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

European Track Championships

A key Olympic qualification event, the 2024 UEC Track Elite European Championships take place in Apeldoorn, Netherlands this week. Erin Creighton, Lara Gillespie, Mia Griffin, Kelly Murphy and Alice Sharpe are in the Irish team that will compete in the women’s endurance events. Ireland currently sit in ninth position in women’s team pursuit qualifying for the Olympic Games later this year, with the top 10 teams at the end of qualification earning a spot in Paris. – Wed-Sun, Eurosport

Africa Cup of Nations

Hosted by Côte d’Ivoire (Ivory Coast), the 34th edition of the 24-nation tournament begins on Saturday. Several English clubs will have to do without some crucial players for the next month. Defending champions Senegal (Idrissa Gana Gueye, Everton) will be among the favourites again, along with Algeria (Rayan Ait-Nouri, Wolverhampton), Morocco (Nayef Aguerd, West Ham Utd), Côte d’Ivoire (Serge Aurier, Nottingham Forest), Cameroon (Andre Onana, Man Utd), and Egypt (Mohamed Salah, Liverpool). – Jan 13th-Feb 11th, Sky Sports

European Cup

All four Irish provinces are in action this Saturday, with the ties being make-or-break for several of them. Leinster, with two wins from two, are the only Irish side in the driving seat to qualify comfortably for the knock-out stages. A home victory for Ulster, against Toulouse, would be a massive step towards also making the Last 16. However, for Connacht, who are away to Lyon, and Munster, who are in Toulon, anything other than victory could put an end to their interest in the competition – even with the final group stage to take place the following weekend. – Saturday, TNT Sports & RTÉ

MONDAY (Jan 8th)

• TENNIS – Sky Sports Arena, 0.30am-noon Adelaide International
• NFL – Sky Sports Action – 1.20am Buffalo Bills @ Miami Dolphins
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 1pm-4.15pm; BBC Red Button, 7pm-11pm; Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-4.30pm, 6.45pm-10.30pm The Masters
• SOCCER – UTV & Premier Sports 1 – FA Cup – 8.15pm Wigan v Man Utd

TUESDAY (Jan 9th)

• TENNIS – Sky Sports Arena, 0.30am-noon Adelaide International
• NBA – TNT Sports 2 – 3.30am Suns @ Clippers
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 1pm-4.15pm; BBC Red Button, 7pm-11pm; Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-4.30pm, 6.45pm-10.30pm The Masters
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League Cup Semi-final – 8pm Middlesbrough v Chelsea

WEDNESDAY (Jan 10th)

• TENNIS – Sky Sports Arena, 0.30am-noon Adelaide International
• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 1.30am Grizzlies @ Mavericks
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 1pm-4.15pm; BBC Red Button, 7pm-11pm; Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-4.30pm, 6.45pm-10.30pm The Masters
• CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 6pm-8.30pm European Track Championships
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League Cup Semi-final – 8pm Liverpool v Fulham

THURSDAY (Jan 11th)

• TENNIS – Sky Sports Arena, 0.30am-noon Adelaide International
• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 1.30am Pelicans @ Warriors
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 7.30am-12.30pm Dubai Invitational
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 1pm-4.15pm; BBC Red Button, 7pm-11pm; Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-4.30pm, 6.45pm-10.30pm The Masters
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 5pm-midnight Sony Open in Hawaii
• CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 5.30pm-9.15pm European Track Championships
• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 7pm Nets @ Cavaliers

FRIDAY (Jan 12th)

• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – 0.30am Celtics @ Bucks; 3am Suns @ Lakers
• TENNIS – Sky Sports Arena, 3.30am-noon Adelaide International
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 3 from 5.30am – 1st T20 New Zealand v Pakistan
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 7.30am-12.30pm Dubai Invitational
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 1pm-4.15pm; BBC Red Button, 7pm-11pm; Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-4.30pm, 6.45pm-10.30pm The Masters
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 5pm-3.30am Sony Open in Hawaii
• CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 5.30pm-8.45pm European Track Championships
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga – 7.30pm Bayern Munich v 1899 Hoffenheim
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 8pm Sevilla v Alavés
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Ligue 1 – 8pm Marseille v Strasbourg
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 8pm Hull City v Norwich City
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – Champions Cup – 8pm Northampton v Bayonne
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 1 – Challenge Cup – 8pm Newcastle v Benetton

SATURDAY (Jan 13th)

• NBA – TNT Sports 2 – Midnight Kings @ 76ers
• GOLF – Sky Sports Arena, 1am-3am – ATP Auckland Open Final
• GOLF – Sky Sports Arena, 3am-5am – WTA Hobart International Final
• TENNIS – Sky Sports Arena, 5.30am-9.30am Adelaide International finals
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 8am-12.30pm Dubai Invitational
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Premier League – 12.30pm Chelsea v Fulham
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 12.30pm Coventry City v Leicester City
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 1 – Challenge Cup – 1pm ASM Clermont Auvergne v Scarlets
• RUGBY – UTV & TNT Sports 2 – Champions Cup – 1pm Exeter v Glasgow
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 3 – Champions Cup – 1pm Lyon v Connacht; 3.15pm Toulon v Munster
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 1pm Las Palmas v Villarreal
• HORSE RACING – ITV4 & Virgin Media One, 1pm-4pm Warwick
• SNOOKER – BBC 1, 1.15pm-5.30pm; BBC 2, 7pm-10.30pm; Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-4.30pm, 6.45pm-10.30pm The Masters Semi-finals
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 2 – Champions Cup – 3.15pm Bristol v Bulls; 5.30pm Stormers v Sale; 8pm Cardiff v Harlequins
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV – La Liga – 3.15pm Mallorca v Celta Vigo
• CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 5pm-8.45pm European Track Championships
• GAA – TG4 – All-Ireland Club JHC Final – 5pm St Catherine’s v Tullogher Rosbercon; All-Ireland Club IHC Final – 7pm Castlelyons v Thomastown
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 1 – Premier League – 5.30pm Newcastle Utd v Man City
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 5.30pm Athletic Bilbao v Real Sociedad; 8pm Real Betis v Granada
• RUGBY – RTÉ 2 & TNT Sports 3 – Champions Cup – 5.30pm Leinster v Stade Francais
• RUGBY – Premier Sports 1 – Challenge Cup – 5.30pm Edinburgh v Gloucester; 8pm Montpellier v Lions
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Arena – Bundesliga – 5.30pm Darmstadt 98 v Borussia Dortmund
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 5.30pm Ipswich Town v Sunderland
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 5 – Serie A – 7.45pm Monza v Inter Milan
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Africa Cup of Nations – 8pm Côte d’Ivoire v Guinea-Bissau
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 3 – Champions Cup – 8pm Ulster v Toulouse
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 8.30pm-3.30am Sony Open in Hawaii
• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – Wild Card Round – 9.30pm Cleveland Browns @ Houston Texans; 1am Miami Dolphins @ Kansas City Chiefs
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.30pm-11.05pm Match of the Day

SUNDAY (Jan 14th)

• UFC – TNT Sports 1 from midnight Magomed Ankalaev v Johnny Walker
• TENNIS – Eurosport, midnight-1.30pm – Day 1 Australian Open
• BOXING – Sky Sports Arena from 1am Artur Beterbiev v Callum Smith
• NBA – TNT Sports 2 – 1am Warriors @ Bucks
• CRICKET – TNT Sports 2 from 5.30am – 2nd T20 New Zealand v Pakistan
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 7.30am-12.30pm Dubai Invitational
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 2 – Serie A – 11.30am Lazio v Lecce; 2pm Cagliari v Bologna; 5pm Fiorentina v Udinese; 7.45pm AC Milan v Roma
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – Noon QPR v Watford
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 3 – Ligue 1 – Noon Lille v Lorient; 2pm Brest v Montpellier; 4.05pm Le Havre v Lyon
• RUGBY – TNT Sports 1 – Champions Cup – 1pm Bath v Racing 92; 3.15pm La Rochelle v Leicester; 5.30pm Bordeaux Bègles v Saracens
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 1pm Almería v Girona; 3.15pm Cádiz v Valencia
• SNOOKER – BBC 2, 1pm-4.15pm, 7pm-10pm; Eurosport 1, 1.30pm-4pm, 6.45pm-10pm The Masters Final
• GAA – TG4 – All-Ireland Club JFC Final – 1.30pm Arva v Listowel Emmets; All-Ireland Club IFC Final – 3.30pm Cill na Martra v St Patrick’s, Cullyhanna
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 4 – Serie A – 2pm Napoli v Salernitana
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Mix – Africa Cup of Nations – 2pm Nigeria v Equatorial Guinea
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Premier League – 2pm Everton v Aston Villa; 4.30pm Man Utd v Tottenham
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Mix – Bundesliga – 4.30pm Borussia Mönchengladbach v VfB Stuttgart
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Africa Cup of Nations – 5pm Egypt v Mozambique; 8pm Ghana v Cape Verde
• NFL – Sky Sports NFL – Wild Card Round – 6pm Pittsburgh Steelers @ Buffalo Bills; 9.30pm Green Bay Packers @ Dallas Cowboys; 1am Los Angeles Rams @ Detroit Lions
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 6pm-1am Sony Open in Hawaii
• SOCCER – TNT Sports 4 – Ligue 1 – 7.45pm Lens v PSG
• NBA – TNT Sports 3 – 8.30pm Pacers @ Nuggets
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.30pm-11.30pm Match of the Day 2
• NBA – TNT Sports 1 – Midnight Kings @ Bucks
• TENNIS – Eurosport, midnight-1.30pm – Day 2 Australian Open