Five days to the weekend

The best sporting action from now until the weekend

Monday

THE sporting world will seem somewhat flat today as we return to normality post-Olympics. And there’s not a wealth of attention-grabbing action to choose from, with a smattering of fixtures in the Capital One Cup first round on the football front comprising Fleetwood v Nottingham Forest, Oldham v Sheffield Wednesday and Preston v Huddersfield. In Cincinnati the Western and Southern Open gets under way, while there’s racing at Ffos Las, Kempton, Thirsk and Wolverhampton.

Tuesday

SCOTLAND’S Under-21 footballers host Belgium this evening in a friendly at East End Park, while there’s a busy night in store in the Capital One Cup first round which will include Birmingham v Barnet, Bristol City v Gillingham, Derby v Scunthorpe and Ipswich v Bristol Rovers. Ayr hosts what is always a popular summer midweek race meeting, with racing also scheduled for Bath, Nottingham and Yarmouth. In cricket Edgbaston plays host to a Tour match featuring England Lions v Australia A.

Wednesday

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THERE are a number of international football friendlies to pick from, with Scotland taking on Australia at Easter Road, Berne hosting a clash between Italy and England, Finland travelling to Belfast to play Northern Ireland, Wales playing Bosnia-Herzegovina in Cardiff and the Republic of Ireland facing Serbia in Belgrade. The Ramsdens Cup second round features a Fife derby between Cowdenbeath and East Fife as well as an all-Glasgow tie between Queen’s Park and Partick Thistle.

Thursday

THE third and final Investec Test between England and South Africa gets under way at Lord’s, with England needing victory to square the series and retain their No 1 Test ranking. In the LV= County Championship Division One, Nottinghamshire host Durham, while it’s Surrey v Middlesex and Worcestershire v Lancashire. In golf, the Wyndham Championship tees off in North Carolina, along with the British Women’s Masters at Denham.

Friday

THE solitary football fixture of the evening is in the Npower Championship, with promotion-seeking Cardiff hosting newly-promoted Huddersfield. The Welsh side have underlined their determination to reach the top flight by signing Craig Bellamy last week. For those seeking an athletics fix following some of the stunning displays in the Olympic Stadium at London 2012, there’s a Diamond League meeting in Stockholm. There’s a busy day ahead on the racing front, with meetings scheduled for Catterick, Kempton, Newbury, Newcastle, Newmarket and Nottingham.