A huge weekend in the Premier League, including Manchester City v Arsenal – follow with us

Tom Bassam sets the weekend’s football coverage in motion by previewing a day of unrelenting action. As well as five Premier League games, there’s plenty of interest in the Championship, with Millwall v QPR and Portsmouth v Leicester among the key early fixtures. There’s also buildup to the latest Women’s World Cup qualifiers, including Albania v Wales and Belgium v Scotland. In the Bundesliga, history is in the making as Marie-Louise Eta takes charge of Union Berlin for her first game against Wolfsburg. Over in Spain, Atlético Madrid take on Real Sociedad in the Copa Del Rey final

Russell says he would understand if Verstappen quit but ‘F1 is bigger than any driver’

George Russell has said he would understand if Max Verstappen chose to leave Formula One after the four-time champion recently cast doubt on his future in the sport because of his dissatisfaction with current regulations.Russell, who is currently second behind his Mercedes teammate Kimi Antonelli in the world championship, insisted Verstappen had nothing left to prove.The Dutch driver has been outspoken in his dislike of the new rules and the prevalent role energy management plays in the racing and at the last round in Japan openly intimated he was considering quitting.“Formula One is bigger than any driver. You wouldn’t want to lose Max because we all enjoy racing against him,” said Russell

Great Barrier Thief: Dyson Daniels emerges as key to unlocking Atlanta Hawks' NBA playoff hopes

The so-called “Great Barrier Thief” will be unleashed on to one of basketball’s most storied stages this weekend, as Australian Dyson Daniels storms into an NBA playoff battle against Jalen Brunson and the New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden.The Atlanta guard has, like his team, endured a mixed season. But both have finished strongly to make the Hawks a dark horse as the sixth-seed in an Eastern Conference bracket considered wide open.Daniels had a taste of the playoffs two years ago with New Orleans, but enters the 2026 post-season as a key protagonist in one of the first round’s marquee match-ups.“It’s going to be fun, it’s going be a lot, the Garden’s going to be popping,” he says

Winter is coming … back? Super League could revamp schedule as part of NRL takeover

Super League could move back to a winter competition to allow year-round global broadcasting of rugby league if the NRL agrees a deal to take control of the British game.Andrew Abdo, the CEO of the NRL, told the Guardian the ­Australian ­governing body would consider the calendar switch as a key part of a potential multimillion-pound ­takeover and investment package that would also include a strong focus on a London-based club and major governance reform.Talks between the NRL and Super League about a deal have ramped up further this week, with Abdo ­flying to England to speak about how feasible a deal may be. Any ­successful investment would be significant for Super League, who would ­essentially cede administrative control to the NRL in return.Abdo said London Broncos would be central to the NRL’s vision and insisted no deal is possible without the clubs currently giving up the power they have in the British game

Saudi Arabia abandons plans to host 2035 Rugby World Cup amid funding cutback

Saudi Arabia has abandoned its aspirations to host the 2035 Rugby World Cup as a result of the Public Investment Fund’s new financial strategy.The sports minister, Prince Abdulaziz bin Turki al-Faisal, confirmed Saudi Arabia’s interest in bidding for the tournament last year, but the Guardian has learned that the kingdom has not submitted an expression of interest to World Rugby and has no plans to do so before the bidding process closes in October. The president of Asia Rugby, Qais al-Dhalai, also talked up a joint Middle East bid from Saudi Arabia, Qatar and the United Arab Emirates last year, but that has not materialised either.World Rugby’s bidding process for the 2035 tournament opened last October, with Argentina, Japan and Spain among the countries understood to have submitted initial expressions of interest. The deadline for submitting a formal bid is not until October 2026 so Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf countries still have time to reconsider, but there is no expectation they will do so

Scotland ready for Murrayfield ‘landmark’ against depleted but relentless England

Saturday’s Women’s Six Nations hosts hope to end 28-game losing streak against the Red Roses in front of record crowdMurrayfield usually looms over Scotland women’s home games. Its fortress walls arch over the team’s regular home at the Hive like a villain in a children’s cartoon. The two rugby stadiums are direct neighbours in Edinburgh but on Saturday Scotland are swapping one for the other and making history by hosting their first standalone match at the home of Scottish rugby against the old enemy England in the Women’s Six Nations.Almost 30,000 tickets have been sold for the game, obliterating the current attendance record for a women’s rugby game in Scotland. That record stands at 7,774 and was set in the 2024 Six Nations when the team played the Red Roses at the Hive