Soccer

Leicester City edged ever closer to the most unlikeliest of Premier League titles as their 1-0 win over Newcastle United last night stretched their lead at the top of the table back to five points..

Japan international Shinji Okazaki scored the decisive goal on 21 minutes and it proved enough to down the visitors, under the tenure of Rafael Benitez for the very first time.

Chelsea striker Diego Costa has been charged with improper conduct following his red card in last weekend's FA Cup defeat to Everton, although he has escaped any punishment for his confrontation with Gareth Barry in which he appeared to try and bite the former England midfielder.

Last night's FA Cup semi-final draw saw Everton matched up with the winner of West Ham and Manchester United, while Crystal Palace and Watford will battle it out for the other final place.

Tonight Manchester City look to finish off the job at home against Dynamo Kiev - already with a 3-1 lead after the first leg of their Champions League last-16 tie. Atletico Madrid also host PSV, with the first leg between those two having ended 0-0.

Cheltenham

It’s day one of the Cheltenham Festival today - with the Champion Hurdle main race of the day. The other major races on the first day include the Arkle Trophy and the Supreme Novices Hurdle.

Brian O'Connor has previewed the main event for us: "Looking at the 2016 renewal with an eye on potential rather than the proven leads towards Identity Thief as a winner of hurdling's greatest prize."

Rugby: Six Nations

Gerry Thornley's writes in his column this morning that Simon Zebo is part of a new generation of 'jokers in the pack' fullbacks, and he is keen to see him continue in the 15 jersey against Scotland this weekend - "In addition to their heightened aerial skills, as much as ever fullbacks are the jokers in the backline, with the greatest licence to room and strike, whether it be as an alternate first receiver (as Zebo and Hogg do, and Willie le Roux so effectively for the Springboks) or as a creator or finisher in the wider channels."

GAA

Mayo’s Aidan O’Shea will be on your screens tonight for the second part of RTE’s ‘The Toughest Trade’ - in which he swaps places with former Miami Dolphins American footballer Roberto Wallace.

Talking in Dublin ahead of that the big midfielder says that he believes the introduction of the mark to the GAA will take bigger players out of the game.

What to watch out for

Follow the day's Cheltenham action, including the Champion Hurdle - take your pick..

Channel 4, 12.35pm-4.30pm

Setanta, 1pm-4.30pm

RTE 1, 1.20pm-4pm

Manchester City versus Dynamo Kiev kicks off at the Etihad at 7.45pm.

TV3 from 7.30pm