9.30pm New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles; 1.15am Baltimore Ravens @ San Francisco 49ers
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 3 from 11.30pm – 2nd Test, D1 Australia v Pakistan

TUESDAY (St Stephen’s Day)

• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 1am 76ers @ Heat; 3.30am Mavericks @ Suns
• CRICKET – Sky Sports Cricket from 7am – 1st Test, D1 South Africa v India
• BOXING – Sky Sports Arena from 8am – Tokyo Naoya Inoue v Marlon Tapale
• RACING – Virgin Media One, 12.30pm-3pm; UTV, 12.30pm-3pm Kempton
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 12.30pm Preston North End v Leeds Utd
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Premier League – 12.30pm Newcastle Utd v Nottingham Forest; 3pm Bournemouth v Fulham; 5.30pm Burnley v Liverpool; 8pm Man Utd v Aston Villa
• RACING – RTÉ 2, 1pm-3.20pm Leopardstown
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – Premier League – 3pm Sheffield Utd v Luton Town
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Scottish Premiership – 3pm Dundee v Celtic
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 2 – URC – 5.15pm Scarlets v Ospreys
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 5.15pm Birmingham City v Stoke City; 7.45pm Ipswich Town v Leicester City
• RUGBY – RTÉ 2 & Premier Sports 2 – URC – 7.35pm Munster v Leinster
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.50pm-11.55pm Match of the Day
• NBA – TNT Sports 3 – 1am Timberwolves @ Thunder
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 2 from 11.30pm – 2nd Test, D2 Australia v Pakistan
• DARTS – Sky Sports Arena, 7pm-11pm World Championship