Sky Sports and ESPN have confirmed its latest batch of live Barclays Premier League games for the month of March featuring some key clashes in the race for the title.
A dozen live games will be broadcast on Sky Sports, the stand-out highlight being the north London derby between Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal on March 3, while ESPN will screen three fixtures exclusively live, including Reading’s trip to Manchester United on March 16.
Tottenham’s home clash with Arsenal kicks off a busy month of live football on Sky Sports, while title rivals Manchester United
and Manchester City will also be in action throughout the month.
Subject to FA Cup involvement, Manchester United’s trip to West Ham will be shown live on Saturday, March 9, plus their game at Sunderland will also be on Sky Sports on Saturday, March 30.
Manchester City will travel to struggling Aston Villa for the only Monday Night Football of the month on March 4 and their tough test away at Everton will be screened on March 16.
Chelsea still harbour aspirations of getting into the title picture and their derby clash with Fulham will be live on Sunday, March 10 (subject to FA Cup involvement) and viewers can also see their game with Southampton on Easter Sunday.
In addition to 12 live Premier League games, Sky Sports viewers will also enjoy action from the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League during March, as well top games from the npower Football League and international fixtures.
ESPN’s three live games will feature current league leaders Manchester United, as well as both Merseyside clubs Liverpool and Everton.
March 2 will see relegation-threatened Wigan Athletic host Liverpool at the DW Stadium.
Wigan manager Roberto Martinez was heavily linked with the Anfield job last summer before Brendan Rodgers was confirmed in the post.
Having found consistency of late, Liverpool have their sights set on the Champions League places, but have an indifferent record against Wigan.
ESPN’s second game in March features Manchester United and Reading at Old Trafford, with both teams having shared seven goals when these teams met in early December.
Currently top of the Barclays Premier League table, Sir Alex Ferguson’s men will be strong favourites against Reading, as the Royals continue their fight to climb away from the relegation zone.
The final live Barclays Premier League match this month on ESPN sees Stoke City travel north to Everton on Easter Saturday.
The Potters remain one of the hardest teams to beat in the top flight and continue to challenge for the European places next season.
After an impressive first half of the season, Everton are just outside of the top four and will be keen to improve on their 1-1 draw at the Britannia as they chase a place in the UEFA Champions League next season.
Simon Potter, head of programming and production, ESPN, EMEA, said: “This is another great set of games to add to our schedule as the Barclays Premier League approaches the business end of the season.
“ESPN’s last three live Premier League games have produced a total of 21 goals, so we’re looking forward to bringing fans more compelling action from the title race, the challenge for European places and the battle against relegation.”
The newly announced fixtures will be part of a wide range of live football on ESPN, including UEFA Europa League, as well as the Scottish Premier League and the quarter-finals of the FA Cup.
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