Reuters Sports Schedule at 0001 GMT on Saturday, Jan 31

Reuters

Reuters sports schedule at 0001 GMT on Saturday: - - - - TENNIS Australian Open, Melbourne (to Feb 1) Serena and Sharapova clash for women's title MELBOURNE - Top seed Serena Williams bids for a 19th grand slam title against second seed Maria Sharapova, who will be desperate to end a 15-match losing streak to the American. (TENNIS-OPEN/ (PIX), match starts at 0830 GMT/3:30 AM ET, by Ian Ransom and Greg Stutchbury, 600 words) - - Djokovic bids for fifth title against Murray MELBOURNE - Top seed Novak Djokovic will strive for a record fifth Australian Open title in the professional era against Andy Murray, the man he beat in the final for the 2011 and 2013 titles. (TENNIS-OPEN/MEN (PREVIEW, PIX), moving at 1200 GMT/0700 AM ET, by Greg Stutchbury, 500 words). We will also move factboxes on the players. - - - - SOCCER Asian Cup final Hosts Australia face South Korea again SYDNEY - Hosts Australia take on South Korea in the final of the Asian Cup in an 80,000 Sydney sell out hoping for a first title. Korea, aiming to end a 55-year for the title, beat the Socceroos 1-0 in group play. (SOCCER-ASIA/ expect by 0830 GMT/3:30 AM ET, by Julian Linden and Nick Mulvenney, 400 words) - - African Nations Cup Congo v Democratic Republic of Congo (1600) Equatorial Guinea v Tunisia (1930) Hosts face Tunisia after Congo derby in last eight BATA, Equatorial Guinea - A derby between the two Congos gets the knockout phase underway followed by Equatorial Guinea against Tunisia as the hosts seek to continue their surprise run. (SOCCER-NATIONS/ (PIX, TV), expect by 1745 GMT/12:45 PM ET, by Mark Gleeson, 300 words) - - - - SOCCER Premier League (1500 unless stated) Hull City v Newcastle United (1245) Crystal Palace v Everton Liverpool v West Ham United Manchester United v Leicester City Stoke City v Queens Park Rangers Sunderland v Burnley West Bromwich Albion v Tottenham Hotspur Chelsea v Manchester City (1730) Chelsea face City in top-of-the-table clash without Costa LONDON - Premier League leaders Chelsea host second-placed Manchester City with a five-point lead but without their suspended Spain striker Diego Costa who received a three-match ban on Friday for violent conduct. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PIX), expect from 1445 GMT/9:45 AM ET, 650 words) - - La Liga Real Madrid v Real Sociedad (1500) Eibar v Atletico Madrid (1700) Granada CF v Elche (1900) Celta Vigo v Cordoba (2100) Leaders Real host Sociedad, Atletico at Eibar MADRID - League leaders Real Madrid host David Moyes' Real Sociedad looking to stretch the gap on second-placed Barcelona, while holders Atletico, who are third, travel to Eibar. (SOCCER-SPAIN/PIX, expect from 1730 GMT/12:30 PM ET, 400 words) - - Serie A Genoa v Fiorentina (1700) AS Roma v Empoli (1945) Second-placed draw specialists Roma host Empoli ROME - Second-placed AS Roma, who trail Serie A leaders Juventus by seven points, have drawn four of their last five matches and cannot afford any more slip-ups when they host Empoli. (SOCCER-ITALY/PIX, expect from 1930 GMT/2:30 PM ET, by Jacopo Lomonaco, 300 words) - - Ligue 1 (1900 unless stated) Olympique Marseille v Evian Thonon Gaillard FC (1530) RC Lens v Bastia FC Lorient v Montpellier HSC Metz v Nice Nantes v Lille Toulouse v Stade de Reims Marseille out to reclaim second spot from PSG PARIS - Olympique de Marseille can move within a point of Ligue 1 leaders Olympique Lyonnais, who play Sunday, with a home win over Evian Thonon Gaillard and will reclaim second spot from Paris St Germain if they at least avoid defeat. (SOCCER-FRANCE/ (PIX), by 1730 GMT/12:30 PM ET, by Julien Pretot, 250 words) - - Bundesliga (1430 unless stated) Mainz v SC Paderborn Schalke 04 v Hanover 96 Hamburg SV v Cologne Freiburg v Eintracht Frankfurt VfB Stuttgart v Borussia Moenchengladbach Bayer Leverkusen v Borussia Dortmund (1730) Dortmund face tough trip to Leverkusen BERLIN - Second-bottom Borussia Dortmund visit third-placed Bayer Leverkusen, who are battling for an automatic Champions league qualifying spot, as the Bundesliga gets into full swing following the winter break. (SOCCER-GERMANY/PIX, expect by 1630 GMT, 11.30 AM ET, 400 words) - - Dutch Championship (1845 unless stated) PSV Eindhoven v Willem II Tilburg (1730) Excelsior v NAC Breda FC Groningen v Go Ahead Eagles Deventer Twente Enschede v SC Cambuur (1945) PSV aim to move nine points clear at home to Tilburg AMSTERDAM - PSV Eindhoven can move a provisional nine points clear of Ajax at the top of the Dutch championship with a win over mid-table Willem II Tilburg before the Amsterdam side visit Vitesse Arnhem on Sunday. (SOCCER-DUTCH/ (PIX), expect from 1930 GMT/2:30 AM ET, 400 words) - - NFL Seahawks, Patriots set for Super Bowl clash PHOENIX - We look ahead to Sunday's Super Bowl clash between the New England Patriots and defending champion Seattle Seahawks with a multi-part package that includes an overall preview of the championship game, profiles of the teams, a list of past winners, storylines to look for and players to watch. (NFL-SUPER/ (PREVIEW, PIX), moved, by Steve Keating, 700 words) SEE ALSO: (NFL-SUPER/SEAHAWKS-PROFILE, moved, 400 words) (NFL-SUPER/PATRIOTS-PROFILE, moved, 400 words) (NFL-SUPER/SEAHAWKS (FACTBOX), moved, 700 words) (NFL-SUPER/PATRIOTS (FACTBOX), moved, 700 words) (NFL-SUPER/WINNERS, moved, 450 words) (NFL-SUPER/STORYLINES, moved, 400 words) (NFL-SUPER/PLAYERS, moved, 400 words) - - Goodell holds court with Super Bowl media PHOENIX - NFL Commissioner Roger Goodell holds his annual Super Bowl news conference two days before the league's championship game between the New England Patriots and defending champion Seattle Seahawks. (NFL-SUPER/GOODELL (PIX), moved, by Steve Keating and Simon Evans, 400 words) - - Patriots owner Kraft stands in NFL spotlight New England Patriots owner Robert Kraft is one of the most visible faces of the NFL, guiding his once-moribund team to unparalleled success while assuming an influential role navigating the league's complex inner workings. (NFL-SUPER/KRAFT, moved, by Steve Ginsburg, 500 words) - - Paul Allen flying high as Seahawks land back in Super Bowl SEATTLE - Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has the knack of being in the right place at the right time and the Seattle Seahawks owner hopes that will be back in the Super Bowl winner's circle on Sunday when his team takes on the New England Patriots. (NFL-SUPER/ALLEN, moved, by Bill Rigby, 500 words) - - Vegas casinos latest to join Seattle's '12th Man' PHOENIX - Las Vegas casinos will be among the Seattle Seahawks' faithful "12th Man" during the Super Bowl as most of the money wagered on the NFL's championship game is banking on a New England Patriots victory. (NFL-SUPER/GAMBLING (PIX), moved, by Frank Pingue, 400 words) - - - - NBA Hawks put long streak on line against Trail Blazers The Atlanta Hawks risk a franchise record 17-game winning streak when they collide with the Northwest Division leading Portland Trail Blazers, who have lost their last four road games, in one of nine games on the National Basketball Association schedule. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 800 words) - - - - NHL Penguins aim for road win against Devils The Pittsburgh Penguins, who have been struggling of late on the road, visit the New Jersey Devils as they try to move closer to the Metropolitan Division-leading New York Islanders in one of five games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/ (PIX), expect by 0430 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: Waste Management Phoenix Open, Scottsdale, Arizona (to Feb. 1) Woods struggles to worst round of his career Tiger Woods slumped to his worst round as a professional when he carded an 11-over-par 82 in the second round of the Waste Management Phoenix Open on Friday. (GOLF-PGA/ (PIX), moved, 400 words) - - European Tour: Dubai Desert Classic (to Feb. 1) McIlroy in command at Emirates Golf Club DUBAI - World number one Rory McIlroy, bidding to win the Desert Classic for the second time in his career, takes a one-shot lead over fellow Briton Marc Warren into the third round at the Emirates Golf Club. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, expect by 1400 GMT/9 AM ET, by Bernie McGuire, 500 words) - - - - ATHLETICS Rupp to aim for fastest indoor two mile NEW YORK - American Olympic 10,000 metres silver medallist Galen Rupp headlines the Armory Track Invitational, aiming for the world's fastest indoor two mile. The world silver medallist over 1,500m, Matt Centrowitz, features for the U.S. team in a distance medley against teams including Kenya and Ireland. (ATHLETICS-ARMORY/ (PREVIEW), moved, by Larry Fine, 325 words) - - - - RUGBY Six Nations We have moved a preview package for rugby's 2015 Six Nations championship including: An overall preview (RUGBY UNION-NATIONS/PREVIEW) 600 words. Individual 400-word prospects story on each of the six competing countries (RUGBY UNION-NATIONS/ENGLAND etc) Sidebar on Ireland captain Paul O'Connell (RUGBY UNION-NATIONS/IRELAND-OCONNELL) Six players to watch (RUGBY UNION-NATIONS/STARS) List of previous winners (RUGBY UNION-NATIONS/WINNERS) and 2015 fixture list (RUGBY UNION-NATIONS/FIXTURES) - - - - CRICKET New Zealand v Pakistan, Wellington, first ODI - - - - (Asia desk editor: Patrick Johnston)