Big games to pull in punters
It's a great time of year for televised sport. We're in that window of time where the football and cricket seasons overlap, which means there's always a big game to look forward to. Factor in the Rugby World Cup, now less than a month away, and there's more sport than you can spit a gum shield at.
Sky have a double bill of Premiership football action on Sunday. First, United and City meet for the first Manchester derby of the new season. City's new manager Sven-Goran Eriksson gets to pit his wits against wily old Sir Alec Ferguson. Surprisingly City have had the better start to season, winning 2-0 away against West Ham, while United could only draw 0-0 with Reading. A win for City would really stir things up. Tune in to SS1 from 1.00pm for the 1.30pm kick-off.
Premiership heavyweights Liverpool and Chelsea then meet at Anfield. Chelsea will fancy their chances, as they tend to do well in league fixtures against the Reds. The match is on SS1 from 4pm.
On Wednesday England have a high-profile friendly when Germany come to Wembley. With Rooney joining captain John Terry on the sidelines though injury, coach Steve McLaren needs the understudies to step up in the first picks' absence. Coverage is on BBC1 at 8.00pm.
In rugby union on Saturday, England and Wales both have World Cup warm-ups. While the matches are billed as friendlies, seeing as how the opposition are France and Argentina respectively, friendship will have wait. Wales' home game is on BBC1 from 2.10pm, while England's visit to Marseille can be found on SS2 from 7.30pm.
Finally, to cricket. England put their tough Test series against India behind them, and take on the same nation in the one-day form of the game. England's Paul Collingwood leads his side in the first of seven matches to come. Tune in to SS1 from 2.00pm on Tuesday.
