Silverware, spectacle and a glimpse of the future headline a packed sporting weekend, with Arsenal and Manchester City colliding at Wembley in a clash that could shape the season, LIV Golf bringing its high-octane show to South Africa for the first time, and NFL stars led by Tom Brady trading contact for speed in Los Angeles as flag football builds toward its Olympic moment.
Here’s your inside track to the action.
SOCCER
Arsenal face City in Wembley showdown with quadruple dream at stake
Arsenal meet Manchester City in a blockbuster Wembley clash on Sunday with the chance to launch an historic bid to win four major trophies in one season, as the League Cup final offers the first piece of silverware in what could become a defining campaign.
Still in the hunt for the Champions League, Premier League and FA Cup, as well as the League Cup, Mikel Arteta’s side have not lifted a major trophy since their 2020 FA Cup triumph, but their route to Wembley — sealed last month with a 4-2 aggregate win over Chelsea — has been built on control, depth and growing belief.
There are, however, decisions to make: captain Martin Odegaard (knee injury) and Jurrien Timber (ankle) are doubts, Mikel Merino is out after surgery on a foot injury, and Arteta must choose between Kepa Arrizabalaga, the cup regular, and David Raya in goal.
City arrive with their usual swagger and authority. Manager Pep Guardiola has dominated this competition over the past decade with five trophies, and his side were convincing in dispatching Newcastle 5-1 on aggregate in the semi-finals. Erling Haaland is fit despite a recent scare, while James Trafford is set to keep his place in goal. Josko Gvardiol remains sidelined as he recovers from a leg fracture, but City’s depth limits the impact of absences.
The fixture echoes the 2018 final, when City won comfortably 3-0, though recent meetings suggest a more even contest. Arsenal have had the edge at times over the past two seasons, including a 5-1 league thumping last year, and will view this as an opportunity to turn progress into silverware.
With the clubs sitting first and second in the Premier League, the outcome is likely to resonate way beyond Wembley — a first trophy for league leaders Arsenal could fuel a broader push which would see them leave City in the dust.
League Cup Final, London – March 22 GOLF
LIV Golf brings big-money spectacle to South Africa with Johannesburg debut
LIV Golf will make its African debut this week with a maiden event at Steyn City’s Jack Nicklaus-designed course in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, billed as South Africa’s answer to Augusta with wide fairways and 75 bunkers.
The LIV show will roll into town with the usual line-up of players, but also the razzmatazz that follows each day’s play with a music concert featuring the likes of Black Coffee and Calvin Harris. It is not golf as we know it … certainly in South Africa.
LIV Golf events are 72-hole tournaments played over four rounds with no cut — a 2026 expansion from the previous 54-hole format (hence the name LIV – 54 in Roman numerals).
Alongside the individual competition, there is also a team event in which four-man teams count the best scores each round, with all four scores counting in the final round.
Unusually, these events have what is called a “shotgun start,” meaning there will be 18 groups of players spread around the course at each hole, all teeing off at the same time.
There’s a purse of $20 million this week, and LIV says its 14-event 2026 season will pay out $470 million in individual and team purses.
LIV Golf South Africa, Steyn City, Johannesburg – March 19-22
FLAG FOOTBALL
Brady and NFL stars headline LA flag football showcase ahead of Olympic debut
Tom Brady and a star-studded cast of NFL names will swap pads for pull-flags on Saturday when the first Fanatics Flag Football Classic lands at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, offering a fast-paced showcase for a sport racing toward its Olympic debut.
The event, which was moved from Saudi Arabia to LA after the Iran war broke out, will feature a three-team, five-on-five tournament blending NFL legends and current stars, elite flag football players and USA Football’s National Team in a made-for-TV spectacle airing live at 4 p.m. ET (2000 GMT) on FOX Sports, FOX One and Tubi.
Hosted by comedian Kevin Hart alongside comedian and actor Druski, the competition will see teams led by Brady, Jalen Hurts, Joe Burrow and Jayden Daniels battle through a round-robin format, with the top two sides advancing to the championship game.
Played under modified Olympic-style rules, the games will consist of two, 15-minute halves on a 50-by-25-yard field, putting the emphasis on speed, precision and improvisation rather than brute force.
For organizers, the event is about more than celebrity appeal. With flag football set to make its Olympic debut at the Los Angeles Games in 2028, the Classic is designed as a celebration, a preview, and a primer — a chance to spotlight the sport’s growing mainstream momentum in a city already counting down to the next Summer Olympics.
Fanatics Flag Football Classic, Los Angeles – March 21
EXTRA TIME
What else we’re watching
MotoGP: The sport returns to Brazil for the first time in over two decades with Goiania hosting a wide-open race as early leader Pedro Acosta, resurgent Aprilia and a smarting Ducati head into an unpredictable weekend on an unfamiliar circuit.
Soccer: MLS rolls on with focus on champions Inter Miami, as Lionel Messi’s side face New York City FC.
Tennis: Attention shifts from Indian Wells to Florida as the Miami Open begins — the second leg of the “Sunshine Double” and one of the year’s premier combined ATP and WTA 1000 events.
Alpine skiing: The women’s World Cup title race reaches a climax in Norway this weekend as Mikaela Shiffrin chases a record-equalling sixth crown under pressure from Emma Aicher, while downhill and super-G globes are also on the line.
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Editing by Yasmeen Serhan and Andrew Cawthorne; Visual Production by Jeremy Schultz