Following a couple of months of limited sporting events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, things are slowly starting to get back to normal around the world and the amount of live action available to SuperSport viewers on DStv and GOtv will increase significantly this month.
For football fans, this includes the resumption of three major European leagues: the Premier League, La Liga and Serie A. All three confirmed their restart dates last week, with Spain’s La Liga the first to return on the evening of Thursday June 11 with the Seville derby of Sevilla v Real Betis. A further nine fixtures to complete a full round will be played over the weekend of 12-14 June.
La Liga’s resumption sees the titanic title tussle between Barcelona and Real Madrid come back into focus, with just two points separating the teams at the top of the log. Los Blancos appeared to have more momentum behind them, having beaten Barca in Madrid in early March before the league was suspended, but the break has since allowed the Catalans to regroup and recover from a major spate of injuries.
Read: La Liga Set To Resume On June 11 With Empty Stadia
The next to follow in resuming will be the Premier League, which will hold two catch-up fixtures – Manchester City v Arsenal and Aston Villa v Sheffield United – on Wednesday June 17, before a first full round of fixtures running from Friday June 19 to Monday June 22.
All eyes will be on leaders Liverpool, who only need 2 more wins in order to be crowned 2019/2020 champions, their first top-flight championship in 30 years. Their first game back will be away to Everton (with the match possibly set to be played at a neutral venue) – depending on the result of Manchester City’s earlier matches, the Reds could clinch the title with victor against their cross-town rivals.
Italy’s Serie A will also resume on the weekend of June 19-21, and bring with it one of the most thrilling title races anywhere in Europe. Champions Juventus hold a one-point lead over nearest chasers Lazio, who have become one of the most entertaining and effective teams in the Italian top flight. Internazionale are also on the fringes of the title race and could bring themselves back into contention if they win their game in hand.
Football is not the only sport which will be returning live to SuperSport, in the coming days and weeks: Rugby makes a comeback with New Zealand’s domestic Aotearoa on the weekend of June 13-14 (the Highlanders take on the Chiefs and the Blues host the Hurricanes), golf’s PGA Tour will hold the Charles Schwab Challenge from 11 to 14 June, and even IAAF Athletics is back on the calendar with the Oslo Impossible Games on 11 June.
Read: Arsenal Move To Keep Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang By Offering Contract Extension
There’s also horse racing (the Investec Coronation Cup on Friday June 5), IndyCar (the Genesys 600 on Sunday June 7) and the continuation of series which have already been holding live events through these troubled times, including UFC 250 (Sunday June 7), the NASCAR Cup (June 7, 11 and 14) and WWE’s latest pay-per-view special, ‘Backlash’ on Monday June 15.
Formula 1
The start of the 2020 Formula 1 season has been confirmed on July 5, with the opening race scheduled to take place at the Red Bull Ring in Austria on Sunday July 5.
The 2020 Formula 1 season – which almost began in Australia in March but was cancelled late in the day due to world events, and has remained suspended ever since – will start with two races behind closed doors in Austria on July 5 and July 12 followed by six other grands prix in Europe. There will then be a two-week break before two consecutive races in Britain and events in Spain, Belgium and Italy. The British Grands Prix at Silverstone will be held August 2 and 9, followed immediately by the Spanish Grand Prix at Barcelona on August 16. The Belgian and Italian Grands Prix will complete the European part of the season on their original dates of 30 August and 6 September.
Formula 1 said it hoped to have between 15 and 18 races in total, with the season being completed in December. Details of the remaining races will be confirmed in due course.
Formula 1 calendar
3-5 July: Austrian Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)
10-12 July: Steiermark Grand Prix (Red Bull Ring, Spielberg)
17-19 July: Hungarian Grand Prix (Hungaroring, Budapest)
31 July-2 August: British Grand Prix (Silverstone, Northamptonshire)
7-9 August: 70th Anniversary Grand Prix (Silverstone, Northamptonshire)
14-16 August: Spanish Grand Prix (Circuit de Catalunya, Barcelona)
28-30 August: Belgian Grand Prix (Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot)
4-6 September: Italian Grand Prix (Monza, Milan)
Major football leagues returning – Broadcast schedules all time EAT
La Liga:
Thursday 11 June
22:00: Sevilla v Real Betis
Friday 12 June
19:30: Granada v Getafe
22:00: Valencia v Levante
Saturday 13 June
13:00: Espanyol v Deportivo Alaves
17:00: Celta Vigo v Villarreal
19:30: Leganes v Real Valladolid
22:00: Mallorca v Barcelona
Sunday 14 June
13:00: Athletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid
19:30: Real Madrid v Eibar
22:00: Real Sociedad v Osasuna
Premier League:
Wednesday 17 June
TBD: Manchester City v Arsenal
TBD: Aston Villa v Sheffield United
Friday 19 June – Monday 22 June
First full round of Premier League return
Serie A:
Friday 19 June – Monday 22 June
First full round of Serie A return
Major live events over the next two weeks on SuperSport – Confirmed broadcast schedules
Friday 5 June
14:30: Horse racing: Investec Coronation Cup – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 10 and SuperSport
Sunday 7 June
02:00: MMA: UFC 250 preliminary card – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 11
02:40: IndyCar: Genesys 600 – LIVE on SuperSport 2 and SuperSport 8
04:00: MMA: UFC 250 main card – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 11
21:00: NASCAR Cup: Folds of Honor QuikTrip 500 – LIVE on SuperSport 2 and SuperSport 8
Thursday 11 June
01:00: NASCAR Cup: Blue-Emu Maximum Pain Relief 500 – LIVE on SuperSport 2 and SuperSport 8
20:00: IAAF Diamond League: Oslo Impossible Games – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 8 and SuperSport Select Go 3
21:00: PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge Day 1 – LIVE on SuperSport 6
Friday 12 June
22:00: PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge Day 2 – LIVE on SuperSport 6
Saturday 13 June
07:00: Aotearoa Rugby: Highlanders v Chiefs – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 5
19:00: PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge Day 3 – LIVE on SuperSport 6
Sunday 14 June
05:00: Aotearoa Rugby: Blues v Hurricanes – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 5
19:00: PGA Tour: Charles Schwab Challenge Day 4 – LIVE on SuperSport 6
21:30: NASCAR Cup: Dixie Vodka 400 – LIVE on SuperSport 2 and SuperSport 8
Monday 15 June
01:00: WWE Pay-per-view: Backlash – LIVE on SuperSport 1, SuperSport 4, SuperSport 9, SuperSport Select Go 5 and WWE Channel 128
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