studio: the headlines at 6.30pm: the man suspected of the berlin christmas market attack is shot dead in italy. anis amri was stopped by police in milan in the early hours outside a train station. so called islamic state releases footage showing amri pledging allegiance to them. the round the clock work on the railways that will mean no trains on many lines this christmas and storm barbara begins to kick in with worse to come as 90 mph winds are forecast.

all passengers on board a libyan plane that was hijacked and diverted to malta, have been released. the flight was flying to the capital tripoli when it was taken over by gunmen carrying replica weapons. in a moment it will be time for sportsday but first a look at what else is coming up this evening on bbc news. at 7.05pm, shashankjoshi, security analyst from the royal united services institute will be giving us his insights into the shooting by italian police of the main suspect in the berlin truck attack. david bowie, ronnie corbett and victoria wood, just a few of those who left us this year, and whose lives are celebrated in the second of our, review 2016: we remember special programmes, at 8.30pm. and our guests this evening, taking a look at all of tomorrow's front page stories on the papers, are james millar, political commentator and the author and journalist, matthew green. that's all ahead on bbc news. now on bbc news, it's time for sportsday. is hello, i'm olly foster, these are our sportsday headlines tonight: it's a big night for big sam,

allardyce is set to become crystal palace very soon. kvitova vows to return to tennis, the two—time wimbledon champion has left hospital following a knife attack. and james taylor looks back on the year that changed his life and how he still has plenty to offer the sport he loves. good evening, this time last night our top story was the sacking of alan pardew at crystal palace. the club has moved very quickly. sam allardyce has agreed a two—and—a—half year deal after sepnding the day in talks with the chairman steve parish at the club's training ground. a few months ago, allardyce was sacked by england after one game in charge, after he made ill—advised comments to undercover reporters investigating corruption in the game. but as a club manager, he has never been relegated. the fear of that forced palace to sack pardew. allardyce's work starts on boxing day

to save palace and also rebuild his reputation. patrick gearey reports. voiceover: from the push to the palace, less than three months ago, sell allardyce had palace, less than three months ago, sell alla rdyce had lost palace, less than three months ago, sell allardyce had lost his dream job after 67 days. was that your la st job after 67 days. was that your lastjob in football? job after 67 days. was that your last job in football? who knows. we now have the answer, no lengthy sabbatical, after his dismissal as england manager, following a newspaper is stink which suggested he had offered advice about getting around fa rules coming into his third hot seat in six months, even by 2016 standards, he has had a chaotic year. a funny 12 months as well for crystal palace, back in may, 1—0 up in the fa cup final, they lost that match and their overall record since the start of january is the worst of all 92 league clubs. alan pardew, palace hero as a player, has left them with relegation a growing menace. the drop isa relegation a growing menace. the drop is a price no one can pay.

crystal palace have turned to a survival expert, sam alla rdyce crystal palace have turned to a survival expert, sam allardyce has spent much of his career on unforgiving to rain, during spells at bolton wanderers, blackburn rovers and sunderland, and west ham united he has always played a pragmatic, the man for a crisis, the way he saved sunderland from relegation last season will be the template. there are new boss can tell them there is always a way back. studio: "big" sam allardyce, a new challenge, and joining us, leon osman, former everton still walk. we are going to look ahead to a busy time in football across christmas but let's start with the top story, sam alla rdyce but let's start with the top story, sam allardyce at crystal palace, they have moved quickly after sacking alan pa rdew. they have moved quickly after sacking alan pardew. they have, it is good from the club, to know they wa nt is good from the club, to know they want to get rid of the manager and already have one in place. and one of sam allardyce's statue is fantastic. tailor-made, he has this brilliant record in keeping clubs with their heads above water, above

the relegation zone. if you are going to go out and get a manager to keep you in the premier league, look fio keep you in the premier league, look no further than sam allardyce, his re cord no further than sam allardyce, his record speaks for itself, the way he has gone about hisjob, what he did with sunderland last season alone was incredible. crystal palace fans will be delighted. what is it like facing a sam allardyce side? you have faced many. i have, many times, faced sam alla rdyce, have faced many. i have, many times, faced sam allardyce, they have always been tough games, physical, competitive. not without quality, as well. crystal palace will be looking forward to seeing what type of team he can bring to them. 67 days within glyn will be a stain on the cv? yes, but it will be an honour for him as well, he will be looking back on that as an honour. but it is now time for him to move on, repair his reputation with his club. they have watford, first match up, over

christmas, crystal palace. let's have a look at some of the fixtures. chelsea, the leaders by six points, on an absolute role, they start on boxing day against bournemouth, how do you stop them? i'm not sure that you can at the moment, the form they are in is incredible, the results they are picking up, second to none. —— six to seven days with england will be a stain on the cv. without diego costa, —— with diego costa and n'golo kante, i cannot see them getting anything out of that match. we will here from that man, antonio co nte, we will here from that man, antonio conte, what does he think his players have to do to keep the run going. in this league there is many teams that can fight for the champions league and for the title and for the europa league. champions league and for the title and forthe europa league. forthis reason it is important to continue in this way, and don't stop. we all

know that it won't be easy. but we will try to continue this way, on out will try to continue this way, on our strength. the first wave of fixtures, eight tomorrow,, beg your pardon, boxing day, getting ahead of myself, then we have a couple on the tuesday and wednesday, spurs play on wednesday as well. look at your former club, everton, they are at the champions, leicester city, neither side having brilliant seasons. neither side having brilliant seasons. that is exactly how you would put it, neither team has come out and achieved what they would have wanted at the start of the season. to have been the champions, to be lingering in the bottom half of the table will not be what any of them expected. having brought in a new manager, everton are a little bit below par. but both teams will be looking to have a stronger second half to the season and that will probably start on boxing day. that man ronald koeman, talking about, the transfer window is looming, he

is talking about keeping hold of the players. especially romelu lukaku. how important is he to everton's cause? really important, when you look at football teams, you judge them by the goals they score, whose cause them, where they come from, if you take out romelu lukaku, i'm not sure where goals are coming from, he is the main man who gets the goals. they are desperate to keep hold of him. what is it like as a player, heading into this period, premier league teams have three matches over the next nine days, then they are into the fa cup third round, it is nonstop. the bundesliga have a months holiday, every major european leagues apart from the premier league have at least a fortnight off. physically it is a really demanding period. but, you know, the english premier league, the english football league, that is what is expected. when you come over here to

play, you have no qualms. it is good for the fans that there is a lot of games to go to but i think it takes its toll come later in the season, when big games come along for the champions league prospects, and later on for club and country games. i think it takes its toll but at the minute, i don't think we would want to give up the christmas period games. getting back to the top of the table, chelsea will be there no matter what at christmas, do they a lwa ys matter what at christmas, do they always stay there, this period, kind of separates the boys from the men. really tests the depths of the squad. tests the depths of the squad, years ago you had 11 players, and it was just, squad, years ago you had 11 players, and it wasjust, three what squad, years ago you had 11 players, and it was just, three what you squad, years ago you had 11 players, and it wasjust, three what you can get out of the games in the short period. but now with the interchange of players and the squad rotation, it can test the squad. i can see chelsea pushing on from here, i don't think many teams have been top

at christmas and gone on to lose the league. i can see chelsea going from strength to strength. thank you very much, have a very good christmas, enjoy yourself. it will be something ofa enjoy yourself. it will be something of a change for you. scotla nd scotland have three weeks off, they have a winter break. their winter break begins in the new year. until then, there is a full fixture list in the scottish premiership over the next couple of nights. joey barton has been charged by the football association for breaching their rules on betting. it's alleged that he placed 1,260 bets over a ten year period up to may this year. barton was also charged by the scottish football

association for betting on matches this season during his brief spell with rangers. he was given a one—match ban which he'll serve at burnley after re—signing for them this week. he has untiljanuary fifth to respond to the latest charge. petra kvitova has left hospital and vowed to return to tennis. the double olympic champion was the victim of a knife attack in her home and needed a four hour operation on her hand. the surgery was successful but doctors say she won't be able to play again for six months. ben croucher reports. voiceover: the smallest of smiles after the most terrifying of traumas. bearing the scars from her ordeal, petra kvitova today addressed the public for the first time since the knife attack which could have cost her her career and nearly cost her so much more.|j am happy to tell you that i am feeling well. the medical staff, the policeman, and my team have all provided me with such amazing reassurance in the last couple of days and such a ball will stop in this difficult situation. i want to thank each and every one of them for

the important part they have played in the last four days. on tuesday, petra kvitova was at her apartment in the czech republic when she was attacked by an intruder wielding a knife, in that struggle, she suffered lacerations to her playing hand and a day later she underwent four hours of surgery. her nerves and tendons damage, her reserve, unbroken. —— resolve. and tendons damage, her reserve, unbroken. -- resolve. i'm going to do everything i can to return to the sport i love as soon as possible. petra kvitova is one of the poster girls of world tennis, a likeable personality, infectious smile and, at 26, in the prime of her career. the world number 11 has twice won when the then, two of 19 career title, winning over £18 million in prize money. for now, her victories are on a different scale. yesterday morning, during a session with the doctor, i was able to move the

fingers. and nowi doctor, i was able to move the fingers. and now i can. that was the biggest christmas present i could have wished for! her surgeon says that she will not be able to even picked up a racket for three months, a return to court will have to wait until the middle of next year. a yearin until the middle of next year. a year in which we will see the fight in petra kvitova like we never have before. studio: good luck to her recovery. "bully boy" michael smith won a thriller against "the king" mervyn king to take his place in third round of the pdc world darts championship at the alexandra palace. despite throwing 1a maximums, the 11th seed missed doubles to take the match in both the fifth and sixth sets, but he found his form in the decider, where he had to win by two clear legs, checking out for the win with "double tops" double 20. there was just as tight a finish between the dutchman benito van de pas and terry "the bull" jenkins. jenkins missed darts to win

so the match went down to a decider, "big ben" this time winning by two clear legs in the 7th and final set. earlier ian "diamond" white was the first player to secure his place in the third round. it was a fairly straightforward victory, a 4 sets to 1 win over jonny "the ferret" clayton. —— 4—1. forformer england cricketerjames taylor, 2016 has been particularly unkind. diagnosed with a serious heart condition he had to retire from playing at the age of 26. a defibrilator fitted inside his chest has already helped to save his life but months later he is back in the game angela rafferty has this exclusive interview. voiceover: it was a day that changed his life forever, the day he nearly died but somehow against the odds, survived will stop a lot of these cases are found in postmortem, that is how they are detected. my heart certainly did itsjob, my body did

itsjob. very lucky, but also, unlucky in a lot of ways, i can't dwell on what would have happened or what should have happened or what could have happened. no one could have predicted how life has turned out, james taylor was in his cricketing prime, playing for england, living his dream. alll wanted in my career was to play for england, i have fought so hard, so many ups and downs, i thought i should have played more than i did, i grabbed it with growth hands, it wasjust coming good. —— i grabbed it with both hands. it has all been taken it with both hands. it has all been ta ken away from it with both hands. it has all been taken away from me. the best moment i ever had in my taken away from me. the best moment lever had in my life was one of the la st lever had in my life was one of the last days i ever played for cricket, catching this catch, in johannesburg, winning the game for england, among some great guys in the team. it does not get much better than that, that is whatl the team. it does not get much better than that, that is what i set out to do. i achieved it, i better than that, that is what i set out to do. i achieved it, ljust did ita out to do. i achieved it, ljust did it a lot less than i imagined and hope. coming to terms with life after cricket has