Sports this weekend: India vs South Africa 1st ODI, Liverpool vs Manchester United in Premier League and more

Only three more weekends remain in 2023 but the excitement as far as sporting events are concerned is still alive and kicking as always. India’s tour of South Africa moves on from the T20Is and now onto the three-match ODI series starting on Sunday, whereas top European football leagues enter their busy phase with the festive season just around the corner.

Then there’s the Test series between Australia and Pakistan that started in Perth on Thursday with the first of the three Tests.

Let’s now take a look at what’s in store as far as sporting action in the weekend is concerned:

Cricket

With the T20I series done and dusted, the focus now shifts to the ODIs as India and South Africa take on each other in a three-match ODI series, starting with the first ODI in Johannesburg on Sunday. The Men in Blue will be led by a different skipper for the ODIs. While Suryakumar Yadav led India in the T20Is, KL Rahul will captain the visitors in the ODI series.

The Australia-Pakistan Test series got underway in Perth on Thursday and the series-opener promises to be an exciting affair. Replying to Australia’s first innings score of 487, Pakistan were all out for 271 but the hosts did not enforce Pakistan the follow-on and have begun the second innings batting.

Bangladesh will kickstart their tour of New Zealand with the first ODI in Dunedin on Sunday. Whereas England will look to bounce back against West Indies in the five-match T20I series after two successive defeats.

Notable matches

India vs South Africa 1^st ODI (Sunday, 1.30 pm on Star Sports/Disney + Hotstar)

Australia vs Pakistan 1^st Test (13-18 December on Sony Sports Network/Sony LIV)

West Indies vs England 3rd T20I (Saturday ,11 pm on Fancode)

New Zealand vs Bangladesh 1st ODI (Sunday, 3.30 am on Amazon Prime Video)

Vijay Hazare Trophy Final: Haryana vs Rajasthan (Saturday, 1.30 pm on Sports18/JioCinema)

Football

Top European football leagues like the Premier League and LaLiga enters its busy festive period and some exciting matches are on the agenda. Manchester United will look to return to winning ways when they face Liverpool on Sunday, whereas in the LaLiga, Barcelona and Atletico Madrid will look to catch up with Girona and Real Madrid when they face Valencia and Athletic Club respectively.

Key matches

Premier League (Star Sports/Disney + Hotstar)

Manchester City vs Crystal Palace (Saturday, 8.30 pm)

Manchester United vs Liverpool (Sunday, 10 pm)

LaLiga (Sports18/JioCinema)

Athletic Club vs Atletico Madrid (Saturday, 8.45 pm)

Valencia vs Barcelona (Sunday, 1.30 am)

Serie A (Sports18/JioCinema)

AC Milan vs Monza (Sunday, 5 pm)

Lazio vs Inter Milan (Monday, 1.15 am)

Ligue 1 (Sports18/JioCinema)

Rennes vs Toulouse (Sunday, 7.30 pm)

Lille vs PSG (Monday, 1.15 am)

Bundesliga (Sony Sports Network)

Augsburg vs Borussia Dortmund (Saturday, 8 pm)

Bayern Munich vs VfB Stuttgart (Monday, 12 am)

Indian Super League (Sports18/JioCinema)

Two bottom-half teams Bengaluru FC  and Jamshedpur FC go ahead to head in the 5 pm kickoff on Saturday, followed by Mumbai City FC hosting East Bengal FC the same day at 8 pm. On Sunday, Odisha FC face bottom-placed Hyderabad FC.

I-League (Eurosport)

Real Kashmir FC are taking on Shillong Lajong at the moment while Aizawl’s home game against Gokulam Kerala is also taking place. On Sunday, relegation-threatened clubs TRAU FC face Namdhari FC, whereas league leaders Mohammedan SC travel to Goa to face Churchill Brothers.

Hockey 

India are taking on Spain in the bronze medal match of the Men’s Junior Hockey World Cup in Malaysia. The match is being telecast on Sports18 channels and the JioCinema app and website.