WHAT'S ON AT Essex Skipper

PDC World Darts Championship (Darts)

28/12/25 12:30-15:30

Coverage of the afternoon session on day 15 at Alexandra Palace in London, featuring three third-round matches, played over the best of seven sets. Last year's tournament featured a back and forth encounter between Ryan Joyce and Ryan Searle in round three, with the former eventually coming out on top after taking a 2-0 lead, getting pegged back to 2-2, then going back up 3-2 before seeing the tie leveled again at 3-3, and finally clinching the match 4-3 to move on to round four

Sunderland v Leeds United (Premier League)

28/12/25 14:00-17:00

Coverage of the Premier League match at The Stadium of Light. These sides were involved in a seesaw Championship encounter when they met here last season, with Chris Rigg putting the hosts 1-0 inside 10 minutes, only for Joel Piroe and Junior Firpo to produce a reversal of fortunes and put the Whites 2-1 up, before Firpo turned from hero to villain by scoring an own goal in the 90th-minute to give the Black Cats a share of the spoils in a 2-2 stalemate.

Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers (Rugby Union - Premiership Rugby Cup)

28/12/25 15:00-18:00

All the action from Exeter Chiefs v Leicester Tigers the match at Sandy Park.

Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur (Premier League)

28/12/25 16:30-19:30

Coverage of the Premier League match between the London rivals at Selhurst Park. A first-half goal from Jean-Philippe Mateta was enough to gift the Eagles a 1-0 win in the corresponding clash last term, and they followed that by winning 2-0 at Spurs in the reverse fixture later in the campaign.

PDC World Darts Championship (Darts)

29/12/25 12:30-16:30

Coverage of the afternoon session on day 16 at Alexandra Palace in London, featuring three third-round matches, played over the best of seven sets. Only three players recorded a three-dart average on excess of 100 at last year's tournament, those being Stephen Bunting, Ryan Searle, and Callan Rydz, and unfortunately for Searle he was still eliminated at this stage in his match against Ryan Joyce.

Coventry City v Ipswich Town (Football League)

29/12/25 18:00-21:00

Coverage of the Championship match from Coventry Building Society Arena. The Tractor Boys claimed a 4-1 win here in the FA Cup last season, but the Sky Blues have been the team to beat in the second tier during this campaign, and will be confident of registering another victory in front of their own fans.

Leicester City v Derby County (Football League)

29/12/25 19:45-22:45

Coverage of the Championship match from King Power Stadium. There hasn't been a league meeting between these teams since the 2013/14 season, when the Foxes won both matches home and away, including a 4-1 victory here that saw Ritchie De Laet, Dave Nugent, and Jamie Vardy getting the goals, with Nugent scoring twice

Birmingham City v Southampton (Football League)

29/12/25 20:15-23:15

Coverage of the Championship match from St Andrew’s @ Knighthead Park. The teams produced a seven-goal thriller the last time they faced each other here in the 2023/24 season, with the Saints eventually coming out on top 4-3 thanks to a 90-th minute winner from Joe Aribo.

PDC World Darts Championship (Darts)

30/12/25 12:30-16:30

Coverage of the afternoon session on day 17 at Alexandra Palace in London, featuring three fourth-round matches, played over the best of seven sets. Nathan Aspinall and Stephen Bunting were the only players to register 4-0 victories in round four 12 months ago as they overcame Ricardo Pietreczko and Luke Woodhouse, respectively

Burnley v Newcastle United (Premier League)

30/12/25 19:30-22:30

Coverage of the top-flight match at Turf Moor. The Magpies have triumphed in each of the last four meetings with the Clarets, and were comfortable winners the last time they came here two season ago, with Callum Wilson, Sean Longstaff, Bruno Guimaraes, and Alexander Isak all scoring in a 4-1 victory.

Chelsea v Bournemouth AFC (Premier League)

30/12/25 19:30-22:30

Coverage of the top-flight match at Stamford Bridge. Reece James rescued a point for the Blues in the corresponding match last term with a 90th-minue equaliser, after seeing his side take the lead through Cole Palmer in the 13th minute, only for the Cherries to battle back with two goals in the second-half from Justin Kluivert and Antoine Semenyo.

Nottingham Forest v Everton (Premier League)

30/12/25 19:30-22:30

Coverage of the top-flight match at The City Ground. Abdoulaye Doucoure scored a 94th-minute winner when the teams met in the corresponding clash towards the end of last season, given them a second successive 1-0 win here.

West Ham United v Brighton (Premier League)

30/12/25 19:30-22:30

Coverage of the top-flight match at London Stadium. The Hammers have changed manager twice since the last time they played host to the Seagulls, when they earned a 1-1 draw via a Mohammed Kudus equaliser after first going a goal down when Mats Wieffer netted his first goal for the club.

Arsenal v Aston Villa (Premier League)

30/12/25 20:15-23:15

Coverage of the top-flight match at Emirates Stadium. The Gunners let a two-goal lead slip through their grasp when they hosted Villa last season, with Youri Tielemans and Ollie Watkins finding the back of the net in eight second-half minutes to cancel out goals from Gabriel Martinelli and Kai Havertz.

Manchester United v Wolves (Premier League)

30/12/25 20:15-23:15

Coverage of the top-flight match at Old Trafford. Wolves came out on top in both encounters with the Red Devils last season, with Pablo Sarabia bagging a 70th-minute winner here. However, United have shown signs of improvements this term, while the Midlanders have struggled.

Blackburn Rovers v Wrexham (Football League)

01/01/26 12:30-15:30

Coverage of the Championship match from Ewood Park. Rovers claimed a comprehensive 4-1 FA Cup win over the Reds two seasons ago, but both squads have been overhauled since then, and the visitors have settled into this standard now after a difficult opening to the campaign.

PDC World Darts Championship (Darts)

01/01/26 12:30-17:30

Coverage of the afternoon session on day 18 at Alexandra Palace in London, featuring two quarter-final matches, played over the best of nine sets. The last-eight of last year's tournament began with Chris Dobey claiming a 5-3 victory over 2021 champion Gerwyn Price, and that was followed by a high-calibre match between Michael van Gerwen and Callan Rydz that saw both players produce a three-dart average over 100, with van Gerwen also winning by a 5-3 scoreline.

Derby County v Middlesbrough (Football League)

01/01/26 15:00-18:00

Coverage of Derby County v Middlesbrough the Championship match from Pride Park.

Sheffield United v Leicester City (Football League)

01/01/26 17:30-20:30

Coverage of the Championship match at Bramall Lane. While this is the first meeting between these teams since the 2020/21 season, the Foxes have had the better of the Blades in recent times, winning eight of the last 10 meetings, including the last seven in a row, while the two that didn't see them triumph ended in draws.