Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday, April 5
Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday: GOLF U.S. Masters (to 9) AUGUSTA, Georgia - Players finalise their preparations and discuss their chances ahead of the year's first golf major at Augusta National. (GOLF-MASTERS/ (PIX, TV), expect by 1900 GMT/3 PM ET, by Steve Keating, Ed Osmond, Frank Pingue and Rory Carroll, 400 words) Augusta chairman talks to media on eve of Masters AUGUSTA, Georgia - Billy Payne, the chairman of the Augusta National Golf Club, addresses the media on the eve of the tournament. (GOLF-MASTERS/PAYNE (PIX, TV), expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, by Steve Keating, 400 words) Players set to contend for Masters Par-3 tourney AUGUSTA, Georgia - The traditional Par-3 contest, which takes place on the eve of the U.S. Masters, is a short-course tournament which has become a jinx with no winners having gone on to win the main event that same week. (GOLF-MASTERS/PAR3 (PIX, TV), expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, by Ed Osmond, 400 words) SOCCER Premier League (1845 unless stated) Arsenal v West Ham United (1845) Hull City v Middlesbrough (1845) Southampton v Crystal Palace (1845) Swansea City v Tottenham Hotspur (1845) Chelsea v Manchester City (1900) Liverpool v Bournemouth (1900) Chelsea look to rebound against Man City LONDON - Leaders Chelsea will look to rebound from their shock defeat to Crystal Palace with victory at home to Manchester City, while second-placed Tottenham Hotspur, who visit Swansea City, will be hoping for a slip-up at Stamford Bridge. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PIX), expect by 2115 GMT/7:15 PM ET, by Martyn Herman, 650 words) La Liga (1930 unless stated) Barcelona v Sevilla (1730) Alaves v Osasuna (1830) Deportivo Coruna v Granada CF (1830) Sporting Gijon v Malaga (1830) Leganes v Real Madrid (1930) Barca face Sevilla test as they chase Real BARCELONA - Champions Barcelona host stuttering Sevilla hoping to momentarily go top of the La Liga standings and put pressure on Real Madrid before Zinedine Zidane's side, who are chasing a first title since 2012, visit neighbours Leganes. (SOCCER-SPAIN/, expect by 1930 GMT/3:30 PM ET, by Richard Martin, 400 words) Bundesliga (1800) Mainz v RB Leipzig (1800) Borussia Moenchengladbach v Hertha Berlin (1800) FC Augsburg v FC Ingolstadt 04 (1800) SV Darmstadt 98 v Bayer Leverkusen (1800) VfL Wolfsburg v Freiburg (1800) Second-placed RB Leipzig, who trail leaders Bayern Munich by 13 points, visit struggling Mainz, who have lost their last three matches. (SOCCER-GERMANY/, expect by 2000 GMT/4 PM ET, 300 words) Italian Cup semi-final second leg Napoli v Juventus (1845) ROME - Napoli will try to overturn a 3-1 deficit against holders Juventus when they host the second leg of the Coppa Italia semi-final. (SOCCER-ITALY-NAP-JUV/, expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, 300 words) French Cup quarter-finals Angers SCO v Girondins Bordeaux (1630) Avranches(III) v Paris St Germain (1905) PSG in French Cup action PARIS - Paris St Germain, fresh from Saturday's League Cup triumph, will look to join Monaco and En Avant Guingamp in the last four of the French Cup with victory at third tier Avranches. (SOCCER-FRANCE/CUP, expect by 2115 GMT/5:15 PM ET, 300 words) BASEBALL Richards returns to the mound for Angels Garrett Richards, who has not pitched for more than 11 months after suffering an elbow injury that caused him to miss most of last season, is slated to start for the Los Angeles Angels against the Oakland Athletics in one of 15 games on the Major League Baseball schedule. (BASEBALL-MLB-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0600 GMT/2 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 1000 words) NBA First place on line as Celtics face Cavs First place in the Eastern Conference is up for grabs as Isaiah Thomas the Boston Celtics host the reigning champion Cleveland Cavaliers, while the Miami Heat (37-40) and Charlotte Hornets meet in a game that could decide who gets the final spot in the playoffs, two of the eight contests on the National Basketball Association schedule. (BASKETBALL-NBA-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0600 GMT/2 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 600 words) NHL Capitals and Rangers meet as playoffs loom Alex Ovechkin and the league-leading Washington Capitals meet the playoff bound New York Rangers, while the Atlantic Division-leading Montreal Canadiens go for a sixth straight against the Buffalo Sabres in the two games on the National Hockey League schedule. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0400 GMT/12 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 200 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (expect by 0000 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words) SPORTS CONFERENCE SportAccord conference continues AARHUS, Denmark - The SportAccord conference continues. (SPORT-CONFERENCE/ (PIX, GRAPHIC), expect throughout, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words) (Asia desk editor: Peter Rutherford)
