NFL conference championship game picks: do the No 1 seed Broncos have any chance of victory?

The Super Bowl match-up will be set this weekend as a weakened Denver take on New England and two NFC West rivals clash in Seattle

What New England need to do to win: Clean up their act. Last week against the Houston Texans, Drake Maye was blindsided too often by edge rushers Will Anderson and Danielle Hunter. The pair wreaked havoc, sacking Maye five times and forcing him into three of his four fumbles. The Los Angeles Chargers also forced two from him in the wildcard round. Denver led the league in sacks (68) in the regular season, and will be intent on causing similar damage on Sunday. But Maye can mitigate that threat if he sharpens his awareness in the pocket and takes the sack rather than rushing into impossible passes. New England’s left tackle Will Campbell is very likely to lose a couple of duels with edge defender Nick Bonitto, so Maye needs to be ready for a helmet sandwich while holding on to the ball for dear life. Simply punting and giving Denver’s second-string quarterback, Jarrett Stidham, tough field position may be all it takes to reach the Super Bowl.

Published: January 23, 2026, 10:00 am

Full-throttle Norrie overpowered again by Zverev to end British singles hopes

• Zverev wins 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 to reach fourth round

• Grit, discipline and spirit not enough for Norrie

Cameron Norrie did what he could. Rather than easing into a long best-of-five-sets match, he played at full throttle from the beginning, pulverising forehands and forcing himself inside the baseline at all costs. He worked through every shot in his arsenal, frequently sweeping forward to the net. He punctuated each small victory with booming cries of “Allez”.

In tennis, however, matchups are king and past battles between Norrie and Alexander Zverev had already illustrated how the German’s game is built to outlast and overpower his British opponent. Their seventh meeting produced one of their most high-quality matches but the result was no different as Zverev, the third seed, secured a tough 7-5, 4-6, 6-3, 6-1 victory over the 26th seed to advance to the fourth round.

Published: January 23, 2026, 11:38 am

‘You can’t just remove the cloud’: US sprinting’s reckoning before LA 2028

Once a nearly man of US sprinting, Marvin Bracy-Williams’ ban has exposed a sport gripped by doping, distrust and whispered betrayals

Marvin Bracy-Williams dreamed of ranking in the pantheon of elite male US sprinters alongside Carl Lewis, Michael Johnson and Maurice Greene. He’s quick – 9.85sec for 100m – but his problem was he could only ever finish second: silver at the world indoors in 2014, silver at the world championships in 2022.

When he didn’t even make the USA team for the 2023 world championships he realized that, at 29, he was losing the most important contest of all, the race against time.

Published: January 23, 2026, 10:15 am

Concacaf president revealed to make $3m a year for five hours’ work per week

Victor Montagliani’s compensation is thought to be among the highest in the world for a non-club soccer official

Concacaf president Victor Montagliani is paid over $3m per year for what the organization claims is just five hours per week of work, according to the latest tax filing made to the Internal Revenue Service.

Publicly available filings, first reported by ProPublica, show that the Canadian was paid $2.1m in base compensation and an additional $893,750 in unspecified bonus and incentive compensation for the 2024 tax year. An additional $15,780 was paid in deferred or retirement compensation.

Published: January 23, 2026, 10:30 am

Alex Honnold’s made-for-Netflix free solo of Taipei 101 draws awe – and unease

The Free Solo star will attempt to climb the 1,667ft skyscraper without ropes in a live Netflix broadcast, drawing awe, ethical concern and global attention

Alex Honnold has spent the past three months training for this moment: free soloing – climbing without ropes or a harness – one of Asia’s tallest skyscrapers, Taipei 101. It is an ambition that began more than a decade ago and is now close to being realized.

The climb will be broadcast globally on Skyscraper Live, Netflix’s latest foray into live sports programming. The star of the 2019 Oscar-winning documentary Free Solo insists that climbing Taipei 101 will feel no different from any other of his ascents.

Published: January 23, 2026, 8:00 am

‘Chess Wimbledon’ opens with an environmental protest as Niemann shares lead

First round at Wijk aan Zee delayed for over an hour after protesters dump coal at venue and unveil banner reading ‘no chess on a dead planet’

Tata Steel Wijk aan Zee, the “chess Wimbledon”, has been sponsored for all its 88 years by the local steelworks, either in its previous incarnations as Hoogovens and Corus or under its current Indian management.

Its relations with the local community have previously been good, but this year protesters targeting Tata Steel drew attention to the company’s heavy use of coal by dumping two tons of it in front of the entrance, and draping a banner reading “No chess on a dead planet” over the sports hall. Play in the opening round eventually began one and a half hours late.

Published: January 23, 2026, 8:00 am

Chelsea’s Alyssa Thompson: ‘I think of this as like going away for college like all my friends did’

Blues’ record signing on adapting to English football culture, the challenge of leaving family behind and being well taught by Sonia Bompastor

Alyssa Thompson is no stranger to the limelight. Despite being only 21, her undeniable natural talent and eye‑catching career have propelled her into the headlines ever since her hometown club, Angel City, made her the first pick in the 2023 National Women’s Soccer League (NWSL) draft.

The past few months, however, have provided the USA international with a different challenge altogether. A high-profile deadline day move to the English champions, Chelsea, in September meant leaving her family and the comforts of Los Angeles and testing herself overseas.

Published: January 23, 2026, 12:00 pm

Premier League: 10 things to look out for this weekend

Mateus Fernandes steels West Ham, Dominic Calvert-Lewin faces a homecoming and Manchester City need Marc Guéhi

• Top scorers: check out the latest standings

The absence of the wantaway Lucas Paquetá has given Mateus Fernandes a chance to take on more responsibility for West Ham. Paquetá, who is said to be nursing a minor back problem, was unavailable again for last week’s win at Spurs but Nuno Espírito Santo’s struggling side coped without the Flamengo target. They called on Fernandes to dictate the flow in midfield and the diligent Portuguese did not disappoint. Fernandes moved the ball cleverly, picked up an assist and looked like that rarest of things: a smart signing from West Ham. They will need the 21-year-old, who joined from Southampton for £38m last summer, to shine again with Paquetá looking unlikely to return against high-flying Sunderland at the London Stadium. Jacob Steinberg

West Ham v Sunderland, Saturday 12.30pm (all times GMT)

Burnley v Tottenham, Saturday 3pm

Fulham v Brighton, Saturday 3pm

Manchester City v Wolves, Saturday 3pm

Bournemouth v Liverpool, Saturday 5.30pm

Published: January 23, 2026, 12:00 am

Trinity Rodman stays in NWSL, signing record contract with Spirit

• US star will reportedly be world’s highest-paid women’s player

• Rodman turned down ‘compelling’ offers to leave

• Saga spurred debate around NWSL’s ability to keep talent

Trinity Rodman, the US national team forward, has signed a new three-year contract to stay with Washington Spirit and will reportedly be the world’s highest-paid women’s player.

The record deal, announced on Thursday, ends months of uncertainty around the 23-year-old’s future. Her previous contract – a $1.1m, four-year deal – expired in December and she was understood to have received lucrative offers from Europe, which the Spirit were unable to initially match under the NWSL’s salary cap rules.

Published: January 23, 2026, 12:46 am

Spurs in talks for Robertson, Villa close on Abraham return: football news – live

⚽ The latest football news heading into the weekend
⚽ Premier League: 10 things to look out for | Mail David

This weekend’s Premier League games are the reverse fixtures of the season openers, back in sun-soaked August. Looking back, the most jarring result was Nottingham Forest 3-1 Brentford, with the teams taking very different trajectories since then.

“It was certainly a tough day for us all, but it is pretty obvious to see the development that we have made in the months since that, and I am delighted with the progress we have made,” Brentford manager Keith Andrews said yesterday.

Published: January 23, 2026, 2:42 pm

Fans’ anger after Braga flop shows Forest honeymoon is over for Dyche

Initial optimism has faded after arrival of former Burnley manager, who needs to get more from a struggling squad

There was plenty for Sean Dyche to stew on as he marched off the pitch at the Estádio Municipal de Braga with the frustrations of the Nottingham Forest supporters ringing in his ears. The boos were not universal, but fans who follow the team over land and sea are usually a decent barometer of the prevailing feeling. By the end of a sodden, joyless night in northern Portugal, it felt like false advertising, possibly one for trading standards. It wasn’t supposed to be like this?

Dyche cannot be blamed for the dismal conditions but he and the players can be for a listless performance. Beyond a likely Europa League playoff, which will mean another away day to squeeze into the schedule, fans are seemingly concerned where this is all going. Forest were devoid of sharp edges and not only in attack, where the absence of a bona fide striker was painfully apparent. It was a miserable night encapsulated by second-half events: Morgan Gibbs-White’s penalty miss, a Ryan Yates own goal 54 seconds later, Dan Ndoye being booked for simulation and Elliot Anderson being sent off.

Published: January 23, 2026, 12:32 pm

Poker player’s punt on Wednesday shrouded in secrecy after Blades missteps

James Bord’s consortium is the preferred bidder to take over Sheffield Wednesday but his data-led player recruitment record is mixed, especially with United

Sheffield Wednesday fans will be delighted to hear that one associate of James Bord describes the preferred bidder for their club as “a mini Tony Bloom”, although the professional poker player’s references from the other side of the Steel City are rather less complimentary.

Until it became clear late last year that Bord was planning to buy Wednesday his data company, Short Circuit Science, had a consultancy contract with Sheffield United to assist with their recruitment, which, as their position in the lower reaches of the Championship indicates, has delivered limited success.

Published: January 23, 2026, 8:00 am

Transfer storylines to follow in the last 10 days of the January window

Fulham, Chelsea, Aston Villa, Nottingham Forest and Liverpool could be making moves before the window closes

By WhoScored

Shock: Chelsea have been linked with another young player. This time it is the Rennes centre-back Jérémy Jacquet, who would offer something the team is lacking.

Published: January 23, 2026, 8:00 am

American soccer is odd, growing, and endlessly fascinating | Pablo Iglesias Maurer

I have joined the Guardian today as a soccer correspondent in the United States. This is why I cover the sport

There’s an old pennant hanging on the wall of my office here in Washington DC, tucked between a poster of indoor soccer legend Steve Zungul and a photo of Pelé riding a horse. “Soccer,” it reads, “the sport of the 80s.”

For a century or so, soccer was always the sport of the next decade. Clear-thinking businesspeople tried everything to sell it to Americans, but soccer was always considered too foreign and exotic, an activity best practiced and consumed by outsiders. Even in the mid-80s, when I started playing, it was still very much othered. It’s what drew me to the sport in the first place.

Pablo joins the Guardian as part of our ongoing expansion covering soccer in the United States ahead of the 2026 World Cup. He arrives alongside two other new hires: soccer correspondent Jeff Rueter and assistant sports editor Ella Brockway. He is based in Washington DC.

Published: January 23, 2026, 1:11 pm

Football transfer rumours: Palmer to Manchester United? Vinícius Jr set for Saudi move?

Today’s rumours have a northern feel

Casemiro’s decision to leave Manchester United when his contract expires at the end of the season will intensify the club’s search for a midfielder. The Brazilian’s exit will also knock £350k a week off their outgoings, which should bring a smile to Sir Jim Ratcliffe as United look to follow up last week’s derby win when they travel to … oh … Arsenal this weekend.

Not exactly like for like but stories are circulating that Wythenshawe lad Cole Palmer is homesick at Chelsea and pondering a return to Manchester this summer. The twist is that he wouldn’t be heading back to City as Palmer prefers the red of United – the club he, wait for it, supported as a boy. United scouts were also reportedly in Spain last weekend to discuss on-loan Marcus Rashford’s future and check out Real Sociedad’s versatile midfielder/forward Mikel Oyarzabal. Fun fact: both Palmer (equaliser) and Oyarzabal (winner) scored in the final of Euro 2024.

Published: January 23, 2026, 9:51 am

Tottenham in talks to sign Andrew Robertson from Liverpool

• Liverpool open to selling player with five months on deal

• Desire among all parties to get transfer over the line

Tottenham have made an approach to sign Andrew Robertson from Liverpool. The Premier League champions are open to allowing the long-serving left-back to leave, with only five months remaining on his contract.

Liverpool respect Robertson’s wish to sort his long-term future as soon as possible. There is a desire on all sides to get a deal done quickly as Thomas Frank wrestles with major availability issues at Spurs.

Published: January 23, 2026, 12:10 pm

George Furbank named in England Six Nations squad alongside uncapped forward trio

• Saints full-back has recovered from a calf injury

• Fisilau, Sella and Iyogun all included by Borthwick

George Furbank has been included in England’s squad for the forthcoming Six Nations, handing Steve Borthwick a timely boost after recovering from a calf injury.

The Northampton full-back has not appeared for his club since 20 December and missed the entire autumn internationals campaign but returns to the 36-man squad that will head to Girona next week for a warm-weather training camp.

Published: January 23, 2026, 11:37 am

Victoria Mboko wins tense third-round tussle to set up Sabalenka showdown

• Canadian 19-year-old defeats Clara Tauson 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3

• World No 1 overcomes Anastasia Potapova 7-6 (4), 7-6 (7)

Victoria Mboko has given herself a shot at Aryna Sabalenka, the world No 1, in the fourth round of the Australian Open, after the 19-year-old prodigy held her nerve at the end of an incredibly tense tussle to close out a 7-6 (5), 5-7, 6-3 win over the 14th seed, Clara Tauson.

Mboko, seeded 17th in Melbourne, showed her mental toughness at the end of a quality match between two young players by playing an authoritative final set after squandering match points. The Canadian had served for the match at 7-6 (5), 5-3 before losing her service game to love. She then generated three match points at 5-4, but while Mboko was extremely tight, her Danish opponent struck the ball with total freedom to retrieve the break.

Published: January 23, 2026, 5:01 am

Australia unveil Winter Olympics team with 15-year-old Indra Brown leading medal charge

• Group of 33 women and 20 men named for Milano Cortina Games

• Podium chances include veterans Jakara Anthony and Scotty James

Australia will send its strongest ever team to the Milano Cortina Winter Olympics next month, with women making up almost two-thirds of the athletes including breakout star 15-year-old freeskier Indra Brown.

Team chef de mission, Alisa Camplin, has unveiled a team of 53 athletes to compete in Italy – the second-largest Australian Winter selection, and 10 more than the team that brought home a record haul of four medals from Beijing.

Published: January 22, 2026, 10:56 pm

Braga 1-0 Nottingham Forest, Rangers 1-0 Ludogorets, and more: Europa League – as it happened

Rangers celebrated their first win of a troubled campaign while Forest missed a penalty and paid the price in Portugal

Fenerbahce have equalised against Aston Villa, with Kerem Aktürkoğlu getting it. It’s 1-1 in Turkey.

It’s now 2-2 in Bologna, the Englishman Jonathan Rowe has got the goal, cutting across the Celtic defence to score.

Published: January 22, 2026, 10:47 pm

Australian Open 2026: Norrie out, De Minaur and Andreeva advance – as it happened

British hopes in the singles ended with Cameron Norrie’s four-set defeat by Alexander Zverev, on a night when Alex De Minaur and Mirra Andreeva won in straight sets

Norrie and Zverev are going through the pre-match formalities. The umpire tells the players to smile big for the cameras. Not sure how easy that is for Norrie, given the British No 2, the last Brit standing in the singles, has lost to Zverev in all six of their previous meetings. The last time they played at the Australian Open was in 2024, when Norrie was denied 7-6 in the fifth set. But Norrie will at least take something from the fact he was able to push Zverev all the way then, and the fact that this is a night match, with slightly slower conditions, may help Norrie, because the rallies will be longer and more attritional and that’s what he loves.

Up next: we’ve got De Minaur v Tiafoe on Rod Laver and Norrie v Zverev on John Cain and Svitolina v Shnaider on Margaret Court.

Published: January 23, 2026, 1:34 pm

The thrill of covering sports lies in a constant hunt for details | Ella Brockway

I have joined the Guardian today as an assistant sports editor in the United States. This is why I do what I do

When I was a kid, I was drawn to stories that involved a good treasure hunt.

Favorite movie: National Treasure, the 2004 Nicolas Cage classic. Favorite book series: The 39 Clues. Favorite puzzle: a word search. Dream book project: a hunt for a treasure hidden across Olympic host cities – and naturally, a companion series involving World Cup stadiums. (There’s still time!)

Ella joins the Guardian as part of our ongoing expansion covering soccer in the United States ahead of the 2026 World Cup. She arrives alongside two other new hires: soccer correspondents Pablo Iglesias Maurer and Jeff Rueter. She is based in Washington DC.

Published: January 23, 2026, 1:11 pm

Above all else, it’s the stories that make soccer so intoxicating | Jeff Rueter

I have joined the Guardian today as a soccer correspondent in the United States. This is why I cover the sport

As the shootout loomed to close the 1999 Women’s World Cup, millions of US women’s national team fans fought their nerves. But at our family’s watch party in central Minnesota, nobody doubted the USWNT’s chances.

My relatives – all soccer fans – were fixated upon the action as each second passed, as is the nature of a soccer family like mine. As extra time progressed, they reassured me, aged five, that our team was in control. I wasn’t exactly locked in to the match – it was summer in Minnesota, and my brother and sister had our own ball to kick around – but I clearly remember my family’s confidence in that moment.

Jeff joins the Guardian as part of our ongoing expansion covering soccer in the United States ahead of the 2026 World Cup. He arrives alongside two other new hires: soccer correspondent Pablo Iglesias Maurer and assistant sports editor Ella Brockway. He is based in Saint Paul, Minnesota.

Published: January 23, 2026, 1:11 pm

Baltimore Ravens hire Jesse Minter as head coach after John Harbaugh exit

• Minter returns after early NFL years in Baltimore

• Ravens missed playoffs after injury-hit 2025 season

• Chargers defense thrived under Minter’s leadership

Before they even began the process of interviewing more than a dozen people for their coaching vacancy, the Baltimore Ravens knew plenty about Jesse Minter.

Now he has the job.

Published: January 23, 2026, 9:40 am