Saturday
8am-12.30pm (all times BST)
Matchday live
Football
The Premier League may be on a break but there is no slacking at our essential gateway to the weekend’s football action. Front and centre, we will have the latest news on Manchester City’s legal battle. Plus England’s mouthwatering confrontation with the world champions, Spain, on Saturday evening, their first match since that semi-final freeze against Argentina. At 2pm, a new era for Scotland commences as Sébastien Pocognoli’s side kickstart their Nations League campaign away to Slovenia. We will not be forgetting Leagues One and Two either: if the National League is your passion and you are travelling to a match, we would love to hear from you. You will be a lot of things, but one thing you will not be is bored. Emillia Hawkins has all the breaking news and more.
10.30am
County Championship live
Cricket
As the campaign rushes to its conclusion, Tanya Aldred keeps those on tenterhooks updated with all the highs and lows, wickets and runs. Champagne corks are planned to pop at Warwickshire who are striding toward clinching the County Championship title against relegation-threatened Leicestershire at Edgbaston. A win would guarantee a first pennant since the Covid-shortened 2021 campaign, with second-placed Somerset faltering against Surrey. In Division Two promotion hopefuls Kent are battling rock-bottom Gloucestershire at Canterbury. Northamptonshire, just four points behind second-placed Kent, need to step up against Middlesex. Why not join the conversation?
12pm
Azerbaijan Grand Prix live
Formula One
Azerbaijan is marking 10 years since its first F1 race but this year’s event is a little different. The Grand Prix is taking place on a Saturday because Sunday is a national holiday, Remembrance Day. The Baku City Circuit hosting Saturday’s race is about 105 miles from the nearest point on Azerbaijan’s southern border with Iran, yet the turmoil of the regional conflict that has accounted for other motor sport events has not shunted this fixture off the F1 calendar. Two other world championships governed by the FIA have abandoned plans to race in the Middle East this year. The World Rally Championship last week scrapped its season-ending event in Saudi Arabia after travel concerns from teams. The World Endurance Championship cancelled races in Bahrain and Qatar in July and replaced them with European venues. Azerbaijan has been less directly affected by the Iran war than the Gulf nations, many of which host major US military bases and were targeted by Iranian strikes. So, F1 racing will go on, as Kimi Antonelli commands a vast 81-point lead over his Mercedes teammate George Russell. Baku is where Oscar Piastri’s title challenge started to crumble a year ago but Antonelli’s lead is more than double the biggest advantage the McLaren driver had last year and he is coming off back-to-back wins. Dominic Booth covers the race lap-by-lap. Giles Richards reports.
2pm
Slovenia v Scotland live
Nations League
So to the first of Saturday’s two big games. In an extended international break, the Scots face the Slovenians twice, Switzerland and North Macedonia as they strive to get out of League B. Enter Sébastien Pocognoli, tasked with building on the groundwork laid by Steve Clarke, under whom Scotland qualified for three major tournaments, including this summer’s World Cup in North America. “We arrive in the timeline of the Scotland national team [where], in the natural way, you will have some changes. But I don’t see this as a bad challenge, I think it’s a needed challenge,” the former Union Saint-Gilloise and Monaco manager said in the buildup. Those Scotland followers of a jaded nature might say t’was ever thus: a challenge. Maybe it will take a Belgian to take this generation of players to a higher level and provide some cheer for the longsuffering Tartan Army. Barry Glendenning live blogs the match, with Ewan Murray reporting from Ljubljana’s Stadion Stozice.
7.45pm
England v Spain live
Nations League
Spain’s visit to Wembley is a painful reminder to England of what might have been, and Thomas Tuchel needs a positive response to silence criticism of how the Three Lions’ World Cup fizzled out against a snarling, brutal Argentina. Had England held out for the final five minutes plus stoppage time in their semi-final two months ago, they would have met Spain in the final. Instead Tuchel’s players wilted, conceding twice after he had attempted to batten down the hatches with a series of defensive substitutions. The German coach admitted to being left “unfulfilled” by failing to achieve his target of a second star on the England jersey. Bukayo Saka went even further in midweek by revealing “there’s still a scar in us” over what happened in Atlanta. Time to start healing those wounds against the best international team on the planet. It is a tall order, particularly with a string of high-profile withdrawals. Rob Smyth will keep the blog updates flowing while our top team of David Hytner, Barney Ronay and Jacob Steinberg provide reports and analysis from the national stadium.
Sunday
8am-3.30pm
Matchday live
Football
Matchday live returns with more buildup, breaking news, good vibes and reader comments, with Billy Munday, Will Unwin and Yara El-Shaboury keeping it all flowing. There will be the latest updates on Manchester City v the Premier League and wash-up from England and Scotland’s Nations League clashes, as well as looking forward to Sunday’s key clashes: Israel v Ireland, Denmark v Wales, Serbia v Netherlands, Germany v Greece and Norway v Portugal. There is no better place to start your footballing day. Join the conversation by emailing your thoughts and queries to [email protected]
10.30am
England v Sri Lanka live
Cricket
Rob Smyth and Tim de Lisle have over-by-over coverage of the third ODI after Sri Lanka levelled the series in thrilling last-over fashion at Headingley on Thursday. England were cruising to a target of 322 while Tom Banton (73) and Ben Duckett (67) shared a first-wicket stand of 143. Sri Lanka had been hammered 3-0 in a preceding T20 campaign but Dunith Wellalage dragged them back by removing both openers and captain Harry Brook to reduce England to 157 for three. The left-arm spinner finished with figures of three for 49 after captain Kusal Mendis hit a fine century. The teams now head to London for a series-decider at the Oval. In the aftermath Brook insisted this was just what England needed before next year’s 50-over World Cup in southern Africa. “We’ve got a great opportunity now to try to win this series, and a great opportunity for 12 months’ time,” he said. “In pressure situations, like the one that awaits us at the Oval, it will be great to see where we are as a team.” Our cricket correspondent Ali Martin reports.
10.30am
County Championship live
Cricket
The season’s final day – will it be Warks? Or will Somerset gatecrash the pennant party? Tanya Aldred is back to steer the live blog as the domestic campaign hurtles to the grandest of grandstand finishes. Join her for all the latest developments.
4.30pm
Chelsea v Arsenal live
Women’s Super League
Renée Slegers’ unbeaten Arsenal face their derby rivals at Stamford Bridge after draws against Crystal Palace and Manchester United. However, only two goals and five points from three WSL matches is a telling indication of their season so far. Yet Tuesday’s 1-0 Champions League victory over HB Køge was achieved while several first-choice players were rested. They should be back in red and white for one of the campaign’s blockbusters as the two most successful clubs in the WSL era collide. Chelsea recorded their own Champions League success in midweek, with Wieke Kapteina’s strike securing 1-0 win over Austria Vienna, having struggled to impose themselves over Birmingham City last weekend. Will Unwin hosts the live blog, with Sophie Downey reporting.
6pm
NFL live
American football
Buckle up, NFL fans: Graham Searles’ rolling blog is the best way to follow all the unfurling action on a Sunday evening. He’ll be focusing on two of week three’s key games: Dolphins v Chiefs and Bills v Chargers. Miami lost to San Francisco 49ers last time out – unraveling in the second half of an eventual 35-13 defeat – and face another tough challenge when the three-time Super Bowl MVP Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs visit. The Chiefs are off to a 2-0 flyer, thanks largely to a balanced offence bolstered by the former Seattle running back Kenneth Walker III. The reigning Super Bowl MVP began the season with consecutive games of more than 175 scrimmage yards, creating room for Mahomes to have more success through the air. The Chiefs are averaging an NFL-best 457.5 yards through two games, which is about 137 more than their per-game average last season. Likewise, Buffalo are rolling after two straight wins, while the Los Angeles Chargers are winless as they hit the road for Sunday’s game.
7.45pm
Clockwatch
Nations League
John Brewin has rolling coverage of Sunday evening’s big internationals, and he’ll be zeroing in on the Republic of Ireland’s troubled clash in Hungary. The Irish face Israel before a designated “home” game in Serbia on 4 October, amid protests and calls for a boycott over Israel’s war in Gaza. The country’s strong support for the Palestinian cause dictates there will be no Irish supporters in the stadium, no home match in Ireland, and no pundits or Irish commentary on television. The game is being staged in Debrecen because Israel cannot host international matches. Ireland’s manager, Heimir Hallgrimsson, raised tension levels last week by saying that many of his squad were uncomfortable about taking part, adding: “We’re not playing with genocide, we’re playing against genocide.” Those comments drew a furious response from the Israel Football Association, which accused Hallgrimsson of “hypocrisy and stupidity”.
