Beckham: David Beckham will start on his home debut against Fiorentina in Serie A tonight, Milan coach Carlo Ancelotti said. The 33-year-old England midfielder was a surprise starter in last weekend's 2-2 draw at Roma and did enough to convince the coach of his fitness, having not played competitively since October.
Bordeaux: Nantes coach Elie Baup said the current Girondins Bordeaux side reminded him of the Bordeaux team he led to their last national title in 1999. "It's been 10 years. With Micoud, Wiltord, Laslandes and Benarbia, we had this quality of play, this creative and offensive state of mind," Baup told reporters ahead of today's match between Nantes and Bordeaux. "Bordeaux's actual team looks much like the one we had back then."
Torres: Liverpool striker Fernando Torres thinks he is ready for a return to the starting line-up for the leaders in the Merseyside derby against Everton on Monday. The Spaniard tore his hamstring against Marseille in November but following two substitute appearances against Stoke and Preston in the FA Cup he said: "I have worked for a long time with the physios and I think I can now play more than 45 minutes and start in the first 11."
De Jong: Manchester City have made a bid to buy Netherlands midfielder Nigel de Jong from Hamburg SV. It did not provide any details of the offer, which German media have estimated at around €15 million.
Nazi salute: Two Lens fans will appear in court on Feb 12 after they made Nazi salutes during a French League Cup quarter-final match at Paris St Germain on Wednesday. The fans are being prosecuted for "introducting or carrying in a sporting arena an object or a symbol referring to a racist ideology". They were arrested after the game, which PSG won 2-0, and were put into custody.
Pennant: Liverpool accepted an undisclosed bid for winger Jermaine Pennant from Portsmouth yesterday. Pennant, 26, had been linked with moves to Real Madrid or Italy during the transfer window, but is now set to link up with Portsmouth manager Tony Adams.
Kahveci: Villarreal striker Nihat Kahveci has had arthroscopic surgery to repair the damaged meniscus in his right knee. The Turkey international will be laid low for around four weeks.
Bolton: Benfica striker Ariza Makukula is to move on loan to Premier League Bolton Wanderers for the rest of the season. The 28-year-old Kinshasa-born player this week turned down the chance to join West Bromwich Albion also on loan.
In England: League One - Hartlepool vs Northampton 2-0.
Boxing: Miguel Cotto and Kelly Pavlik appear on a unique double-bill of title fights staged in two different cities on Feb. 21 as both look to recover from their first defeats. Puerto Rican Cotto takes on Briton Michael Jennings for the WBO welterweight title in New York while Mexico's Marco Antonio Rubio challenges WBO and WBC middleweight champ Pavlik in Ohio.
Golf: Vijay Singh expects to be sidelined from the PGA Tour for the next three weeks after having arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, the world no.5 said. The Fijian tore his meniscus before winning last month's Chevron World Challenge.
Motorcycling: Kawasaki could face legal action for quitting MotoGP unless a deal is struck with another outfit to keep their two bikes racing, the head of the company that holds the sport's commercial rights said. Carmelo Ezpeleta noted that the Japanese manufacturer's contract runs through 2011 and if no agreement was reached with another manufacturer legal steps were possible as a last resort.
Table tennis: A day after eight-year-old Miu Hirano's record-breaking debut at the Japanese national table tennis championships, 46-year-old Kiyoshi Saito became the first man to reach 100 career wins at the tournament. Saito, who represented Japan at the 1988 Seoul Olympics, has won a record eight national titles.
Snooker: John Higgins overcame a tough challenge against Ding Junhui at the Masters, winning 6-4 to set a semi-final with Mark Selby today. China's Ding beat Higgins 6-4 at last year's Masters and looked to have the momentum when he came from 4-2 down to 4-4. But Higgins proved stronger to remain on course for his third Masters title. Other result: Maguire bt Robertson 6-3.
Rugby Union: The British & Irish Lions have scrapped plans to name an extended preliminary squad for this year's tour of South Africa, coach Ian McGeechan said. McGeechan was due to announce a 60-65 man panel, before trimming it to about 35 players in April, but reviewed the plans for the May 30-July 4 tour at a management team meeting last week.
Doping: Italy's Filippo Volandri has been banned for three months after failing a dope test, the International Tennis Federation (ITF) said. The 27-year-old Volandri blamed his failed test on an inhaler he takes for treating asthma.
Alpine skiing: Carlo Janka gave Switzerland a rare home win in Wengen with victory in a World Cup super-combined event yesterday. The 22-year-old Janka clocked a combined time of two minutes 34.16 seconds. The win, coupled with Silvan Zurbriggen's third place, cheered up the Swiss team after a disappointing performance in last weekend's races on home snow in Adelboden.
MFA Division Three: Xgħajra vs Għaxaq 0-0; Attard vs Sta Luċija 0-0.
Basketball: Powerade League - Qormi vs BUPA 60-105. Women's League - Medsea vs St James 71-21.