stranger things have happened. at the end of the day, it's the fa cup/ and guess what, the team even have an fa cup song. and how mighty they would be if they can pull off football's ultimate upset. andy swiss, bbc news. good luck to them. and you can watch marine take on spurs live on bbc one on sunday, from ii.30pm. time for a look at the weather. here's stav da naos. good evening. it has been a very cold day off and down the country and we've seen further disrupt of snow gci’oss northern and we've seen further disrupt of snow across northern england, particularly across north yorkshire, starting to ease now. tonight will be cold and frosty for most of us, freezing fog patches developing particularly across the south. that area of sleet and snow fizzling away from northern england and northern wales this evening and overnight, leaving a legacy of cloud across southern and south—western areas. clear skies for most of us away from the north—west of scotland. there could be a hard frost, temperatures

down to —15 celsius in one or two spots in the scottish highlands. we start the weekend on a cold note, but bright with plenty of sunshine. freezing frog across —— freezing fog gci’oss freezing frog across —— freezing fog across central and southern areas. a stronger breeze from the west. temperatures recovering to the seasonal norm for stornoway. another cold day for most of us after the frosty start. for the second half of the weekend, we hold onto this front gci’oss the weekend, we hold onto this front across the north of the country, stronger winds here, outbreaks of rain, high pressure closer to the cell. a cold and frosty stock for sunday morning. a bit of cloud around, may be some fog, which will clear, then it will be sunny. the further north you go, more cloud around and wetter. a bit of snow over the high ground. temperatures just creeping up a degree or so gci’oss just creeping up a degree or so across the west as we begin to pick up across the west as we begin to pick up the atlantic influence. that will make itself present as it moves

through the course of the week, with milderairare through the course of the week, with milder air are trying to nudge in, but cold air never far away. it will turn less coal for a time next week. rain across northern and western areas, a bitter pill snow, always driest further south. that's all from the bbc news at six. i'll

hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm chetan pathak — coming up on tonight's programme... with a significant coronavirus outbreak ruling out first team players — aston villa's youngesters prepare to face liverpool in the third round of the fa cup tonight. but with a surge in covid cases across football, how long can the game go on. we'll bring you more on the new measures the premier league's introducing.

and the biggest gap between two sides and fa cup history. can a non—league marine do the impossible against tottenham on third round weekend? also coming up on the programme. the daughter of former england and west brom stirkerjeff astle joins forces with the pfa to help shape the way they care for former players with dementia. it doesn't mean that we won't be critical. it doesn't mean they will silence us. because that really won't be the case. and australia's steve smith roars back to form in the third test against india with his first century for 16 months. good evening, welcome to the programme, thanks forjoining us. there are some in the game

questioning whether football should be continuing tonight amidst the pandemic — you'll hear from them shortly — but it does go on. including at aston villa who are taking on liverpool in the third round of the fa cup, despite nine of their players and five members of staff testing positive for coronavirus. kick off is just over an hour away. conor mcnamara is covering the game for bbc radio 5 live and joins me now. one thing we know, we will see a young villa side tonight. yes. aston villa have i think to their credit done very well to get this game to go ahead at all. immediately on the first team players were ruled out because of the outbreak and they had to shut down the training ground this week but when they dip down into the under 23 many of those under three 23 players have been expected to feature in this game so they had been training with the first—team squad and many of those have been ruled out as well because of positive cases. so it is down

into the under 18 teams, some 17—year—old playing tonight and it isa 17—year—old playing tonight and it is a very young aston villa team and might even be younger than the side that liverpool put out and delete cup last season against aston villa when there was the of the other foot when there was the of the other foot when there was the of the other foot when the first—team players were away. villa won that game. liverpool have gone strong tonight and they probably want to wreck up a similar score line. funny when the sides have met recently. 7—2 when they met earlier in the premier league. you have to wonder about the 5—0 result. liverpool tonight, huge opportunity to get thejob liverpool tonight, huge opportunity to get the job done and get the one they need and some momentum back and make it into the next round. yes. the fa cup has never been high on the priority list forjurgen klopp since he's been in liverpool. we know how successful he has been in other competitions, winning the champions league in the premier league. he's never got past the fifth round of the fa cup. he tends to experiment. he used 32 different players last season throughout the course of the competition. but i been given the team. a really strong

liverpool line—up. keller will be the goalkeeper but for bingo and miller and the defence, henderson, jones and midfield, min amino and most solid upfront. most talented have much of the fa cup pedigree in his career, he had been played much of the competition. —— mo sala. he normally rest for this game but he is playing tonight against aston villa who has some very young kids. look out for bogart, a nephew of winston bogart, the former chelsea player in the past. also hated lindsay who was let go by man city. he is only a young teenager. he gets to play against the premier league champions. on paper liverpool should win this one easily. but this is the magic of the fa coat corporate net —— fa cup. you never know who is going to win on any given night. thank you. the decision to keep the football season going despite increasing coronavirus outbreaks at clubs. it's forcing some in

the game to speak out. today the newcastle manager steve bruce — who's had to deal with a covid outbreak at his club this season — has questioned whether it's morally right to keep playing: the one thing we have never been able to have to deal with is what we are dealing with now, with covid. it is shocking to think how it can leave people with problems, certainly to members of staff were really poorly. tell me a football clu b to really poorly. tell me a football club to hasn't suffered with that. at the end of the day, we are socialising. we are together training every day and as ijust said before, when it man city scored, how do you stop that? or celebrate together? hugging each other, breathing heavily at each other? even though all the protocols we put in place by the premier league have been fantastic. this thing, this disease, we are not

mutual because we are footballers. —— we are not immune to it because we are footballers. those then the thoughts of steve bruce raising questions about the continuation of football. it comes as more than a 100 positive covid—19 cases have been recorded after tests were carried out among players and staff at 66 english football league clubs. i'm joined now by our sports news reporter laura scott. we're seeing an increase in the number of cases at clubs — including in the premier league too of course — and covid measures are now being stepped up even further? yes. it has. those efl test, 112 positive tests, record and about 3% of the players and club staff who we re of the players and club staff who were tested positive. we saw about 40 were tested positive. we saw about a0 positive test in the premier league, more than double the previous weekly total of 18. that is record cases at both in the efl has 01’ record cases at both in the efl has or to strengthen protocols and today we heard from the premier league that they have strengthened their match they and training ground protocols. things like instructing

players and managers to avoid unnecessary contact, things like handshakes and high fives, producing a number of people i training ground, limiting the of time they spend indoors at the china ground. this also a very clear message about premier league compliance and more robust policies. —— at the training ground. and that it is vital for the confidence of the public, government and stakeholders that transgressions are dealt with appropriately and investigated properly and if they aren't, clubs and players could face disciplinary action was that we have seen a range disciplinary action was that we have seen a range of comments from managers can be heard from steve bruce, and every ten coat said they felt quite safe and is happy with the part about and he says this is important for people to be able to watch football on tv butjohn dice had a different view about vaccines and how football might move towards vaccines instead of testing. i'm not saying it is the view but it is my

view. i think that is the way forward for our football. i can only talk for the premier league because i'm here but it could be good for football. the amount spent on testing, and if that money was funnelled back into the nhs and into the vaccination system, surely that isa the vaccination system, surely that is a better place to be that it is just continually testing footballers for times a week. they did stress that he didn't want to talk about jumping the queue or anything like that. as long as anything was fair it can happen. for the government, it can happen. for the government, it is saying it is business as usual at the moment for football. but the next few weeks will be crucial. yes. they really are. the government is content with professional sport to be allowed to continue, clearly a lot of mps have mentioned the morale boost in their believes that having life—support gives people. but it also about the optics and of course people will be looking off the case of both premier league level, efl and other sports. we will be looking to see how this case a change as we

get more results but also from exporting perspective for the next few weeks are crucial. and jose mourinho some of the concerns are pretty well when he said it is impossible for a club to have three games postpone. the spurs are already on two and he is worried that they game against aston villa next week could be in doubt, and he is saying with the euros injune, it is saying with the euros injune, it is just such is saying with the euros injune, it isjust such a is saying with the euros injune, it is just such a tight season and it is just such a tight season and it is not the premier league, 52 efl games already off the season. issues with the women's super league in the women's fa cup come uncertainty there. professional sport really does know it cannot be complacent over the next two weeks and that is what we have seen this strengthening of protocols. lauren, more postponement will make it difficult. thank you, lauren. football is continuing, for some it's an escape from what's happening. the fa cup third round weekend is one often full of magic and intrigue

and potential giant killings. our reporterjoe lynskey is here to look ahead to the big games which lie ahead — and we have to start at marine. some mouthwatering ties but we have to start at marine. the third round is all about the prospect of impossible cup upsets — and when we think about the teams way below the top flight who've beaten the odds, we think back to non—league sutton united beating top flight coventry in 1989 or wrexham, who were in the old fourth division when they knocked out arsenal — who were the league champions more recently lincoln city, then in national league, beat premier league opponents burnley four years ago, and now nearly half a century ago, hereford united became the original giant killers when the southern league team beat newcastle. but even that result wouldn't compare to what marine are trying to do on sunday.

they play in the eighth tier of english football so their match with spurs is the biggest gap between two sides in fa cup history. it isa it is a team, is a good voice, playing the game of the career, so what can you do a part from respected them and when the match? nothing. i always believed that respect the teams is to beat them, thatis respect the teams is to beat them, that is the club mentality of the big ten. if we go there and we of course it would be amazing for them, but i think it would be a lack of respect for most of them. this'll be an experience like few tottenham players have seen before — they're going to get changed in marine's arriva suite — it's usually £220 to rent out for a wedding reception, and they'll be given their own lunch boxes. and along the touchlines at marine —

there are numbers to tell the players which house the ball‘s landed in should it go over the fence. it would be the ultimate story. maybe the store we all need. i know spurs fans will disagree. where else should we be looking out for an upset? when chorley against derby county came out of the hat in the draw, the non—league side would've seen it as a chance to welcome england's record goal—scorer to their tiny victoria ground. but wayne rooney and the derby's first team are now all in isolation and miss this match because of an outbreak at their training ground — only players from their under—23s and under—18s are likely to play. that's a shame for chorley, but also an opportunity — they've already beaten efl clubs to reach the third round and have