hello, i'm marc edwards, and this is sport today from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: two—time wimbledon champion petra kvitova is injured in a knife attack by a burglar in her home. real madrid will be able to sign players next summer as their transfer ban is partially rescinded on appeal. michel bourez is master of the waves as he surfs his way to victory at the 2016 billabong pipe masters. the former wimbledon champion, petra kvitova, says she is fortunate to be alive after being injured in a knife attack at her home in the czech republic. the world number 11 had an operation on tuesday after suffering an injury to her left hand following a confrontation with a suspected burglar. our sport reporter, david ornstein, has more. this attack happened at one of petra kvitova's property in prostejov and a hospital spokeswoman from that town has confirmed they have treated petra kvitova and that she underwent surgery, petra kvitova and that she underwent surgery, all hours of it. she is now ina surgery, all hours of it. she is now in a stable co

it's a really busy day for the colleagues at the bbc sports centre. ntre, here's hugh woozencroft. good morning. it's a big day. some other place is back and smiling as well. he takes charge of crystal palace for the first time today. they have made the short journey to face watford in first time today. they have made the shortjourney to face watford in the lunchtime kick—off. he will be looking for an instant impact. crystal palace have lost eight of their last ten matches. at the opposite end of the table, chelsea have a 6—point lead. they will be hoping to set a new club record with 12 league wins. but two of their star players have been suspended. they are working very well this week. we are trying to find a solution to play good football, to continue to win and to take the points. we know that against bournemouth it will be easy because it isa bournemouth it will be easy because it is a very good team with great organisation. david moyes will make his first return to old trafford as a manager this afternoon. his struggling sunderland side take on

thank you very much, from the bbc sports centre.ng wheelchair sprinter, who has had an incurable degenerative spinal disease for 20 years. she's paralysed, suffers chronic pain and fits regularly. the 37—year—old is from belgium where euthanasia is legal — and eight years ago8 she signed the papers allowing her to choose when she will die. in this special bbc report mareeke tells her story. i had to stop because my mind said, yes, you still can do it, but by body cries and says, helped! stop training! you are breaking me, stop. it's not... body cries and says, help! i immediately supported her. i knew... she is stubborn, she knows what she wants, but she also knows what she wants, but she also knows what she wants, but she also knows what she doesn't want. living hell is not the life marieke once. —— living hell is not the life marieke wants. highfive! when i talk about real pain, so much pain you lose consciousness from the pain, and the tears rolling your cheeks, and nobody can do anything about it. i have prepared everything. i w

sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre.h to carry on playing against leicester earlier this month although a concussion management review group found that the welsh wing should never have returned to the field of play after appearing to be briefly knocked out. they found that the saints medical team hadn't intentianally ignored the player's best interests but have made nine reccomendations to improve the current pitchside protocols. the rugby players association have given their response this evening. dr barry o'driscoll, the former medical advisorfor world rugby, was here at the bbc sport centre earlier, and he feels that much more has to be done to protect the players. the protocols that these players go through when they got off the field is not worth the paper it is written on. it's experimenting on players' brains. first it's five minutes, then ten minutes, then 30 minutes. no other sport in the world use it. rugby did not use it in the rest of the sport, in the community game, schools game, ladies' game. if you have t

a little earlier here at the bbc sport centre, i was joined by dr barry 0'driscoll, the former medicalrld rugby. 0ne one of those experts. he thinks that much more needs to be done to protect players welfare when it comes to head injuries. this is by no means an isolated case, poor old george north has been through the same process several times before. the huge problem here is that the protocols that these players go through when they go off the field is not worth the paper it's written on. its experimenting on players‘ brains. it‘s written on. its experimenting on players‘ brains. first it was five minutes then ten minutes then 13 minutes, no other sport in the world uses it. rugby do not use it in the rest of the sport in the community game, schools game, ladies game, no way. if you have to take a player off, because... to have a concussion assessment, you must suspect concussion and he has to stay off. 0ur suspect concussion and he has to stay off. our own regulations say they must stay off. they are experimenting in that part of the game which is most brutal. when the players go b

bbc news. keepin keep in touch on twitter. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hi everyone. you are watching sport today, live from the bbc sport centre munich prove their class in the top—of—the—table bundesliga clash. petra kvitova will be out of tennis for at least six months, following a knife attack. and we look at king james's latest entry into the nba record books. hi there, wherever you are around the world. welcome to sport today. bayern munich have won germany's top—of—the—table showdown against rb leipzig, romping to a 3—0 win. the goals came in the first half, but leipzig did well to hold off any more, after playing a man down for an hour at a sold—out allianz arena. colm harrison reports.

bbc news, at clarence house. time now for all the sports news in sport today. hello. this is sport today live from the bbc sport centreeir grip on second spot in the serie a as napoli slip up. fireman sam. sam allardyce is the front runner to replace sacked crystal palace manager alan pardew. and spin a winner — ravi ashwin is named cricketer of the year. hi there. wherever you are around the world, welcome to sport today. roma's11th win of the season over chievo verona tightened their grip on second spot in the serie a, as they try to chase down leaders juventus. massimo allegri'sjuventus side play in the italian super cup on friday. meanwhile, third—placed napoli had to settle for a 3—3 draw at fiorentina.

from all of us at the bbc sports centre, good night. you are watching bbc news. it is 10:36 p.m.. are coming in that one of the original star wars cast, carrie fisher, has suffered a heart attack, the actress, famous for playing princess leia, was travelling on a plane from london to la, according to the la times the 60—year—old was ta ken la, according to the la times the 60—year—old was taken to hospital when her plane landed at lax airport. joining us now is the bbc los angeles correspondent, peter, tell us all about what has happened. we understand that she is now in a los angeles hospital in a critical condition after suffering a heart attack, a cardiac arrest during her flight attack, a cardiac arrest during her flight from london to la, and this is all unfolding over the last couple of hours, the middle of the afternoon here, the flight arrived at about noon, the paramedics had been alerted, at los angeles airport, and were waiting for the flight, airport, and were waiting for the flight, she was taken away to hospital, we don't know the precise details about what had happene

this is sport today live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: roma tigthen their grip on second spot in the serie a as napoli slip up. fireman sam. sam allardyce is the front runner to replace sacked crystal palace manager alan pardew. and spin a winner — ravi ashwin is named cricketer of the year. hi there. wherever you are around the world, welcome to sport today. roma's 11th win of the season over chievo verona tightened their grip on second spot in the serie a, as they try to chase down leaders juventus. massimo allegri'sjuventus side play in the italian super cup on friday. meanwhile, third—placed napoli had to settle for a 3—3 draw at fiorentina. colm harrison reports. roma had to come from behind to claim the win that reduced the advantage at the top of the table. chievo verona got a shock lead after 37 minutes. right on the stroke of half—time, they equalised, and early in the second half, edin dzeko put them in front, his 13th league goal of the season, one behind the leads top scorer. with victory already s

i'm tolsen tollet, and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: manchester city stage a fight—back to beat arsenal at the etihad. a blaster from costa sends bayern back to the top of the bundesliga. and parrott has all the moves, as he wins the big air on copper mountain. i wish i had moves like that. hello, and welcome to the programme, where we start with the english premier league, where manchester city came from behind to beat arsenal 2—1 on sunday. that win means they leapfrog their opponents and liverpool to go second, seven points behind leaders chelsea. but there was some controversy surrounding their winner which was scored by raheem sterling. earlier, theo walcott opened the scoring for the visitors five minutes into a first half they dominated. leroy sane equalised for city just after the break. arsenal stay third but have lost their last two league games, 2—1, despite taking the lead in both matches. they were lucky in the first half. it was a premier league game. it was a good game for everybody. of course

hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre. coming up on this programme: late drama as sadio mane scores in the 94th minute to hand liverpool a 1—0 win over everton. karun nair writes his name into the history books with a triple century as india take control of the fifth and final test against england. and mo farah says he wants to master the marathon when he steps off the running track. hello and welcome to the programme, where we start with news from the english premier league where the merseyside derby between everton and liverpool finished with late drama on monday. liverpool's sadio mane scored in the 94th minute to hand jurgen klopp‘s side a 1—0 victory taking them second six points behind leaders chelsea. everton‘s ross barkley was arguably lucky not to be given a red card for his second half challenge onjordan henderson but it mattered little in the end as senegal striker mane put the ball in the net, much to the delight of his manager. we could have scored only. we had a lot of chances but the most important thing is

bbc news, birmingham crown court. hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre.cores in the 9ath minute to hand liverpool a 1—0 win over everton. karun nair writes his name into the history books with a triple century as india take control of the fifth and final test against england. and mo farah says he wants to master the marathon when he steps off the running track. hello and welcome to the programme, where we start with news from the english premier league where the merseyside derby between everton and liverpool finished with late drama on monday. liverpool's sadio mane scored in the 9ath minute to hand jurgen klopp's side a 1—0 victory taking them second six points behind leaders chelsea. everton's ross barkley was arguably lucky not to be given a red card for his second half challenge onjordan henderson but it mattered

hello, this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre.g up on this programme: late drama as sadio mane scores in the 94th minute to hand liverpool a 1—0 win over everton. fifa find the four home nations a total of £78,000 for displaying poppies in their world club all the fires last month. —— world cup qualifiers last month. the highest total ever conceded by england in their loss against india. hello, and welcome to the programme, where we start with news liverpool's sadio mane scored in the 94th minute to hand jurgen klopp's side a 1—0 victory taking them second six points behind leaders chelsea. jurgen klopp moves to second in the premier league table, six behind chelsea. the season of goodwill was there to see outside goodison park, but this is the merseyside derby and the atmosphere changes once inside. the visiting fans brought their sense of humour, reminding everton of their long wait for silverware. but there was little on the pitch for them to laugh about. there were more fouls and shorts in this frenetic, bruising encounter. ne

from all of us at the bbc sport centre, good night.inated by storm bra bra, the second storm report of a few communities losing power. there was transport disruption as well from fierce winds. storm barbara is done. out to the west, we are looking at the next named storm, connor. that will bring strong winds to scotland for boxing day. before we get there, windy overnight. plenty of showers in scotla nd overnight. plenty of showers in scotland and northern ireland. does it showers in scotland and over the hills will be falling at snowy, most above 200 metres. some could perhaps get down to 100m. either way, a few icy patches. northern ireland, the showers will come in thick and fast during the morning. england and wales, a decent start to the day. ripe with sunny spells. a few passing showers for the north—west of england and the majority getting off toa of england and the majority getting off to a light start. it will take most of the day for the gale force winds to slow down. the best of the dry weather further south. england and wal

hi ever one ou're watching sport today, live from the bbc sport centre.ush at palace. who is up for a relegation battle? sam alla rdyce is up for a relegation battle? sam allardyce the favourite to take over. an archery still on top despite losing all their 0lympic funding. alan pardew has been sacked as manager of english premier league side crystal palace, after nearly two years in charge. he leaves the club one point above the relegation zone. palace has the worst record of

i'm tolsen tollet, and this is sport today, live from the bbc sport centre.rogramme: manchester city stage a fight—back to beat arsenal at the etihad. a blaster from costa sends bayern back to the top of the bundesliga. and parrott has all the moves, as he wins the big air on copper mountain. i wish i had moves like that. hello, and welcome to the programme, where we start with the english premier league, where manchester city came from behind to beat arsenal 2—1 on sunday. that win means they leapfrog their opponents and liverpool to go second, seven points behind leaders chelsea. but there was some controversy surrounding their winner which was scored by raheem sterling. earlier, theo walcott opened the scoring for the visitors five minutes into a first half they dominated. leroy sane equalised for city just after the break. arsenal stay third but have lost their last two league games, 2—1, despite taking the lead in both matches.

hello, i'm marc edwards, and this is sport today from the bbc sport centre.champion petra kvitova is injured in a knife attack by a burglar in her home. real madrid will be able to sign players next summer as their transfer ban is partially rescinded on appeal. michel bourez is master of the waves as he surfs his way to victory at the 2016 billabong pipe masters. the former wimbledon champion, petra kvitova, says she is fortunate to be alive after being injured in a knife attack at her home in the czech republic. the world number 11 had an operation on tuesday after suffering an injury to her left hand following a confrontation with a suspected burglar. our sport reporter, david ornstein, has more. this

time to cross to the bbc sport centre now for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday.he headlines this evening. a premier league record, 13 wins in a row. it's unlucky for stoke as chelsea go nine points clear. 15 in a row for celtic. the old firm victory puts them firmly in control of the spl. and the chiefs end 2016 with a stunning comeback. two tries in the last nine minutes put exeter third in rugby union's premiership. there are seven matches in the premier league today, and chelsea have set a record. they have matched arsenal's record of 13 wins in a row in the same premier league season. they extended their lead at the top of the table with a 11—2 win at home to stoke. it was 2—2 with 25 minutes left to play, but a second from willian and and a late diego costa goal made sure of the record. if they beat tottenham next week they will match arsenal's all—time record 01:14 straight wins set across two seasons. chelsea are currently nine points clear of liverpool, who are playing third—placed manchester city. we'll update you on that match in a moment. first, reacti

hello, i'm marc edwards, and this is sport today from the bbc sport centre.is programme: time for captain cook to walk the plank after india. a four hour career saving operation for petra kvitova after a life—threatening robbery in her own home. and news from stamford bridge. and peterbrough's fa cup dreams could me made in chelsea after winning through to a money—spinning third round tie at stamford bridge. thank you forjoining us. england's cricket captain alistair cook says "now isn't the right time" for him to make a decision on his future after his side collapsed to defeat on the final day of the final test against india. england were beaten by an innings and 75 runs, a result which means they lose the series four—0 and drop to fifth in the world rankings. henry moeran is in chennai for us. england's task today was supposedly straightforward. survivor for a draw and head home with some credibility. things started well but the day deteriorated dramatically. here is the story. here is how india might look from the plane home. a view england longed for. one

time to cross to the bbc sports centre now. hello and welcome to sportsday — i'm reshmin chowdhury.pool look to close the gap on chelsea in the premier league as they take on stoke at anfield. brighton go top of the championship with a 3—0 win over qpr. and it's a second win in two days for trainer colin tizzard as native river wins the welsh grand national. good evening and welcome to sportsday. we start in anfield. stoke took a surprise lead at anfield whenjonathan walters — born on merseyside — nodded thomas pieters crossed past simon minolet in the liverpool goal. that sparked the reds into action and roberto fermino thought he'd equalised only to find peter crouch‘s outstretched leg in the way. the goal did come through adam lallana — capitalising on glenjohnson‘s error to fire home from an acute angle. and fermino had his goal just before half time, allowed space to turn in the box before striking an inch perfect effort to putjurgen klopp‘s side 2—1 up at half time. liverpool then extended their lead on the hour mark with 65 minutes gone, leading 3—1 at the minute. so as liver

sport now, a full round up from the bbc sport centre. the third time. the world number one tennis player beat 15 other contenders on a highly competitive shortlist. he wasn't at the ceremony in birmingham to collect the award — instead being presented with the trophy by lennox lewis out in miami. it's been the best year of murray's career. he won wimbledon and the olympic title as well gaining the much coveted number one ranking. fellow olympic gold medallists alistair brownlee the triathlete was second and 58 year old showjumper nick skelton was 3rd. leicester city got team of the year. manchester city put their recent problems behind them, moving up to second place in the premier league table after beating arsenal 2—1 at the etihad. city had to come from behind. it was raheem stirling who scored their winner 20 minutes from time, but earlier theo walcott had opened the scoring for arsenal after just five minutes. leroy sane got city's equaliser. city are now seven points behind league leaders chelsea. they were lucky in the first half.

sport now and a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. good afternoon.ind to win the premier league's south coast derby 3—1 at bournemouth. england's jay rodriguez was the man of the match, with two goals. his second is a contender for goal of the month. joe lynsky rounds—up the action. bournemouth has spent much of the existence looking up at southampton. it was not long since there was a0 places between them in the english football pyramid. inside the opening five minutes, the home side took the lead. his third goal of the season. the southampton goalkeeper came to the rescue. perhaps it was let off which spun southampton into life. the full—back shot finding the corner. the second—half would be defined by one player, jay rodriguez. he has had to battle injuries and this was just his second premier league start in two yea rs. second premier league start in two years. southampton claimed the local bragging rights. that was the lunchtime kick—off. there are two apm matches today. manchester city and arsenal are playing at the etihad, where either team ca

bbc news. with all the sport here's 0llie foster at the bbc sport centre. of the premier league. they beat stoke 11—2 and have matched arsenal's record set 1a years ago of 13 wins in a row in a single season. it was 2—2 with 25 minutes to go at stamford bridge. but a second goal from willian helped secure the points. liverpool are still second in the table after they beat third—placed manchester city at anfield. georginio winaldurn scored the only goal of the match. city are now ten points off the top of the table. in the other games, andre grey scored a hat trick for burnley as they beat struggling sunderland 4—1. champions leicester had a much needed win against west ham. hal robson—kanu scored a brilliant winner for west brom as they beat southampton 2—1 to move up to 8th. swansea went down 3—0 at home to bournemouth. swa nsea swansea are managerless at the moment after they sacked the american bob bradley last tuesday but paul clement is set to become their third manager of the season. he's currently the assistant to carlo ancelotti at bayern munich and

it's a really busy day for the colleagues at the bbc sports centre. premier league fixtures. the early kick off sees sam alla rdyce back in football management. after standing down as england manager, in controversial circumstances, after just one match... he's taking charge of crystal palace for the first time. they've made the shortjourney to vicarage road to face watford — the match got underway at 12.30pm. yohan cabaye has given palace the lead as they look to pull away from the relegation places with what would be just a second win in 11 league games. christian benteke has missed a penalty for them though before half—time. later this afternoon, arsenal are at home to west brom where they'll be trying to avoid three league defeats in a row. burnley take on middlesbrough champions leicester are at home to everton relegation—threatened swansea host west ham. and in the late kick off manchester citygo to a hull side who are currently bottom of the table. as you saw there, chelsea, who have a six—point lead at the top of the premier league, are at hom

time for off sport round—up from the bbc sports centre with 0llie foster.rangers both won in the scottish premiership this afternoon. celtic extended their lead thanks to that beauty from stuart armstrong. they are unbeaten in 22 games domestic league, and 1a points clear of rangers. rangers beat inverness1—0. it was an own goal that saw rangers get the win. they have played one more game than celtic. the teams face each other on new year's eve. there are three matches in the rugby union prmiership. wasps beat bath 46—26. christian wade has scored a hatrick of tries. that earned a bonus point for wasps. bath ran in four tries, but that defeat leaves them six adrift of the top two. saracens are still top, beating newcastle 21—6. wasps beat bath, you already know that. one piece of bad news for saracens and england. they could be without their prop mako vunipola for the six nations. the sarries forward has suspected ligamnet damage in his left knee. his brother billy is already ruled out of the tournament. he has been a key playerfor eddie jones during englan

time to cross to the bbc sport centre now for sportsday. hello and welcome to sportsday.

with all the sport, here's katherine downes at the bbc sport centre.ith our lines to salford. you can see more on all of today's stories on the bbc news channel. the next news on bbc one is at 19:25. bye for now. hello, you're watching the bbc news channel. the time is coming up to ten minutes past one. let's get more now on the queen's new year's honours. and it's not only sporting stars and celebrities who are being recognised. one of the youngest to receive an honour is 17—year—old jeremiah emmanuel, whose been awarded a british empire medal for services to young people and the community in london. it's an amazing honour, being part of such an amazing list with some amazing people. i was shocked when i found out i was nominated for a queen's honour. it means so much. you do a tremendous amount of work. how busy does that make you and what motivates you? i get really, really busy doing the work that i do. just knowing that you're helping so many different people in the community, knowing that your inspiring people to do the same, i think that is what

sport now, time for a full round—up from the bbc sports centre. good evening. league today, but no doubt about the big one. a heavyweight clash between manchester city and arsenal at the etihad. it was city who took the spoils, coming from behind to win and close the gap behind the leaders chelsea to seven points. here's tim hague. as christmas gifts go, this match is certainly one you'd want on your list. manchester city against arsenal, two teams and two managers desperately chasing chelsea. and with that in mind, things unsurprisingly got physical very quickly. no kiss under the mistletoe for theo walcott and kevin de bruyne. theo walcott illustrated just how to finish. arsenal were ahead, but it shouldn't have been the case for long. straight down the other end. raheem sterling somehow put the ball wide, and that was as good as it got for city in the first half. slow out of the blocks, you could say. unlike the christmas pudding, the home side found their feet straight after the break, leroy sane slotting them back into the match. petr cech saved his side m

sport now and for a full round up, let's cross to the bbc sport centre. thank you very much indeed.e challenge he will face of the new crystal palace manager. they are just one point of the premier league relegation zone after a terrible run of form which has just seen them win one of their last 11 matches. he has signed a 2.5 year deal and replaces alan pardew was sacked on thursday. the figure fortune that someone of his experience was available. he was sacked after a newspaper saying. alligators says he is delighted to be back. it is difficult, as pressurised as it is, it is where have been comfortable for many years now and i have obviously you generally get a newjob on and the clu b generally get a newjob on and the club have decided this is a cuddly side. but my experience. try and get if you results on the board, particularly over christmas and new year to make everybody feel a lot more comfortable. in the scottish premiership, aberdeen 4.9 second race rangers after a 3— no winner at over motherwell. both sides were awarded penalties, but motherwell miss pears in the game was

now let's go to the sports news and olly foster has all the details from the bbc sports centre.e sacked their manager alan pardew. the chairman steve parish said the club had "got themselves in a rut and needed a change". they are just above the relegation zone and have the worst record of all 92 league clubs in 2016. here's our reporter david ornstein. one win in". one win in 11. there was a run of six straight defeats. they are one point and one place above the relegation zone in 17th. this time last year, relegation zone in 17th. this time last yea r, crystal relegation zone in 17th. this time last year, crystal palace were six in the premier league. it has been a sorry story. you remember how strong their defence was under tony pulis a couple of years ago. it has gone the opposite way. they also feel they have been incredibly unlucky with refereeing decisions and the spirit is still high, so whoever comes in as manager will keep that spirit but will improve the results. the favourite to replace him is sam allardyce. sacked by england in september after one match for making i

sport, a full round—up from the bbc sports centre with lizzie. hello! you sound surprised!has given my feelings side the lead in the opening few minutes. 1— 02 hull against everton, 17 minutes on the clock. a win would lift them off the bottom of the table. championship leaders brighton and hove albion's game against strugglers cardiff city was called off tonight. a blanket of fog has descended on the amex stadium over the course of the day forcing the referee to call the game off. there are three other fixtures in the championship with second place newcastle also in action against nottingham forest. for the against third in the scottish premiership. aberdeen away at hearts. 7:45pm was the kick—off, the latest score 0—0. bayern munich assistant manager paul clement is the leading candidate to become swansea city's new manager. the former derby county manager was interviewed for thejob in october, before bob bradley replaced coach francesco guidolin. ryan giggs and chris coleman have both been ruled out but former birmingham city boss gary rowett remains in contention. swans

a full round—up from the bbc sports centre with richard. hello.etween england and india in chennai. india are closing in on england's first innings total of 477. at the close of play the home side are 391—4, trailing the tourists by 86 runs. the lynchpin of india's innings was kl rahul, who was out on 199, just one run short of his double century. the men who'll return to the crease tomorrow are nair, who's on 71 and vijay who's 17 not out. jim lumsden looks back at the action... there has been little to sing and dance about her england. india's motto has been anything you can do we can do better. the target was 477. the 150 partnership was slugged out in some style by patel. soon after, he provided a little relief for a grateful england into the hands of jos for a grateful england into the hands ofjos buttler. pujara didn't hang around, going cheaply to alastair cook. bradl swatted his way to his fourth test 100. —— rahul. it was pedestrian stuff from cook's men. in sum, the attention started to wonder. the last time kohli picked up a bat, he sta

sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's steve wyeth.e top of the premier league is an impressive one, but if could be trimmed to six points this evening — if liverpool beat stoke in the only game in the top flight. jurgen klopp hopes his players, and the fans, are well prepared after the extra day off before their festive football. atmosphere changes everything, so hopefully all our supporters are recharged after the 25th and the 26th, full of good food and in the best mood for this game, and give everything you can! stoke beat liverpool injanuary in the league cup but otherwise don't have a great record at anfield, although their manager doesn't consider history a factor. it took us 40 years to get a win there, so we hope it's not going to be as long next time. i don't think there is any pressure on us, we're going there with the intention of getting a positive result like we always do. we never go there with the intention of protecting what we have got. we always think at some point in the game we will have opportunities so it's about

let's cross to the bbc sport centre — and join tim hague.

tributes paid to the status quo guitarist rick sport now, and for a full round up from the bbc sport centrea i’ow. that was their 13th league win in a row. it may be the season of goodwill, but celtic don't give anything away willingly. the champions are still unbeaten this season champions are still unbeaten this season and where perhaps unlucky not to concede a first half penalty. celtic battled with the wind, and the rain on a plastic pitch. hamilton lost the battle against. they have scored against them for five games in a row. one nil before the break, but a man down shortly after. callum macgregor sent off for after. callum macgregor sent off for a second yellow. not troubled by the numerical disadvantage, stuart armstrong produced a christmas cracker. teams have struggled to stop celtic, yet there is nothing hamilton can do about that. and 18th goal of this season was scored and wrapped up with three points. celtic are comfortably top at christmas and now they can probably —— properly enjoy that dinner. rangers beat inverness but it needed an own goal to do it. celtic had their new y

with all the sport, here's reshmin choudhary at the bbc sport centre. good evening.rmer england manager sam allardyce has taken charge of his first game for the club, a draw against watford. earlier this year, he left his job as national manager afterjust one match, when a newspaper investigation claimed he offered advice on how to "get around" transfer rules. david 0rnstein reports. 90 days after losing his dream job, time for the first 90 minutes of his newjob. from the national team to the palace, succeed with the eagles and big sam's reputation will soar. he has never been relegated from the premiership and he tends to have an immediate impact, and palace were the latest club to profit, yohan cabaye the first scorer of the new iraq. watford were being outplayed and, in the case of their goalkeeper, outpaced. but if christian benteke recovered to take the kick, heurelho gomes dean —— redeemed himself to save it. referee mark clattenburg again pointed to the spot, on this occasion in favour of watford. fortuitous or not, troy deeney showed christian benteke how it

sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's ollie foster.nd the leaders chelsea have matched arsenals1li year old record of 13 wins in a row in the same premier league season. they beat stoke 11—2 at stamford bridge but they had to work hard for the win, it was 2—2 with 25 minutes left to play, but a second from willian and a late diego costa goal made sure of the record. and if they beat tottenham next week, they will match arsenal's all time record of 1a straight wins set across two seasons. to win 13 games in april in this league is very difficult and studio is another example. we faced against a team that played very well. i'm pleased because my players showed me that they are very to adapt into different situations, a different type of game that we face. second placed liverpool remain six points adrift of chelsea after a 1—0 win over 3rd placed manchester city at anfield. georginio wijnaldum's early header settled the match city are now 10 points off the top. the quality of manchester city, the situation, and this season, it means that

sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine downes.y at ibrox this lunchtime and celtic could extend their lead over rangers to 19 points in the scottish premiership if they win. celtic are unbeaten in 23 domestic matches and it is their last game before the winter break. we have had a tough month of nine games, seven of which we have one, when we drew in the champions league. we wanted to win the game, of course, whatever with the game, of course, whatever with the result goes, we have had a brilliant opening period to the season. brilliant opening period to the season. we will go away reenergised and refocused and be better in the second part of the season. here are the other fixtures in the scottish premiership. aberdeen were just two points behind rangers after they beat hearts yesterday. today, calais thistle face ross county. a busy day in the premier league with top billing going to liverpool against manchester city who are in third. city will be boosted by the return of sergio aguero. he is back from a four match ban. he is rea

sport now and for a full round up from the bbc sport centre.a manager continues today. one favourite is gary rau, who has been out of the game since being sacked by birmingham. that was after he led them to the verge of the play—offs, he was fired to make way for gianfranco zola. the second man is paul clement, currently assistant manager at bayern munich. he is believed to have impressed the swansea board in the autumn before bradley took over. swa nsea the autumn before bradley took over. swansea are currently second from bottom in the premier league. when middlesbrough play manchester united tomorrow it will be their first —— the first return to old trafford for fabiola da silva. he and his brother played under sir alex ferguson, and the brother spoke to our reporter about what kind of reception he might expect. he is hard, i try not to think in my head about how it will be. there are thousand things in my head, like how it will be, how they will react, how my reaction will be, but it might be nice. i think it will be strange if you because

sport now — and, for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre, here's hugh woozencroft.their 1—1 draw at watford in the premier league. allardyce stood down as england manager after just one match in charge, after a newspaper sting caught him making controversial comments. it's a good point for struggling palace but, as ben croucher reports, he'd have really hoped for more. if crystal palace's 2016 form had left them sliding towards the abyss, optimism has now emerged in sam alla rdyce, optimism has now emerged in sam allardyce, they have a man with survival instincts. his players looked rejuvenated, this effort not quite enough to get allardyce out of his seat. turns out it was just expansive football, and palace opening watford up again. allardyce had his ideal start. it looked like getting better when christian benteke eight and the chance to double palace's lead. what his boss would have made of this feeble penalty. what would have lost four of their five so resorted to some old—fashioned football to get back into the game. that wasn't working. they were handed their

sport now, and time for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre. a very good afternoon. new season with a surprise defeat to david goffin in the semifinals of the world tennis championships in abu dhabi. they hadn't conceded a set in his previous five encounters with david goffin but that run was broken when the belgian took the first on tie—break. murray looks like taking control in the second but david goffin fought back to break him twice and win four games in a row. 6- twice and win four games in a row. 6— for the score in the second set. george north will return for northampton saints in their premiership match on sunday. his first game since suffering a head injury against leicester in november. that was his fifth concussion in two years, including two ina concussion in two years, including two in a match between england and wales in february, 2015. a review board said north shouldn't have continued to play against leicester but didn't sanction northampton. anthony watson will also be back for his first appearance in three months. he is named on the bench ahead of

sport now and for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's katherine. according to one of his former team—mates. wiggins is the most decorated british olympian, with five gold medals in his total of eight — the most recent coming in the team pursuit in rio. but speaking to me earlier, his former team—mate rob hayles said the questions over his use of performance enhancing drugs for medical reasons had cast a cloud over the end of wiggins' career. it's a real shame that all this tue has come right at the end of his career. there is a cloud and it is understandable. in terms of the rules of the sport, he has broken them. the uci, the world governing body, wada, have said there is nothing to answer for, but there is still a question of, has it been ethical? and i think that's a separate issue. but it's certainly not the ideal way that bradley wiggins would have wanted to retire. has that been potentially a little bit of a push into him making this decision now? potentially. will we see him back racing in six months? who knows. onto football now. tottenham

let's cross to the bbc sport centre — and join tim hague. hello, thank you very much.e north will return for northampton saints in their premiership match at gloucester on sunday. it will be the welshman‘s first game since suffering a head injury against leicester on december third. that was north's fifth concussion in two years — including two in the match on your screen now between england and wales in february 2015. a review board said north shouldn't have continued to play against leicester but they didn't sanction northampton. england wing anthony watson will also be back in for his first appearance in three months — after being named on the bench for bath's match with exeter tomorrow. watson broke his jaw in england's training camp in october, but now is on course to return for the six nations. the hull city manager mike phelan says 2016 has lived up to expectations, being "turbulent and difficult". hull are bottom of the premier league, going into tonight's match against everton. we are we a re pretty we are pretty open as staff and honest with the players at th

sport now, and time for a full round—up from the bbc sport centre.n, and spurs in fifth, are 13 points behind the leaders chelsea. mauricio pochettino is returning to his former club at st mary's, of course. they got off to a terrible start when virgil van dijk scored after just over a minute. but spurs equalised about quarter of an hour later. in scotland, celtic are drawing with ross county, although they have a 14 point lead at the top already. looking good for another title there. rangers are currently drawing 1—1 away at stjohnstone. and partick thistle have scored the only other goal of the evening so far, leading dundee 1—0. swa nsea swansea city hope to have a new manager in place soon, following the sacking of bob bradley. ryan giggs has been linked with swansea before. ryan giggs was interviewed for the job when bradley was appointed in 0ctober. so he was overlooked on that occasion, but we do understand that occasion, but we do understand that swansea are still keen on the manchester united legend. he has not managed at all in his career y

let's get a full round—up from the bbc sports centre. good morning, catherine.on rivals arsenal in the premier league table, after winning 4—1 at southampton. harry kane had gone three league matches without a goal, but he put an end to that last night. and dele alli scored twice, as southampton finished the game with 10 men. spurs stay fifth, they're 10 points behind leaders chelsea. the top sides all won their games, so the top sides all won their games, so that was important. we're still fighting, we're in a good position. we're ina fighting, we're in a good position. we're in a good position to attack the top four in the second part of the top four in the second part of the season. ahead of the old firm derby on new year's eve, celtic have stretched their lead at the top of the scottish premiership to 16 points. they beat ross county 2—0 last night, while second—placed rangers were held to a 1—1 draw at stjohnstone. a defensive blunder allowed steven maclean to score the equaliser for the home side. there were also wins for motherwell and partick thistle. si

now for a full sports round—up from the bbc sports centre.rom injury and has started with a win at an exhibition tournament in abu dhabi. he beat world number ten tomas berdych in straight sets. a wrist injury had troubled the 14 time grand slam winner throughout this year, but there was no rustiness here — this was the first point back on court. it set the spaniard on course to take the first set 6—0, and he completed the job in the second. nadal moves into the semi—finals. earlier on, david goffin beatjo—wilfried tsonga in straight sets too, 7—6 6—4 this time. the belgian will now face andy murray tomorrow. murray has his sights set on success in the the first grand slam of the season, the australian open, which begins in mid january. and while murray has lost there in the final five times, he goes in as world number one this time. i played really well there in the past and it hasn't happened for me, so i need to do something a little bit different this year. but i love the conditions there, i enjoy the tournament a lot. i'll be going in ho

for a full round up, from the bbc sport centre, here's steve white the day's only premier league gameld. liverpool with the chance to trim chelsea's lead at the top to six points by beating stoke. jurgen klopp has named an unchanged liverpool side for the third game running. so simon mignolet remains in goal — danny sturridge and emre can amongst the substitutes. stoke'sjoe allen lines up against his former club for the first time since leaving in the summer. they are just underway and they have played 70 seconds. it is scoreless. brighton are back on top of the championship after an emphatic 3—0 win over qpr. newcastle's slip—up at home last night presented brighton with the opportunity, and they went ahead thanks to that wonderful sam baldock strike. not so sure about the celebration! brighton were then awarded a penalty early in the second half for this foul on dale stephens, and baldock‘s strike partner glenn murray stepped up to make it 2—0. it was all going wrong for rangers who had defender nedum onouha sent off shortly before anthony knockaert rounded off the scoring for the s

let's get an up date on this board today and join ollie foster the bbc sports centre.been sacked. the crystal palace manager has seen his team win just once in their past 11 matches and he leaves the club one point above the relegation zone. here's our reporter david ornstein. this is a results business and that's what steve parish made clear shortly after this news was announced. they can't afford to get relegated from the premier league but places on record the tremendous service that alan pardew has given to the club as a manager and player, pointing to the fa cup final performance against manchester united in may when they narrowly lost. pa rdew says united in may when they narrowly lost. pardew says he is saddened by the decision in a statement but thanks the fans and players and also steve parish and the board, no mention of the american co—owners, josh harris and david blitzerfor their support. sam allardyce who was sacked by england a few months ago after a match in charge is the early favourite to replace pardew. he helped keep sunderland up last season, other