Sports round-up: 7th - 13th April 2012
Who'll have the drive to win this year's US Masters?
The 158th Boat Race takes place on the Thames, Manchester United meet QPR in the Premier League and the US Masters swings into its final round. Here's a reminder of the sporting highlights in the week ahead.
Rowing - The Boat Race, Oxford v Cambridge: 7 April (BBC One) The 158th University Boat Race takes place between the two oldest universities in the English-speaking world, with the dark blues of Oxford looking to take the spoils for the second year in succession. It's their bitter opponents in light blue, Cambridge, who hold the overall lead, with 80 wins to 76 (the race of 1877 being declared a dead heat). Thousands of spectators will line the banks of the Thames along the four miles and 374 yards from Putney to Mortlake, to cheer on the competing eights in what is one of the longest-running sporting events in the British sporting calendar.
Check the odds for the 158th University Boat Race
Football - English Premier League, Manchester United v Queens Park Rangers: 8 April (Sky Sports 1) The Premier League enters the business end of the season with a classic top versus bottom match that will go some way in deciding the fate of both teams. Manchester United's league form has been nothing short of sensational of late and seven consecutive wins have seen them leapfrog local rivals Manchester City at the top of the table. They face a QPR team managed by one of Old Trafford's most spectacular strikers in Mark Hughes. The Welshman will be hoping his Super Hoops can pick up enough points to pull away from the bottom three in what is a daunting run-in for the west London club.
Check the odds for Manchester United v QPR
Golf - US Masters, The Final Round, Augusta: 8 April (BBC Two) The first, and arguably most prestigious, of golf's majors enters the final 18 holes at Augusta National in Georgia, with the players at the top of the leaderboard within touching distance of the coveted green jacket. Last year, Northern Ireland's prodigious Rory McIlroy famously slumped from a four stroke lead to 10 behind eventual winner Charl Schwartzel. This year, McIlroy is again among the favourites, alongside Brits Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose. And there's a certain resurgent Tiger Woods in the frame, who already boasts 14 majors and 4 Master to his name.
Check the odds for the US Masters
Best of the rest:
Cycling - World Championships, Melbourne: 8 April (BBC Two)
Rugby Union - European Cup, Saracens v Clermont Auvergne: 8 April (Sky Sports 2)
Football - The Championship, Southampton v Reading: 13 April (Sky Sports 1)
