West Ham United v Leeds United: FA Cup – live

• Updates from 4.30pm kick-off (BST) at London Stadium

• Survival or silverware? Farke faces dilemma at Leeds

1 min West Ham kick off from left to right as we watch. You’ll be pleased to hear that national treasure Danny Dyer is in attendance at the London Stadium.

“If he organisers are trying to recapture some of the long-faded ‘magic of the cup’, they’ll need to turn the pitch at Wembley into a quagmire for any potential meeting of Chelsea and Leeds,” writes Justin Kavanagh. “The 1970 FA Cup final was famously played the day after the Horse of the Year Show, and looked more suited to WWI trench warfare than a football match, even one in the 70s. May I suggest that England’s national stadium offer to host Ireland’s National Ploughing Championships on the same week?”

Published: April 5, 2026, 4:24 pm

Angels’ Jo Adell acrobatically robs three home runs to shock Mariners

• Adell stole homers from Raleigh, Naylor and Crawford

• Zach Neto hits solo home run for game’s only run

Los Angeles Angels outfielder Jo Adell is known for his power bat but he put on a show for the ages with his glove in the middle game of the three-game series with the visiting Seattle Mariners.

Adell performed three home run robberies in a single game on Saturday and will look to help the Angels win the series when they close the set against the Mariners on Sunday at Anaheim, California. Zach Neto hit his 10th career leadoff homer for the game’s lone run, but Saturday night was the “Jo Show,” where a right fielder sometimes chided for his defensive shortcomings put on one of the best outfielder performances of all time.

Published: April 5, 2026, 3:49 pm

Tradition, trepidation and that Augusta ‘thing’ – why the Masters remains golf’s greatest prize

Even the greatest golfers can wilt in pursuit of the Green Jacket – Xander Schauffele, Jordan Spieth and Tommy Fleetwood try to explain its special aura

They say the Masters is all about tradition. One involves the sense of trepidation that collides with excitement as the finest golfers in the world take to Augusta National. Rory McIlroy, now a Masters champion, was scared to take a divot when first taking to the Georgia venue. “For my first two or three times, it kind of felt like I was in a museum,” says Xander Schauffele.

Some visibly wilt under an intimidation provided by a course that is picture perfect. It is like the dazzling princess is concealing an axe.

Published: April 5, 2026, 2:27 pm

‘We’re home’: Even in a draw, Inter Miami’s stadium opener was a win for David Beckham

Nu Stadium’s first game of any kind saw the South Florida club accomplish a long-held goal barely under the deadline

Lionel Messi may have scored, captained the side and had a quarter of the new building named in his honor, but this was unmistakably Inter Miami co-owner Sir David Beckham’s night.

The inaugural game at Nu Stadium in Miami – an entertaining 2-2 draw with Austin FC – was the culmination of the former England captain’s arduous, thirteen-year odyssey to first establish an MLS team in Miami, then fill it with superstars, win major honors and, critically, build a world class arena for the team to play in.

Published: April 5, 2026, 12:52 pm

‘Let’s do it’: Deontay Wilder targets Anthony Joshua fight after beating Chisora

• Former world champions may finally meet in the ring

• Eddie Hearn says Joshua is ready for fight after car crash

Deontay Wilder called out Anthony Joshua for a long-awaited matchup between the former heavyweight champions, after Wilder edged Derek Chisora to clinch a split-decision victory in London on Saturday.

Wilder came face to face with Joshua as he walked past the Briton after the fight. The two fist-bumped, and the American said: “Let’s do it. It wasn’t a few words, I dapped it up with him and I said, now let’s get it on. I’m ready for whoever, [as] long as these guys are in the heavyweight division, I am here. You can call me Mr Clean, because I want to clean up the whole division. The division is nothing without Deontay Wilder.”

Published: April 5, 2026, 12:50 pm

NCAA Tournament: Michigan rout Arizona to set up final against UConn

• Wolverines and Huskies will meet for championship

• UConn top Illinois to reach third title game in four years

Michigan overpowered Arizona early and humbled the Wildcats, turning the Final Four meeting, billed as the ‘Game of the Year’, into a 91-73 Wolverines highlight reel in Indianapolis.

Junior center Aday Mara scored a career-high 26 points and had nine rebounds, a dinged-up Yaxel Lendeborg had 11 points in 14 minutes and Michigan blew through their fifth straight March Madness opponent by double digits while becoming the first team to break 90 points five times in a single tournament.

Published: April 5, 2026, 3:49 am

Spurs gamble on creative but combative De Zerbi conjuring up an escape plan

With seven games to save their status, Tottenham’s owners have taken risk on a gifted coach who favours tough love

It is ironic that the man who has appointed Roberto De Zerbi to be Tottenham manager, just as the club faces its most critical seven games this century, is also partially responsible for one of the most successful managerial recruitments in Mikel Arteta, albeit for north London rivals, Arsenal. And even that didn’t start well. Vinai Venkatesham was blindsided when photographs of him emerging from Arteta’s house at 1.20am were published in a newspaper at a sensitive stage in negotiations. The man who is now Tottenham’s chief executive only found out he had been rumbled when the pictures went online and was mortified.

Venkatesham was part of a committee that settled on Arteta as a replacement for Unai Emery, and while it was a huge gamble to entrust a novice to a club the size of Arsenal, it was at least inspired, which is more than can be said for his hiring of Igor Tudor, a coach with no Premier League experience, to save Spurs. Now Venkatesham, along with the sporting director, Johan Lange, has settled on De Zerbi, which is similarly high risk.

Published: April 5, 2026, 7:00 am

Geno Auriemma apologizes for ‘uncalled for’ behavior after tense exchange with Dawn Staley

• UConn coach’s outburst came after Final Four loss

• Auriemma: ‘No excuse for how I handled’ situation

• South Carolina coach says she is focused on title game

UConn coach Geno Auriemma has apologized for his actions during a heated exchange with Dawn Staley at the end of the Huskies’ loss to South Carolina in the women’s Final Four.

A visibly upset Auriemma went over to Staley in the final seconds of South Carolina’s 62-48 victory on Friday night and appeared to chastise her. Coaches from both teams had to separate them. When the game finally ended, Auriemma walked off the court to the locker room without going back to shake hands with anyone from South Carolina.

Published: April 4, 2026, 8:00 pm

Sydney Kings break Adelaide 36ers hearts in overtime thriller to win NBL Championship

• Kings defeat 36ers 113-101 in dramatic finals series decider

• Kendric Davis stars with 35 points and 13 assists in front of record crowd

The Sydney Kings have won their sixth NBL title with a dramatic 113-101 overtime defeat of the Adelaide 36ers in the decisive fifth game of the championship series.

Superstar Kings guard Kendric Davis starred with 35 points and 14 assists in front of an all-time NBL record crowd of 18,589 fans in Sydney on Easter Sunday.

Published: April 5, 2026, 7:07 am

PSV crowned Eredivisie champions, Celtic lead Dundee and more football – clockwatch live

• Updates from Sunday’s football action around Europe

• Get in touch: mail Dominic and follow us on BlueSky

On the one hand, he did well to coax a title out of a squad whose best players are ageing; on the other, it was Jürgen Klopp’s team and it relied upon Mo Salah delivering half a season of dead-cat bounce brilliance that had little to do with anyone’s tactics.

And as for this season, who signed off on all the summer business? Changing five players is never going to be seamless, but ignoring the major weaknesses in the squad – the middle of defence and the middle of midfield – to splurge on an attack that didn’t need that level of refreshment, was a colossal error.

Published: April 5, 2026, 4:27 pm

Haley and Hayes fire Brighton to shock FA Cup quarter-final win at Arsenal

• Brighton two wins away from first major trophy

• Charlton and Liverpool play in second quarter-final

Arsenal made a surprise exit at the quarter-final stage of the Women’s FA Cup for the second successive season as Brighton stunned the record 14-time cup winners at Borehamwood.

The shock result extends Arsenal’s decade-long wait to lift the Women’s FA Cup, just four days after they knocked Chelsea out of the Champions League to reach a European semi-final. Dario Vidosic’s side stepped up and their former Chelsea forward Fran Kirby provided two assists to help Brighton secure a memorable 2-0 victory.

Published: April 5, 2026, 2:48 pm

Scottish Premiership: Hearts back on top but drop points in Livingston draw

• Lewis Smith’s equaliser denies visitors vital win

• Hearts point clear of Rangers with six games left

Hearts reclaimed their status as Scottish Premiership leaders but missed the chance to restore their three-point cushion after being held to a 2-2 draw by the bottom side Livingston.

The Jambos had been knocked off the top for the first time since September after Rangers edged ahead of them on goal difference by defeating Dundee United on Saturday.

Published: April 5, 2026, 3:55 pm

Why all is not lost for the rarest of breeds – a true No 9 | Sam Cunningham

Lack of specialist training may explain drop in influence, but many feel the centre-forward is due a revival

Andy Cole and Dwight Yorke barely knew each other when the latter arrived at Manchester United in the summer of 1998, but the partnership they forged became the stuff of legend. In training, they were often found working together, practising runs, interchanges, dummies and combinations. That season they scored 53 goals between them as the club won the treble. Yorke shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Jimmy Floyd Hasselbaink and Michael Owen on 18 goals. Cole finished one behind. The top 10 scorers in the league that season were all strikers.

But the training pitches and scoring charts paint a very different picture today. Finishing drills are infrequent, possession is paramount and the league’s leading scorers are more often wingers, No 10s or false 9s. Traditional centre-forwards are disappearing. Opta data shows the sharp decline in their influence. Two decades ago, strikers scored 41.6% of the Premier League’s goals – 387 of 931. This season, the figure stands at 25.9% – 291 of 845.

Published: April 5, 2026, 11:00 am

Arteta says Arsenal must ‘look in the mirror’ after Southampton defeat

• League leaders fall to late strike in FA Cup

• ‘I love my players. I’m not going to criticise’

Mikel Arteta vowed to defend his players “more than ever” after a shock FA Cup quarter-final defeat at second-tier Southampton but the Arsenal head coach accepted his side must “look in the mirror” after successive losses for the first time this season.

Arteta insisted “the most beautiful period of the season” is on the horizon, with a Champions League quarter-final first leg at Sporting their next match on Tuesday.

Published: April 4, 2026, 10:41 pm

Premier League clubs facing £80m shirt sponsor void amid gambling ban

• Nine clubs yet to secure front-of-shirt commercial deals

• Several may begin the campaign without a shirt sponsor

Nine Premier League clubs have yet to secure front-of-shirt commercial deals for next season and 12 have not signed contracts, leading to increasing concerns that several may begin the campaign without a shirt sponsor.

The imminent ban on shirt advertising from gambling companies is having a significant impact on all clubs’ commercial returns, other than those in the big six, with an executive at one club telling the Guardian that the collective loss of income from shirt deals could be as high as £80m next season.

Published: April 5, 2026, 9:00 am

‘You can overachieve’: how Michael Skubala’s Lincoln beat the League One odds

A decade ago, Lincoln City finished 15th in the Conference – now they’re on the verge of promotion to the second tier for the first time since 1961

It is almost like an actor refusing to say “Macbeth” for fear of jinxing the play. Even though Lincoln City’s promotion to the EFL Championship is nigh on certain – “it feels a bit like we’re on match point,” Michael Skubala said after Friday’s 1-0 victory over AFC Wimbledon – no one involved dares mention the prospect of Tottenham or Wolves playing a league game at Sincil Bank next season.

Extending their club-record unbeaten run to 24 league games at Reading on Monday would guarantee Lincoln’s return to the second tier of English football for the first time in 65 years. A draw between Bolton and Stockport would also suffice.

Published: April 5, 2026, 7:00 am

Van Dijk claims Liverpool ‘gave up’ in Manchester City defeat as PSG trip looms

• Arne Slot under pressure before Champions League tie

• Van Dijk questions togetherness after 15th loss of season

Virgil van Dijk believes Liverpool “gave up” during their FA Cup defeat at Manchester City and has apologised to fans for the woeful performance that heightens the pressure on Arne Slot.

A dejected Liverpool captain was unsparing in his assessment of the heaviest defeat of Slot’s reign and claimed it will be difficult for the team to recover for Wednesday’s Champions League quarter-final first leg against Paris Saint-Germain.

Published: April 5, 2026, 11:00 am

County cricket day three: Durham report storm damage, Hants v Essex and more – live

Cricket updates from 11am BST across the grounds
Team-by-team guide | Email Tanya or comment BTL

Play is underway at eight of the nine grounds. No play before lunch at CLS, but Mike’s update (below) makes it sound pretty unlikely we’ll get much play at all. Ian Holland has the ball here at Grace Road, a fierce west wind blowing across the ground and billowing at the flags up on the pavilion.

Huge thanks to CCLive! reader Mike McKie who is on the spot at The Riverside:

Published: April 5, 2026, 4:25 pm

European football: PSV crowned Dutch champions after Feyenoord draw with Volendam

• PSV hold 17-point lead to clinch title with five games left

• Second-placed Feyenoord draw 0-0 against Volendam

PSV Eindhoven were crowned on Sunday as Dutch champions for the 27th time, with five matches left of the season, after second-placed Feyenoord’s 0-0 draw with Volendam.

PSV hold an unassailable 17-point lead at the top of the table after bouncing back from successive defeats with a 4-3 victory against Utrecht on Saturday.

Published: April 5, 2026, 4:09 pm

Pogacar holds off Van der Poel to win record-equalling third Tour of Flanders

• Slovenian secures second Monument victory this season

• Remco Evenepoel finishes third; Wout van Aert fourth

Tadej Pogacar won a record-equalling third Tour of Flanders on Sunday after the world champion dropped his main rival Mathieu van der Poel with 18km to ride.

Van der Poel was himself aiming for a record fourth victory in the second Monument of the season, but instead Pogacar made it two from two in the prestigious one-day classics having won Milan-San Remo last month.

Published: April 5, 2026, 3:17 pm

Deontay Wilder beats battling Derek Chisora as epic bout goes the distance

• Wilder wins heavyweight contest on split decision

• British boxer earns hero’s reception in final fight

Deontay Wilder consigned the British heavyweight Derek Chisora to defeat in his final bout but only after an exhilarating fight-of-the-year contender at a raucous O₂ Arena. In the 50th bout of Chisora’s eventful professional career, Del Boy showed remarkable powers of recovery to come back from a punishing eighth round and take the former WBC champion the distance in south-east London.

After the American showed early on the power that once made him one of the most formidable punchers in heavyweight history, Chisora’s farewell threatened to turned into a nightmare during a one-sided start.

Published: April 4, 2026, 11:17 pm

Rising star ‘Wreck-It Will’ Sherman has roots in US rugby’s past and eyes on its future

If the Eagles are to make a mark on their home World Cup in 2031, the hard-hitting Anthem RC lock could have a key role to play

Will Sherman may be the future of US rugby, but his roots are in the game’s American past. The 22-year-old standout second-row forward for Anthem Rugby Carolina in Major League Rugby is the son of Wade Sherman, a member of a champion Cal Berkeley team that included Mark Bingham, who on 11 September 2001 was one of the Flight 93 passengers who fought their hijackers and kept it from reaching Washington.

“There was a super old photo that my dad pulled up, and the first time I heard that story was from him,” Sherman said. “He was like, ‘That guy standing to my left is an American hero.’”

Published: April 4, 2026, 10:00 am

UCLA hold off Texas in slugfest to set up title game matchup with South Carolina

• Bruins to play for first championship in program history

• As it happened: UCLA 51-44 Texas

Lauren Betts hit the play button over and over, forcing herself to watch last year’s Final Four blowout loss to UConn 10 times during the offseason.

The two-time All-American made sure there wasn’t a repeat performance in this year’s Final Four, swooping in for the biggest play in a game that sends the Bruins into the NCAA national championship game for the first time.

Published: April 4, 2026, 4:09 am

NCAA women’s Final Four: UCLA 51-44 Texas; South Carolina 62-48 UConn – as it happened

• Bruins reach title game for first time in program history

• Gamecocks end Huskies’ winning streak at 54 games

• Auriemma, Staley have tense postgame exchange

South Carolina 8-13 UConn, 3:55 left, first quarter: And as I type that, Sarah Strong bails out her team with a 3-pointer as the shot clock nears zero. She scores again after another Okot miss, and the Huskies are already running away.

Tessa Johnson responds with a layup and then a jumper.

Published: April 4, 2026, 4:06 am