Tony Kelshaw 
Bristol City and Birmingham both head into Friday night’s Championship clash in good spirits, but the hosts are rated a percentage pick. The sixth-placed Robins are unbeaten this season in games against bottom-half clubs at Ashton Gate, winning six of eight such fixtures, and the Blues are down in 17th.
Philadelphia 76ers can gain huge momentum if pulling off a victory at Eastern Conference leaders Milwaukee Bucks, but we fear that outcome is unlikely. The visitors have been in wretched form on their travels, losing on each of their last four road trips and in eight of their last 10 away from Wells Fargo Center.
Golden State may find it tough to extend a run of eight straight head-to-head wins over Brooklyn but the Warriors can be competitive at Barclays Center. Having struggled badly on the road for most of this season, Steve Kerr’s side now travel to the Big Apple on the back of big wins in Cleveland and Washington.
Newcastle’s winter break has been shortened by a frustrating FA Cup replay and we fear Oxford could feel the backlash at Kassam Stadium. The Magpies wasted numerous opportunities to settle this tie at St James’ Park but Steve Bruce still seems committed to chasing a good run in the competition.
Novak Djokovic is hard to oppose as he bids for an eighth Australian Open title but Dominic Thiem can hopefully give him a decent test. The Austrian can take heart from having won four of their last five head-to-head encounters, including a come-from-behind victory at the ATP Finals in November.
Few would have forecast an Australian Open final between Garbine Muguruza and Sofia Kenin at the start of the tournament Down Under, but the refreshingly unpredictable nature of women’s tennis means we could have a first-time grand slam champion in Melbourne on Saturday.
Utah Jazz travel to the injury-hampered Denver Nuggets as these teams face off for the first time this season at the Pepsi Center. Both teams are locked on 32-15 in their battle for top spot in the Northwest division, with the winner also set to move up to third place in the Western Conference.
Moda Center will host a potential battle between the NBA’s two most in-form scoring guards as James Harden’s Houston travel to Damian Lillard’s Portland. Lillard poured in 50 points and 13 assists during the Trail Blazers’ 139-129 victory against Indiana last time out, with CJ McCollum adding 28.
Chelsea beat Hull 4-0 in the FA Cup fifth round a couple of years ago en route to lifting the trophy and will seek to tame the Tigers again in round four this term. The Blues have to travel up to KCOM Stadium this time, but have picked up more points on the road than at Stamford Bridge in the Premier League.
Manchester United should get past League One Tranmere in the FA Cup fourth round but are unlikely to have things all their own way at Prenton Park. An old-fashioned muddy pitch and opponents who like to get the ball into the box is a combination which could give the Red Devils some uneasy moments.
Shrewsbury are expected to find Liverpool too strong at New Meadow but a decent FA Cup pedigree suggests they will not go down without a fight. Town reached the quarter-finals in 1979 and 1982, knocked out Everton in 2003 and have held West Ham and Wolves to draws here in the past couple of seasons.
Wayne Rooney has made an immediate impact at Derby and can help inspire County to an FA Cup fourth round victory at League Two Northampton. The Cobblers have been playing well at their own level, though, scoring plenty of goals in a six-match unbeaten run, so this should be an entertaining tie.
Los Angeles Lakers will look to return to winning ways against the struggling New York Knicks in order to strengthen their grip at the top of the Western Conference. The Lakers suffered a heavy defeat at the Boston Celtics last time out but will fancy their chances at Madison Square Garden.
We’re tracking the latest Edinson Cavani transfer news as the race to sign PSG’s want-away striker hots up and two Premier League clubs are being tipped to swoop. Man Utd are 3/2 favourites to land the Uruguay star on a permanent basis during the current window, with Chelsea quoted at 2/1.