Three sporting events to watch this week: Your handy guide to sport on television

Cheltenham Festival

The four-day event is an annual paradise for Irish horse racing fans - whether they make the trip to Gloucestershire or not. The 2023 edition will feature 28 races, with the big ones including the Champion Hurdle on Tuesday, Champion Chase on Wednesday, Ryanair Chase and Stayers Hurdle on Thursday, and the big, big one, the Gold Cup, on Friday afternoon. - Tuesday-Friday, UTV & Virgin Media

Ireland v England

No, not that one. We suspect you will probably be watching the Ireland v England clash in the Six Nations next Saturday. However, the following day, is another major game between the two sides - in the under-20 Six Nations. Ireland have had a very successful tournament – winning all four matches to date - but the winner of the championship has still to be decided. It will be settled in Musgrave Park this weekend. Ireland are defending champions, having won the Grand Slam last year. They are currently three points clear of France and four ahead of England. With France hot favourites to beat Wales in Oyonnax, Ireland know victory is almost certainly needed to retain the title. - Sunday, Virgin Media & BBC Red Button

Serie A

If you keep half an eye on Italian football, you might know that next weekend is moving day – when all the sides chasing the top spots in the league have big games. Sunday, in particular, has three big games. Napoli, who haven’t won a title in so long Diego Maradona was on the team, are currently top of Serie A and travel to Torino, who are chasing a European football spot. Fierce rivals Lazio and Roma are locked in a battle with the two Milan giants for Champions League spots, and they meet at Stadio Olimpio in the Rome derby. And, if that wasn’t enough, there is the small matter of Inter Milan hosting Juventus. Super Sunday, Italian style. - Sunday, BT Sport

MONDAY (Mar 13th)

• CRICKET - BT Sport 1 from 3.45am - 4th Test, D5 India v Australia
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football - Irish Premiership - 7.45pm Crusaders v Cliftonville
• SOCCER - BBC Scotland - Scottish Cup - 7.45pm Falkirk v Ayr Utd
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Serie A - 7.45pm AC Milan v Salernitana
• SOCCER - LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 - La Liga - 8pm Girona v Atlético Madrid
• RUGBY - RTE 2, 8pm-9pm Against the Head
• GAA - TG4, 8pm-9pm League action highlights

TUESDAY (Mar 14th)

• CRICKET - Sky Sports Cricket from 8.30am - 3rd T20 Bangladesh v England
• HORSE RACING - UTV & Virgin Media One, 1pm-4.30pm Cheltenham (Champion Hurdle)
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Arena – Championship - 7.45pm Wigan Athletic v Coventry City
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – Championship - 8pm Middlesbrough v Stoke City
• SOCCER - RTE 2, BT Sport 1 & LiveScore - Champions League - 8pm Manchester City (1) v RB Leipzig (1)
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 & LiveScore - Champions League - 8pm Porto (0) v Inter Milan (1)

WEDNESDAY (Mar 15th)

• CYCLING - Eurosport 1, 11.30am-1pm, 3.15pm-4.45pm Nokere Koerse
• HORSE RACING - ITV4, 1pm-2.05pm - UTV, 2pm-4.30pm, Virgin Media One, 1pm-4.30pm - Cheltenham (Champion Chase)
• CYCLING - Eurosport 1, 1.35pm-3.15pm Milano-Torino
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Arena - Championship - 7.45pm Hull City v Burnley
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football - Championship - 8pm Sunderland v Sheffield Utd
• SOCCER - Virgin Media Two, BT Sport 1 & LiveScore - Champions League - 8pm Real Madrid (5) v Liverpool (2)
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 & LiveScore - Champions League - 8pm Napoli (2) v Eintracht Frankfurt (0)
• NBA - BBC 1 from 11.40pm - Joined 76ers @ Cavaliers

THURSDAY (Mar 16th)

• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5am-9am LET: Aramco Team Series
• CRICKET - Sky Sports Cricket from 10.30am - 1st ODI South Africa v West Indies
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 11.30am-10pm Valspar Championship
• HORSE RACING - UTV & Virgin Media One, 1pm-4.30pm Cheltenham (Ryanair Chase)
• CYCLING - Eurosport 2, 1pm-2.45pm Grand Prix de Denain
• SOCCER - Virgin Media Two - Europa League - 5.45pm SC Freiburg (0) v Juventus (1)
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Europa League - 5.45pm Real Betis (1) v Man Utd (4); 8pm Real Sociedad (0) v Roma (2)
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 & Virgin Media Two - Europa League - 8pm Arsenal (2) v Sporting Lisbon (2)
• SOCCER - BT Sport 3 - Europa Conference League - 8pm West Ham Utd (2) v AEK Larnaca (0)
• DARTS - Sky Sports Action, 7pm-10.30pm Premier League
• RUGBY LEAGUE - Sky Sports Arena - Super League - 8pm Castleford Tigers v Leeds Rhinos
• CRICKET - BT Sport 1 from 10pm - 2nd Test, D1 New Zealand v Sri Lanka

FRIDAY (Mar 17th)

• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5am-9am LET: Aramco Team Series
• RUGBY - Sky Sports Action - Super Rugby - 6.05am Hurricanes v Waratahs
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 11.30am-10pm Valspar Championship
• CYCLING - Eurosport 1, 12.45pm-3.30pm Bredene Koksijde
• HORSE RACING - UTV & Virgin Media One, 1pm-4.30pm Cheltenham (Gold Cup)
• F1 - Sky Sports F1 from 1pm - Practice Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
• GAA - TG4 YouTube - Hogan Cup (football) Final - 1pm Summerhill College (Sligo) v Omagh CBS (Tyrone); Croke Cup (hurling) Final - 3pm St Kieran’s College (Kilkenny) v PC Athenry (Galway)
• RUGBY - Premier Sports 1 - Leinster Schools Senior Cup Final - 1pm Gonzaga College v Blackrock College
• GAA - TG4 - Women’s Football League - 2pm Donegal v Dublin; 4pm Cork v Kerry
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Serie A - 5.30pm Sassuolo v Spezia; 7.45pm Atalanta v Empoli
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga - 7.30pm M’gladbach v Werder Bremen
• SOCCER - RTE 2 - Airtricity League, Premier Division - 7.45pm Derry City v Sligo Rovers
• SOCCER - Sky Sports PL - Premier League - 8pm Nottingham Forest v Newcastle Utd
• SOCCER - LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga - 8pm Real Valladolid v Athletic Bilbao
• RUGBY LEAGUE - Sky Sports Arena - Super League - 8pm St Helens v Hull FC
• CRICKET - BT Sport 3 from 9.30pm - 2nd Test, D2 New Zealand v Sri Lanka

SATURDAY (Mar 18th)

• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 2.30am Mavericks @ Lakers
• RUGBY - Sky Sports Action - Super Rugby - 3.35am Chiefs v Melbourne Rebels; 6.05am Blues v Crusaders; 8.35am Brumbies v Moana Pasifika
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, 5am-9am LET: Aramco Team Series
• CYCLING - Eurosport 2, 8.45am-5pm Milan-San Remo
• CRICKET - Sky Sports Action from 10.30am - 2nd ODI South Africa v West Indies
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, noon-10pm Valspar Championship
• RUGBY - RTE 2 & BBC 1 - Six Nations - 12.30pm Scotland v Italy
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football - Scottish Premiership - 12.30pm Motherwell v Rangers
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 - La Liga - 1pm Almería v Cádiz; 3.15pm Rayo Vallecano v Girona
• F1 - Sky Sports F1 from 1.15pm - Practice & Qualifying Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
• SOCCER - TG4 - Women’s Premier Division - 2pm Shelbourne FC v Shamrock Rovers
• RUGBY - Virgin Media One & UTV - Six Nations - 2.45pm France v Wales; 5pm Ireland v England
• SOCCER - Premier Sports 1 - Premier League - 3pm Southampton v Tottenham
• GAA - RTE 2 - Football League - 3pm Meath v Dublin; 5pm Armagh v Galway
• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 5pm Nuggets @ Knicks
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football - Bundesliga - 5.30pm Borussia Dortmund v Cologne
• SOCCER - Sky Sports PL - Premier League - 5.30pm Chelsea v Everton
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV - La Liga - 5.30pm Espanyol v Celta Vigo
• SOCCER - BBC 1 - FA Cup Quarter-final - 5.45pm Man City v Burnley
• UFC - BT Sport Box Office from 7pm Leon Edwards v Kamaru Usman
• GAA - TG4 - Football League - 7.30pm Kerry v Roscommon
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 - Serie A - 7.45pm Udinese v AC Milan
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 - La Liga - 8pm Atlético Madrid v Valencia
• CRICKET - BT Sport 2 from 9.45pm - 2nd Test, D3 New Zealand v Sri Lanka
• SOCCER - BBC 1, 10.30pm-11.50pm Match of the Day

SUNDAY (Mar 19th)

• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - Midnight Warriors @ Grizzlies
• SAILING - Sky Sports Mix from 2am - Christchurch Sail GP
• RUGBY - Sky Sports Action - Super Rugby - 2.35am Highlanders v Western Force; 5am Reds v Fijian Drua
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Serie A - 11.30am Sampdoria v Hellas Verona
• GOLF - Sky Sports Golf, noon-10pm Valspar Championship
• SOCCER – UTV & Premier Sports 1 - FA Cup Quarter-final - Noon Sheffield Utd v Blackburn Rovers
• SOCCER - BT Sport 3 - Ligue 1 - Noon Ajaccio v Monaco; 2pm Nice v Lorient
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV - La Liga - 1pm Real Betis v Mallorca; 3.15pm Real Sociedad v Elche; 5.30pm Getafe v Sevilla
• GAA - TG4 - Football League - 1.45pm Monaghan v Tyrone; 3.45pm Donegal v Mayo; Hurling League - Deferred Kilkenny v Waterford
• RUGBY - BBC Red Button - Under-20 Six Nations - 2pm Scotland v Italy
• RUGBY - BT Sport 1 - English Premiership - 2pm London Irish v Exeter Chiefs
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 - Serie A - 2pm Torino v Napoli
• SOCCER - BBC 1 & Premier Sports 2 - FA Cup Quarter-final - 2.15pm Brighton v Grimsby Town
• SOCCER - Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga - 2.30pm Union Berlin v Eintracht Frankfurt; 4.30pm Bayer Leverkusen v Bayern Munich; 6.30pm Mainz v SC Freiburg
• F1 - Sky Sports F1 from 3.30pm Saudi Arabian Grand Prix
• SOCCER - BT Sport 2 - Ligue 1 - 4.05pm PSG v Rennes; 7.45pm Reims v Marseille
• SOCCER – UTV & Premier Sports 1 - FA Cup Quarter-final - 4.30pm Man Utd v Fulham
• SOCCER - BT Sport 1 - Serie A - 5pm Lazio v Roma; 7.45pm Inter v Juventus
• RUGBY - Virgin Media Two & BBC Red Button - Under-20 Six Nations - 5pm Ireland v England; 8pm France v Wales
• NBA - Sky Sports Arena - 7.30pm Nuggets @ Nets; 10pm Heat @ Pistons
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 - La Liga - 8pm Barcelona v Real Madrid
• GAA - RTE 2, 9.30pm-11.30pm League Sunday
• CRICKET - BT Sport 2 from 9.45pm - 2nd Test, D4 New Zealand v Sri Lanka
• SOCCER - BBC 1, 10.30pm-11.10pm Match of the Day 2