This Week in Sport: 2nd October − 8th October 2023
There are some exciting events happening throughout the world of sport this week. Monday will see WTA China Open action take place, on Tuesday, the MLB Wild Card Series gets underway, and Borussia Dortmund host AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday. The Cricket World Cup begins on Thursday, as England face New Zealand in the opening match, and the Catalans Dragons take on St Helens in a Super League Semi-Final on Friday.
Heading into the weekend, Ireland take on Scotland at the Rugby World Cup on Saturday, and Arsenal versus Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday rounds out the week.
WTA Tour: China Open Day 3
Monday 2nd October 3:00AM GMT/11:00AM Local Time
National Tennis Center Beijing, Beijing
The WTA’s China Open sees action on Monday, with some of the world’s best tennis players appearing at the National Tennis Center in Beijing to battle it out for the title. Day 3 will see exciting action from some of the top players, including Iga Świątek facing Sara Sorribes Tormo, Elena Rybakina playing Qinwen Zheng, and Coco Gauff taking on Ekaterina Alexandrova.
MLB: Philadelphia Phillies v Miami Marlins
Tuesday 3rd October 12:08AM (4th) GMT/8:08PM Local Time
Citizens Bank Park, Philadelphia
On Tuesday, the first games of the MLB Wild Card Series will take place, with the Philadelphia Phillies against the Miami Marlins an exciting matchup. The Phillies go into the postseason with a regular season record of 90-72, beating the New York Mets comfortably 9-1 last time out. The Marlins have a slightly worse record, finishing the regular season 84-77, and lost last time out to the Pittsburgh Pirates 3-0.
UEFA Champions League: Borussia Dortmund v AC Milan
Wednesday 4th October 7:00PM GMT/9:00PM Local Time
Westfalenstadion, Dortmund
Borussia Dortmund take on AC Milan in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday at the Signal Iduna Park. On matchday one, Dortmund suffered a 2-0 loss against PSG, so will be hoping they can pick up their first points playing at home in this tough group. Milan faced a tough Newcastle United side in their first match, with neither side able to break the deadlock at the San Siro.
Cricket World Cup: England v New Zealand
Thursday 5th October 8:30AM GMT/2:00PM Local Time
Narendra Modi Stadium, Ahmedabad
The highly anticipated Cricket World Cup gets underway on Thursday, with the first match of the tournament a repeat of 2019’s Final, as reigning champions England take on New Zealand. England will go in as most people’s favourites for this one, after beating New Zealand 3-1 in a recent ODI series played in the UK. Whatever the result, there is sure to be some high-quality cricket on display.
Super League: Catalans Dragons v St Helens
Friday 6th October 7:00PM GMT/9:00PM Local Time
Stade Gilbert Brutus, Perpignan
On Friday, the first Super League Semi-Final takes place, as the Catalans Dragons face defending champions St Helens at the Stade Gilbert Brutus. Both sides, as well as the Wigan Warriors, finished the regular season with 20 wins and seven losses, so they should be well-matched. The Dragons beat St Helens twice in the regular season, but the reigning champions have recent success in these big games and will be hoping to use this experience to their advantage. Wigan Warriors will face Hull KR in the other Semi-Final, which will take place on Saturday.
Rugby World Cup: Ireland v Scotland
Saturday 7th October 7:00PM GMT/9:00PM Local Time
Stade de France, Saint-Denis
World number one side, Ireland, will face Scotland in the Rugby World Cup on Saturday. Ireland will go into this match as most people’s favourites, after an impressive start to the tournament, thrashing Romania and Tonga, and putting in a solid performance to beat reigning champions South Africa. It is still possible for Scotland to progress from the group stage, but, at a minimum, this will require them to beat this strong Ireland side.
Premier League: Arsenal v Manchester City
Sunday 8th October 3:30PM GMT/4:30PM Local Time
Emirates Stadium, London
The Premier League champions, Manchester City, will travel to the Emirates Stadium on Sunday to face last season’s runners-up, Arsenal. The hosts are still undefeated this season, but despite this, still sit a point behind City in the table. A win, however, and if other results go their way, will see Arsenal go to the top of the table; and they will see this as a great opportunity to do so, with City coming off the back of a 2-1 loss to Wolverhampton Wanderers.
Photo by: Manchester City
Written and information correct on 2nd October 2023 at 6AM GMT
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