There's lots of Premier League football in store on a busy Wednesday evening, while Wales are in action at the Rugby League World Cup for the first time.
There are five Premier League games on Wednesday evening, including Tottenham's visit to Old Trafford as Antonio Conte seeks to build on Spurs' best-ever start to a Premier League season, while the Northern Ireland Open snooker continues in Belfast from early morning.
Premier League: Old Trafford holds no Spurs fears now
| What: | Man Utd v Tottenham |
| Where: | Old Trafford, Manchester |
| When: | 20:15, Wednesday 19th October |
| How to watch: | Amazon Prime |
| Odds: | Man Utd 29/20, Draw 5/2, Tottenham 7/4 |
There was a time when facing Manchester United was something of a mental block for Tottenham but, no more. The Londoners put six past the Red Devils in this fixture in October 2020, their second Old Trafford win in three years.
They've lost all three meetings since, however, conceding nine goals along the way. There were at least three goals in each of those games, and over 2.5 goals this time is priced at 8/11.
Spurs gritted their way past stubborn Everton on Saturday, while United were held by Newcastle in a Sunday stalemate. Both teams may prefer a more open approach now.
Premier League: Reds must move forward
| What: | Liverpool v West Ham |
| Where: | Anfield, Liverpool |
| When: | 19:30, Wednesday 19th October |
| How to watch: | Amazon Prime |
| Odds: | Liverpool 2/5, Draw 4/1, West Ham 6/1 |
Victory over champions Manchester City on Sunday will surely be the moment Jurgen Klopp hopes can truly ignite a stuttering season for Liverpool.
The Reds have struggled to match their own recent high standards and, after downing the Citizens, they can ill-afford anything but a win when West Ham visit Merseyside.
Elsewhere, Bournemouth and Southampton meet in a south coast derby, while Brentford and Chelsea tussle in an all-London affair and Everton are 19/4 to inflict a first home league defeat of the season on Newcastle.
Snooker: Trimmed down Allen's Belfast defence continues
| What: | Northern Ireland Open Snooer |
| Where: | Waterfront, Belfast |
| When: | From 10:00, Wednesday 19th October |
| How to watch: | Eurosport |
| Odds: | Mark Allen 1/16, Andy Lee 9/1 |
Mark Allen admits his Northern Ireland Open win last season came 'out of the blue' amid turmoil for him off the table. The former Masters champion is in shape this season after a big weight-loss over the summer and he continues his Belfast defence against Andy Lee on Wednesday morning.
Also on the baize will be Ronnie O'Sullivan facing David Grace, Mark Williams taking on Jimmy Robertson and Mark Selby tackling Hammad Miah.
World Cup: Wales target one win
| What: | Wales v Cook Islands |
| Where: | Leigh Sports Village Stadium |
| When: | 19:30, Wednesday 19th October |
| How to watch: | BBC |
| Odds: | Wales 11/2, Cook Islands 1/9 |
Welsh coach John Kear admits that grabbing even a single win from their Rugby League World Cup campaign would be a success.
The Widnes Vikings head coach led England on home soil at the tournament 22 years ago and is managing expectations as the Dragons prepare to open their Group D campaign against the Cook Islands in Leigh.
With both Papua New Guinea and Tonga to follow, Wales are right in the deep end and Kear suggested ahead of their opener that they'd be 'absolutely delighted' to 'nail a victory' of any sort.
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