First off, what’s going on?
A lot. There’s Champions Cup rugby action, Premier League football, PGA and European Tour golf, the NFL play-offs, Australian Open tennis qualifying, racing at Punchestown and Fairyhouse, a myriad of pre-season GAA matches and the African Cup of Nations gets underway.
And what are the biggest events taking place?
1. Leinster v Montpellier (RDS, 7.45pm on Friday)
2. Connacht v Zebre (The Sportsground, 1pm on Saturday)
3. Leicester v Chelsea (King Power Stadium, 5.30pm on Saturday)
4. Glasgow v Munster (Scotstoun, 5.30pm on Saturday)
5. Everton v Manchester City (Goodison Park, 1.30pm on Sunday)
6. Manchester United v Liverpool (Old Trafford, 4pm on Sunday)
7. Exeter v Ulster (Sandy Park, 5.15pm on Sunday)
What are the TV highlights?
There is so much sport on the television this weekend that it is actually possible to watch live sport every minute of the day from Friday evening until Monday morning if you wish/are a bit odd. NBA and NFL action in America, golf in Hawaii and Australian Open tennis down under means that there is live action available even during the smallest of small hours. To go through it all would take until next weekend so, instead, I have picked out the highlights for you. If you would prefer to see the full array of action available you can do so with our sports television guide.
But on to the pick of the viewing.
Friday
We’re now getting to the business end of the Champions Cup pool stages and it all begins with Leinster welcoming Montpellier to the RDS on Friday night (Sky Sports 2, kick off: 7.45). Alternatively you can follow our liveblog with John O’Sullivan from 7pm.
A win for Leo Cullen’s side against a team that contains no less than a dozen Springboks in their squad would see the Irish province become the first team to qualify for the knockout stages.
If you don’t have much planned for Saturday and fancy some late-night viewing you can switch over to Sky Sports 4 for second round action from the Sony Open in Hawaii (live coverage from midnight).
Justin Thomas lit up the first round with a staggering 59 to become the youngest player ever to break 60 on the PGA Tour so all eyes will be on him during the Friday coverage.
Saturday
On to Saturday then and the viewing starts with golf action as attention turns from Hawaii to South Africa and the BMW SA Open (Sky Sports 4 from 10am).
Rory McIlroy is the hot favourite to take the title and kickstart what could be a big 2017.
We then move on to the early Premier League kick-off between Spurs and West Brom at White Hart Lane (Sky Sports 1, kick off: 12.30).
A half an hour later we’re back to Champions Cup rugby as Connacht take on Zebre in Galway (Sky Sports Mix, kick off: 1.0). If you don’t have Sky Sports you can join John O'Sullivan on our liveblog from 12.30.
Pool 2 is as tight as they come with two games to go with Connacht, Toulouse and Wasps all locked on 13 points. A bonus point win for Pat Lam’s side over pointless Zebre would go a long way to improving their chances of making the quarter-finals.
At 3.0 West Ham take on Crystal Palace in a game which sees Sam Allardyce return to one of his former clubs (Sky Sports 5, kick off: 3.0).
But perhaps the biggest rugby match of the weekend gets underway in the evening.
A resurgent Munster side travel to Scotstoun to face Glasgow Warriors with their sights firmly set on qualifying for the knockout stages.
A win for the Irish province over their Scottish rivals would ensure that. (Sky Sports 2, kick off: 5.30). Again there is also the alternative of our liveblog from 5.0.
There’s also plenty of other Champions Cup action on the box throughout Saturday in the form of: Northampton v Castres (Sky Sports 2, kick off: 1.0), Wasps v Toulouse (BT Sport 2, kick off: 3.15), Racing 92 v Leicester (BT Sport 3, kick off: 7.45).
If you’d prefer to watch some round ball action you can do so as last year’s Premier League champions take on Chelsea, hoping to put another dent in their title charge after Antonio Conte’s side lost out to Spurs 10 days ago (BT Sport 1, kick off: 5.30).
At 10.30 you can catch all of the day’s Premier League action with Match of the Day on BBC 1.
After that it’s time to go stateside for the first of the NFL play-offs.
First up is the Seattle Seahawks at the Atlanta Falcons (kick off: 9.35), followed by the Houston Texans at the New England Patriots (kick off: 1.15). The action gets underway on Sky Sports 2 at 9.0.
And if that’t not enough for the insomniacs among you there’s more golf from Hawaii at midnight on Sky Sports 4.
Sunday
Again we kick off with golf and the SA Open on Sky Sports 4 from 10am.
We could be seeing McIlroy wrap up his first title in South Africa by lunchtime or we might not. I cannot tell the future unfortunately.
It’s a big day of football on Sky Sports with that old reliable random Premier League fixtures generator just so happening to throw up Everton v Manchester City and Manchester United v Liverpool on the same day.
Isn’t that just convenient? It means that the creative minds at Sky can come up with title such as ‘Merseyside v Manchester’ and ‘A Tale of Two Cities’.
But who cares, it very well could turn out to be a cracking double header. Or two boring 0-0 draws. Who knows?
Anyway, it’s all live on Sky Sports 1 from 1.0 with Everton and City kicking off at 1.30 before the biggest game in English football takes centre stage at 4.0 with United looking to make it 10 wins in a row.
The final Irish provincial action of the weekend begins at 5.15 when Ulster face Exeter Chiefs at Sandy Park. Les Kiss’ side must win to maintain their chances of advancing and you can see if they do so on BT Sport 2 at 5.15. And, completing the set of Champions Cup liveblogs for the weekend is Johnny Watterson. Join him from 4.45.
The NFL action is earlier on Sunday with the final two play-offs taking place.
At 6.05 on Sky Sports 2 the Pittsburgh Steelers meet the Kansas City Chiefs before the Dallas Cowboys welcome the Green Bay Packers at 9.40.
At 10.30 you can take in all of the weekend’s Premier League goals on Match of the Day 2 (BBC 2), before rounding off the weekend with the final round of the Sony Open (Sky Sports 4 from 11pm).
And what can I actually go to?
There’s a few options for you this weekend if you fancy getting out of the house.
Tickets are still available for Leinster's meeting with Montpellier at the RDS and are priced between €20 and €65. However, it is supposed to be a sell-out so the best option is to buy online rather than hoping to pick one up on the gate. Tickets are available here.
For Connacht v Zebre on Saturday enclosure tickets are sold out but there are still seats available in the Grant Thornton Stand (€37), as well as the Bohermere and College Road terraces (€27.50). You can get your hands on them here.
If you plan on taking a late trip to Glasgow to see Munster qualify for the quarter-finals you’re better off not booking flights as Scoutstoun has completely sold out.
If you fancy some racing instead, the first race meeting of 2017 at Punchestown, featuring the Grade 2 Skybet Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle, begins at 12.30. Tickets are available online here for just €12.
On Sunday there are 29 pre-season GAA matches to choose from around the country. A full list of fixtures can be found here.
There is also racing at Fairyhouse with the highlight being the Grade A Bar One Racing Dan Moore Memorial Chase. Tickets can be bought online here for €12 or alternatively at the gate for €15.
If the town of Exeter takes your fancy there are still tickets available for Ulster's meeting with the Chiefs. They're online here and are priced between £27 and £57 for adults.
I feel like having a bet. Any recommendations?
Call me mad but I think Chelsea’s loss to Tottenham the week before last could be the start of a blip. Leicester will be well up for their meeting with Antonio Conte’s side on Saturday and, at 9-2 to win at home, it’s worth a dabble.
Meanwhile, Manchester United look unstoppable at the moment and, at home, Liverpool will struggle to stop their winning run reaching double figures. United are 6-5 to win and, in a double with Leicester, a fiver pays out €60.
And a bonus golf tip for you. It comes from South Africa and in the form of Jaco van Zyl.
This tournament is a co-sanctioned event run by the European Tour and the Sunshine Tour (South Africa’s domestic circuit). The altitude and native South African grasses play right into the hands of the home players and Van Zyl stands out as someone who must win his first European Tour event soon. Fourteen Sunshine Tour wins point to him being an expert in this week’s conditions and a 65 on Friday, including a hole-in-one, points to a good trend in form.
At 14-1 and just four shots off the lead at time of writing, he presents good value.
