Reuters Sports Schedule at 0001 GMT on Thursday, Feb 23

Reuters sports schedule at 0001 GMT on Thursday:

SOCCER

Europa League

Spurs out to overturn deficit against Gent

LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur will have to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit at home to Belgian outfit Gent if they are to reach the last 16, while AS Roma and Olympique Lyonnais will look to consolidate large aggregate leads. (SOCCER-EUROPA/, expect by 2000 GMT/3 PM ET, by Toby Davis, 600 words)

Premier League

Swansea's Clement keen to give former club Chelsea the blues

LONDON - Having helped Chelsea to win the Premier League as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, Paul Clement will be looking to put a dent in their title hopes this season when he takes his resurgent Swansea City side to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PREVIEW), moving at 0200 GMT/9 PM ET, by Toby Davis, 400 words)

We continue the build-up to the weekend matches in the Premier League. (SOCCER-ENGLAND-TEAM/, expect throughout)

Italian Serie A

Fresh faces, new troubles for Juventus

ROME – Serie A leaders Juventus return to domestic action when they host Empoli on Saturday having seen off Porto in their Champions League last 16 first leg, with Massimiliano Allegri’s side enjoying the emergence of new faces but having to contend with tension from within. (SOCCER-ITALY/ (PREVIEW, PIX), expect by 1400 GMT/9 AM ET, by Ed Dove, 400 words)

RUGBY

Super Rugby - Week One

Melbourne Rebels v Auckland Blues, Melbourne (0845)

MELBOURNE - The Rebels host Tana Umaga's Blues in the first Thursday night Super Rugby clash to open the new season of the provincial championship. (RUGBY UNION-SUPER/REBELS, expect by 1100 GMT/6 AM ET, by Ian Ransom, 350 words)

We will also run highlights (RUGBY UNION-SUPER/HIGHLIGHTS) with brief updates on each match of the round.

CRICKET

India v Australia, first test, Pune (to 27)

India and Australia kick off four-test series

PUNE - Top-ranked India, unbeaten in their last 19 tests, kick off the four-match series against second-ranked Australia in the western Indian city of Pune, which is debuting as a test centre. (CRICKET-INDIA/ (PIX), expect throughout, by Sudipto Ganguly, 400 words)

MOTOR RACING

Hamilton and Bottas unveil new Mercedes F1 car

SILVERSTONE, England - Formula One world champions Mercedes take the wraps off the car they hope will continue their domination into a fourth sucessive season with Lewis Hamilton and newcomer Valtteri Bottas. (MOTOR-F1-MERCEDES/, (PIX, TV), expect by 1500 GMT/10 AM ET, by Alan Baldwin, 400 words)

GOLF

European Tour: Jo’burg Open, Johannesburg (to Feb 26)

Expansive field over two courses

JOHANNESBURG – A total of 210 golfers tee off across two courses at the start of the Jo’burg Open as the European Tour returns to South Africa at the Royal Johannesburg and the Kensington Golf clubs. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, expect by 1630 GMT/ 11:30 AM ET, 250 words)

NHL

Caps try to snap skid, Oilers set for clash with Panthers

The Metropolitan division-leading Washington Capitals try to snap a two-game skid when they visit the Philadelphia Flyers while high-scoring Connor McDavid and the Edmonton Oilers visit the Florida Panthers in two of the three games on the National Hockey League schedule. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0630 GMT/1:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words)

NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS

Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 0100 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words)

ASIAN WINTER GAMES

Asian Winter Games, Sapporo (to 26)

The eighth edition of the Asiad for winter sports involves some 1,200 athletes from 32 countries competing in five sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events at 12 competition venues mostly in Sapporo on Japan's northerly Hokkaido island. (GAMES-ASIA/ (PIX), copy on merit)

(Asia desk editor: Peter Rutherford)

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