Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Sunday, Dec 13

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Sunday: - - SOCCER Premier League Aston Villa v Arsenal (1330) Liverpool v West Bromwich Albion (1600) Tottenham Hotspur v Newcastle United (1600) Arsenal target first place at Villa, Spurs aim for top four LONDON - Arsenal can take provisional top spot with a win at basement side Aston Villa while London rivals Tottenham Hotspur can leapfrog Manchester United into fourth spot with a victory at home to Newcastle United. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PIX), expect by 1530 GMT/1030 AM ET, by Ian Chadband, 600 words) - - La Liga Rayo Vallecano v Malaga (1100) Eibar v Valencia (1500) Atletico Madrid v Athletic Club (1715) Villarreal v Real Madrid (1930) Atletico and Real seek to close gap on leaders Barca MADRID - A win for Atletico Madrid over visiting Athletic Bilbao would allow them to draw level with leaders Barcelona while Real Madrid can move within two points of top spot with victory at Villarreal. (SOCCER-SPAIN/ (PIX), expect by 1700 GMT/12:00 PM ET, by Iain Rogers, 300 words) - - Bundesliga FC Augsburg v Schalke 04 (1430) Borussia Dortmund v Eintracht Frankfurt (1630) Borussia Dortmund out to tighten hold on second spot BERLIN - Borussia Dortmund will aim to close the eight-point gap to Bayern Munich and tighten their hold on second spot when they taken on struggling Eintracht Frankfurt while Augsburg host Schalke in the last two matches before the winter break. (SOCCER-GERMANY/ (PIX), expect by 1630 GMT/11:30 AM ET, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words) - - Serie A (1400 unless stated) AC Milan v Verona Chievo Verona v Atalanta Bergamo Empoli v Carpi Napoli v AS Roma (1700) Juventus v Fiorentina (1945) Juve host Fiorentina in top-of-the-table clash TURIN - Resurgent Juventus will be eyeing a sixth straight Serie A win at title rivals Fiorentina, while fourth-placed AS Roma can move level on points with Napoli in third by ending a five-game winless streak in Naples. (SOCCER-ITALY/ (PIX), expect by 2145 GMT/4:45 PM ET, by Ed Dove, 400 words) - - Ligue 1 (1600 unless stated) Monaco v St Etienne (1300) Angers SCO v Girondins Bordeaux Olympique Marseille v GFC Ajaccio Paris St Germain v Olympique Lyon (2000) Runaway leaders PSG take on top three hopefuls Lyon PARIS - Paris St Germain continue their march towards a fourth consecutive title when they host Olympique Lyonnais. (SOCCER-FRANCE/ (PIX), by 2100 GMT/4 PM ET, by Julien Pretot, 300 words) - - Dutch league (1330 unless stated) Utrecht v Ajax Amsterdam (1130) Groningen v Feyenoord PEC Zwolle v AZ Alkmaar Heracles Almelo v Vitesse Arnhem (1545) Leaders Ajax must buck recent trend at Utrecht AMSTERDAM - Ajax Amsterdam, hoping to keep ahead of the chasing pack, need to improve on their recent results at Utrecht where they have dropped points in the last three seasons.(SOCCER-DUTCH/, expect by 1800 GMT/1 PM ET, 300 words) - - Belgian league Standard Liege v Club Bruges (1330) STVV v Ghent (1700) Anderlecht v Oostende (1900) Bruges and Ghent face tricky away trips BRUSSELS - Joint leaders Club Bruges and Ghent are away to difficult opponents, while third-placed Oostende face a tough trip to an Anderlecht side in fourth and buoyed up by their midweek qualification for the Europa League knockout phase. (SOCCER-BELGIUM/, expect by 2100 GMT/4 PM ET, 200 words) - - Club World Cup (to 20) TP Mazembe's dreams extinguished, Evergrande go through OSAKA - TP Mazembe's dreams of reaching another Club World Cup final were quickly extinguished when the African champions lost 3-0 to Japan's Sanfrecce Hiroshima, while Asian champions Guangzhou Evergrande came from behind and scored twice in the final 10 minutes to stun their CONCACAF counterparts America and reach the semi-finals. (SOCCER-CLUB/MAZEMBE and SOCCER-CLUB/AMERICA (PIX), moved, by Brian Homewood) - - - - CRICKET New Zealand v Sri Lanka, first test, Dunedin (to 14) NZ hold advantage entering final day in first Sri Lanka test Captain Brendon McCullum will be counting on his bowlers to take the seven wickets needed to win the first test against Sri Lanka after he made a surprising declaration that set a victory target of 405. Dinesh Chandimal and Angelo Mathews carry their side's hopes when they resume on 109-3. (CRICKET-NEWZEALAND/, expect throughout, 400 words) - - - - RUGBY World Rugby Sevens Series Fiji meet France, S. Africa face Australia in quarter-finals CAPE TOWN - Top-ranked Fiji play France in the first quarter-final but the clash between hosts South Africa and Australia is the most eagerly awaited on the second stop of the Sevens Series season at the Cape Town Stadium. (RUGBY UNION-SEVENS/, expect by 1800 GMT/1 PM ET, by Nick Said, 300 words) - - - - NFL Unbeaten Panthers tackle division rival Falcons MVP candidate quarterback Cam Newton leads the Carolina Panthers (12-0), the league's only unbeaten team, against their visiting NFC South rivals the Atlanta Falcons (6-6) in one of 14 games on the National Football League schedule. (NFL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect first copy by 2300 GMT/6 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 700 words) - - Steelers and Bengals in key clash with playoffs impact The visiting Pittsburgh Steelers (7-5) and quarterback Ben Roethlisberger look to solidify their bid for a Wild Card berth against NFC North foe the Cincinnati Bengals (10-2), who have a shot at earning a bye in the first week of playoffs, in a match-up of two explosive offensive teams. (NFL-BENGALS/ , expect by 2230 GMT/5:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Patriots push to snap two-game skid against Texans The New England Patriots (10-2), led by quarterback Tom Brady, visit the Houston Texans (6-6) intent on snapping a two-game losing skid by taking advantage of a defense weakened by the broken hand sustained by standout defensive end J.J. Watt in practice this week. (NFL-TEXANS/, expect by 0530 GMT/1230 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NBA Thunder look to distance themselves from Jazz in Northwest Kevin Durant and the Oklahoma City Thunder (15-8) aim to pad their lead over the second-place Jazz in the Northwest Division when they host Utah (10-11). (NBA-THUNDER/ , expect by 0300 GMT/10 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 350 words) - - Sixers seek their first road win of season in Toronto The young, struggling Philadelphia 76ers (1-23) face a steep challenge in their quest for a first road victory of the season when they take on the Atlantic Division-leading Toronto Raptors (15-9) in one of four games on the National Basketball Association schedule. (NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/10:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NHL Blackhawks try to climb up a notch in the Central Defending Stanley Cup champions Chicago Blackhawks (16-10-4) try to hoist themselves into second place in the tight Central Division when they host the Vancouver Canucks (11-11-8) in one of three games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/10:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 0100 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) (London desk editor: Clare Fallon)