Football

A- League, today 7.35pm, 9.50pm, midnight; tomorrow 7pm; Friday 9.45pm. EFL Championship, today 7.45am. League Cup, final Monday 5am.

The Phoenix are in Brisbane for tonight’s early game but not many, apart from the longsuffering Nix fans, will be holding their breath as they square off against the Roar, four places and 11 points ahead of them. Adelaide United can’t get off the bottom rung tonight but they will give plenty of cheek when they run out against the Victory in the second game before the midnight affair in Perth as the Glory and Wanderers clash. The M3 Derby is tomorrow as Newcastle host the Mariners, while on Friday another classic looms as Sydney FC host the Victory in a top- of- the- table clash. Over in England, there’s a Championship game this morning between Birmingham and Wolves, two teams not in contention but probably safe from any relegation woes. On Monday, the League Cup final will be played between Manchester United and Southampton. United have won four of nine finals, while Southampton play just their second final after losing 3- 2 to Nottingham Forest in 1979. In the semifinals, United beat Hull 3- 2 on aggregate, while Southampton beat eight- time winners Liverpool 1- 0 in both legs.