Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday, Dec 24

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday: - - - - SOCCER Premier League Chelsea aim to deny rivals City any festive cheer LONDON - The omens are good for a Chelsea side heading into Christmas top of the Premier League tree but manager Jose Mourinho does not want to give title rivals Manchester City any reason to cheer over the festive season. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PREVIEW), moved, by Michael Hann, 400 words) - - - - NBA Curry spices thing up with dazzling three-point prowess LOS ANGELES - Blessed with extraordinary hand-eye coordination and one of the purest shooting strokes in the NBA, Golden State Warriors point guard Stephen Curry is on track to end his career as one of the best three-point shooters ever. (NBA-WARRIORS/CURRY, expect by 1900 GMT/2 PM ET, by Mark Lamport-Stokes, 400 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0101 GMT/8:01 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - CRICKET New Zealand v Sri Lanka, first test (Dec 26-30) World Cup in sharp focus even during test series Final preparations for the World Cup looms large over the test series between New Zealand and Sri Lanka that starts at the newly anointed Hagley Oval on Friday, with seven one-day games to follow the two-matches in Christchurch and Wellington. (CRICKET-ZEALAND/ (PREVIEW), moved, by Greg Stutchbury, 400 words) - - International cricket returns to Christchurch Canterbury Cricket chief Lee Germon has run the gamut of emotions in the last three years as he fought to bring international cricket back to earthquake ravaged Christchurch, though quiet satisifaction is what he will feel on Friday. (CRICKET-ZEALAND/HAGLEY (INTERVIEW), moved, by Greg Stutchbury, 400 words) We also moved a factbox on the series: CRICKET-ZEALAND/ (FACTBOX) - - - - South Africa v West Indies, second test (Dec 26-30) Cricket-Windies look to fight back on friendlier pitch West Indies can look forward to more favourable batting conditions for the second test in Port Elizabeth on Friday as they look to overcome the mental scars of collapsing on Pretoria's seamer-friendly strip. (CRICKET-SAFRICA (PREVIEW), moved, by Nick Said, 450 words) We also moved a factbox on the series: CRICKET-SAFRICA/ (FACTBOX) (Europe desk editor: Ken Ferris)