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

The Masters

The first major of the year, it’s time again to hear words such as “Golden Bell”, “White Dogwood” and “Flowering Crab Apple” (names of holes at Augusta National). Scottie Scheffler is the defending champion, beating Rory McIlroy by three shots last year. McIlroy will begin the 87th edition of the prestigious golf event as one of the favourites, though it is the only major championship he has not (yet) won. He has, however, finished in the top five on four occasions. – Monday-Sunday, Sky Sports

USA v Rep of Ireland

Is there a better way to prepare for the World Cup Finals than to take on the number one ranked team in the world? Well, yes, take them on twice. The Republic of Ireland women’s team are getting ready for Australia and New Zealand next July and August by playing the USA on Saturday in Austin, Texas, and then again on Tuesday, April 11th, in St Louis, Missouri. – Saturday, RTÉ

Connacht SFC

It’s back. Already. Whether you are ready for it or not in April, the Connacht, Leinster, Munster and Ulster senior football championships all begin at the weekend. The tie of the round is surely the visit of Roscommon to MacHale Park, Castlebar. Both Mayo and Roscommon have produced impressive performances in Division One of the 2023 league, and there was only two points in it when Mayo defeated Roscommon last month. But that was the league. This is the championship. – Sunday, RTÉ

MONDAY (April 3rd)

• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 2.30pm–4.45pm – Stage 1 Basque Tour
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 5pm–10pm The Masters (practice & previews)
• SOCCER – BT Sport 1 – Serie A – 5.30pm Empoli v Lecce; 7.45pm Sassuolo v Torino
• SOCCER – Sky Sports PL – Premier League – 8pm Everton v Tottenham
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 8pm Valencia v Rayo Vallecano
• GAA – TG4, 8pm–9pm League highlights

TUESDAY (April 4th)

• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 2pm–10pm The Masters (practice & previews)
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 2.30pm–4.45pm – Stage 2 Basque Tour
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – German Cup – 5pm Eintracht Frankfurt v Union Berlin
• GAA – TG4 YouTube – Connacht Under-20 Football Semi-final – 6.30pm Galway v Leitrim
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 2 – German Cup – 7.45pm Bayern Munich v SC Freiburg
• SOCCER – Sky Sports PL – Premier League – 8pm Chelsea v Liverpool
• SOCCER – BT Sport 1 – Copa Del Rey – 8pm Athletic Bilbao (0) v Osasuna (1)
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Coppa Italia – 8pm Juventus v Inter Milan

WEDNESDAY (April 5th)

• CRICKET – BT Sport 2 from 1.30am – 2nd T20 New Zealand v Sri Lanka
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 2pm–10.30pm The Masters (par 3 & previews)
• CYCLING – Eurosport 2, 2pm–4.30pm Terneuzen–Schoten
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 2.30pm–4.45pm – Stage 3 Basque Tour
• SOCCER – Premier Sport 1 – German Cup – 5pm Nuremberg v VfB Stuttgart
• GAA – TG4 YouTube – Munster Under-20 Hurling, Rd 3 – 7.30pm Cork v Tipperary
• SOCCER – Premier Sport 2 – German Cup – 7.45pm RB Leipzig v Borussia Dortmund
• SOCCER – Sky Sports PL – Premier League – 8pm West Ham Utd v Newcastle Utd
• SOCCER – BT Sport 1 – Copa Del Rey – 8pm Barcelona (1) v Real Madrid (0)
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Coppa Italia – 8pm Cremonese v Fiorentina
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 11.40pm–1am Match of the Day

THURSDAY (April 6th)

• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 2pm–0.30am The Masters
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 2.30pm–4.45pm – Stage 4 Basque Tour
• DARTS – Sky Sports Action, 7pm–10.45pm – Birmingham Premier League
• SOCCER – BBC Two Wales – Women’s International Friendly – 7.15pm Wales v Northern Ireland
• SOCCER – UTV – Women’s International (Finalissima) – 7.45pm England v Brazil
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Arena – Super League – 8pm Castleford Tigers v Wakefield Trinity

FRIDAY (April 7th)

• NBA – Sky Sports Arena – 0.30am Heat @ 76ers; 3am Nuggets @ Suns
• RUGBY – Sky Sports Action – Super Rugby – 8.05am Crusaders v Moana Pasifika
• RUGBY – Sky Sports Mix – Super Rugby – 10.35am Reds v Brumbies
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Arena – Super League – 12.30pm Hull FC v Hull KR; 3pm Wigan Warriors v St Helens
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 12.30pm Millwall v Luton Town
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 2pm–0.30am The Masters
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 2.30pm–4.45pm – Stage 5 Basque Tour
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – League One – 3pm Oxford Utd v Sheffield Wednesday
• SOCCER Sky Sports Football Red Button – Championship – 3pm QPR v Preston North End; 3pm Sheffield Utd v Wigan Athletic; 3pm Stoke City v Bristol City
• 3pm Swansea City v Coventry City; 3pm Watford v Huddersfield Town
• SOCCER BT Sport 2 – Serie A – 4pm Salernitana v Inter Milan; 6pm Lecce v Napoli; 8pm AC Milan v Empoli
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Championship – 5.30pm Sunderland v Hull City; 8pm Middlesbrough v Burnley
• SOCCER – Virgin Media Two – Airtricity League, Premier Division – Bohemians v Shamrock Rovers
• RUGBY – RTÉ 2 & BT Sport 1 – Champions Cup Quarter-final – 8pm Leinster v Leicester
• RUGBY – BT Sport 3 & S4C – Challenge Cup Quarter-final – 8pm Scarlets v Clermont Auvergne
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 8pm Sevilla v Celta Vigo
• SOCCER – BT Sport 3 – Ligue 1 – 8pm Lens v Strasbourg

SATURDAY (April 8th)

• CRICKET – BT Sport 2 from 1.30am – 3rd T20 New Zealand v Sri Lanka
• RUGBY – Sky Sports Action – Super Rugby – 8.05am Highlanders v Hurricanes; 10.35am Melbourne Rebels v Blues
• SOCCER – BT Sport 3 – Serie A – 11.30am Udinese v Monza
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Scottish Premiership – 12.30pm Celtic v Rangers
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 2 – La Liga – 1pm Osasuna v Elche; 3.15pm Espanyol v Athletic Bilbao
• HORSE RACING – Virgin Media One & ITV4, 1.30pm–4pm Musselburgh
• HORSE RACING – TG4, 2pm–6pm Fairyhouse and Cork
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 2pm–5.15pm – Women’s one–day race Paris–Roubaix
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Arena – Super League – 2.30pm Leigh Leopards v Salford Red Devils; 5pm Catalans Dragons v Warrington Wolves
• SOCCER – Premier Sports 1 – Premier League – 3pm Tottenham v Brighton
• RUGBY – BT Sport 3 – Challenge Cup Quarter-final – 3pm Benetton v Cardiff
• RUGBY – BT Sport 2 – Champions Cup Quarter-finals – 3pm Toulouse v Sharks; 5.30pm Exeter v Stormers
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 3pm–0.30am The Masters
• GAA – BBC 2 – Ulster SFC – 5pm Armagh v Antrim
• TRIATHLON – Eurosport 1, 5.30pm–8pm – London Super League Arena Games
• SOCCER – BT Sport 3 – Serie A – 5.30pm Hellas Verona v Sassuolo
• SOCCER – BT Sport 1 – Serie A – 5.30pm Torino v Roma; 7.45pm Lazio v Juventus
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 5.30pm Real Sociedad v Getafe; 8pm Real Madrid v Villarreal
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga – 5.30pm Hertha Berlin v RB Leipzig
• SOCCER – Sky Sports PL – Premier League – 5.30pm Southampton v Manchester City
• SOCCER – RTÉ 2 – Women’s International – 7.30pm USA v Republic of Ireland
• SOCCER – BT Sport 3 – Ligue 1 – 8pm Nice v PSG
• RUGBY – BT Sport 2 – Challenge Cup Quarter-final – 8pm Glasgow v Emirates
• NBA – Sky Sports Arena – 8.30pm Nuggets @ Jazz
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.30pm–midnight Match of the Day

SUNDAY (April 9th)

• BOXING – Sky Sports Action from 2am – Newark Shakur Stevenson v Shuichiro Yoshino
• UFC – BT Sport 1 from 3am – Miami Alex Pereira v Israel Adesanya
• CYCLING – Eurosport 1, 9.30am–5.15pm – Men’s one–day race Paris–Roubaix
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Scottish Premiership – Noon Dundee Utd v Hibernian
• SOCCER – BT Sport 2 Ligue 1 – Noon Lyon v Rennes; 2pm Reims v Brest; 4.05pm Nantes v Monaco
• SOCCER – LaLigaTV & Premier Sports 1 – La Liga – 1pm Real Valladolid v Mallorca; 3.15pm Real Betis v Cádiz; 5.30pm Almería v Valencia; 8pm Rayo Vallecano v Atlético Madrid
• GAA – TG4 – Hurling League Division One Final – 2pm Kilkenny v Limerick
• SOCCER – Sky Sports PL – Premier League – 2pm Leeds Utd v Crystal Palace; 4.30pm Liverpool v Arsenal
• HORSE RACING – RTÉ 2, 2.30pm–5.15pm Fairyhouse
• SOCCER – Sky Sports Football – Bundesliga – 2.30pm Borussia Mönchengladbach v VfL Wolfsburg; 4.30pm VfL Bochum 1848 v VfB Stuttgart; 6.30pm 1899 Hoffenheim v Schalke 04
• RUGBY – BT Sport 1 & UTV – Champions Cup Quarter-final – 3pm La Rochelle v Saracens
• GOLF – Sky Sports Golf, 3pm–0.30am The Masters
• GAA – RTÉ 2 – Connacht SFC – 4pm Mayo v Roscommon
• RUGBY LEAGUE – Sky Sports Action – Super League – 6pm Leeds Rhinos v Huddersfield Giants
• NBA – Sky Sports Arena – 6pm Hawks @ Celtics; 8.30pm Clippers @ Suns
• SOCCER – BT Sport 1 – Ligue 1 – 7.45pm Lorient v Marseille
• GAA – RTÉ 2, 9.30pm–11pm League Sunday
• SOCCER – BBC 1, 10.20pm–11.20pm Match of the Day 2