Reuters Sports Schedule at 0330 GMT Saturday, Oct 17

Reuters sports schedule at 0330 GMT on Saturday: - - - - FIFA/UEFA Slush fund allegedly used for 2006 World Cup votes-report BERLIN - German football was thrown into turmoil on Friday when magazine Der Spiegel said the country's football officials had used a slush fund to win votes and land the 2006 World Cup. (SOCCER-FIFA/GERMANY, moved, by Karolos Grohmann, 600 words) - - Blatter fighting to return for FIFA handover in February ZURICH - Sepp Blatter, suspended president of soccer's world governing body FIFA, said he aimed to return to office in time to hand over power to a successor to be elected at a special congress in February. (SOCCER FIFA/BLATTER, moved, by Joshua Franklin, 400 words) - - Platini payment was 'gentleman's agreement' - Blatter ZURICH - Sepp Blatter had a "gentleman's agreement" with Michel Platini over a payment at the centre of a criminal investigation that led to suspensions for the two soccer officials, the suspended FIFA president told Swiss TV. (SOCCER FIFA/BLATTER, moved, by Joshua Franklin, 200 words) - - English FA suspends support for Platini's FIFA candidacy LONDON - The English Football Association has suspended support for Michel Platini's bid to become FIFA president after learning "more information relating to the issues from Mr Platini's lawyers", the FA said in a statement. (SOCCER-FIFA/PLATINI-ENGLAND, moved, by Steve Tongue, 350 words) - - - - RUGBY WORLD CUP (to 31) Quarter-finals South Africa v Wales, Twickenham (1500) Forward battle looms as South Africa and Wales collide LONDON - Twice winners South Africa and Wales are preparing for a struggle up front in what each believes will be a forward-dominated battle in their quarter-final at Twickenham. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/SOUTH AFRICA-WALES (PIX), expect by 1700 GMT/1 PM ET, by Mitch Phillips, Justin Palmer and Nick Said, 600 words) - - New Zealand v France (1900) All Blacks primed for another French test CARDIFF - World champions New Zealand bid to book their semi-final place against France, who knocked them out of the 1999 and 2007 tournaments. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/NEWZEALAND-FRANCE, (PIX), expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, by Nick Mulvenney, Julian Linden, Ed Osmond and Julien Pretot, 600 words) - - - - We will monitor news from across the tournament and file stories throughout. (RUGBY UNION-WORLD/) - - - - BASEBALL Royals beat Blue Jays in ALCS opener Strong pitching propelled the Kansas City Royals to a 5-0 victory over the Toronto Blue Jays in Game One of the American League Championship Series. (BASEBALL-ROYALS/, moved with updates to follow, 400 words) - - - - SOCCER Premier League (1400 unless stated) Tottenham Hotspur v Liverpool (1145) Chelsea v Aston Villa Crystal Palace v West Ham United Everton v Manchester United Manchester City v AFC Bournemouth Southampton v Leicester City West Bromwich Albion v Sunderland Watford v Arsenal (1630) Klopp begins new era for Liverpool at Tottenham LONDON - Juergen Klopp takes charge of his first game as Liverpool's new manager with a tough trip to Tottenham Hotspur, while leaders Manchester City host Bournemouth, second-placed Arsenal visit Watford and misfiring Chelsea welcome struggling Aston Villa. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PIX), expect from 1330 GMT/9:30 AM ET, by Mike Collett and Martyn Herman, 400 words) - - La Liga Real Madrid v Levante (1400) Eibar v Sevilla (1615) Barcelona v Rayo Vallecano (1830) Valencia v Malaga (2000) Real Betis v Espanyol (2005) Champions Barcelona at home to Rayo, Real host Levante MADRID - Champions Barcelona, still missing injured talisman Lionel Messi, host Rayo Vallecano and Real Madrid are at home to Levante when Cristiano Ronaldo has another chance to break the club's all-time scoring record. (SOCCER-SPAIN/ (PIX), expect by 1600 GMT/12 PM ET, by Iain Rogers, 400 words) - - Bundesliga (1330 unless stated) FC Augsburg v SV Darmstadt 98 Hamburg SV v Bayer Leverkusen Schalke 04 v Hertha Berlin VfL Wolfsburg v Hoffenheim Werder Bremen v Bayern Munich Eintracht Frankfurt v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1630) Stampeding Bayern ready to extend winning run at Werder BERLIN - Champions Bayern Munich can stretch their winning start to nine games and restore a seven point-lead at the top if they beat struggling Werder Bremen. (SOCCER-GERMANY/ (PIX), expect by 1530 GMT/11:30 AM ET, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words) - - Serie A AS Roma v Empoli (1600) Torino v AC Milan (1845) Roma and Torino eye top three spots ROME - AS Roma and Torino could move into the top three after they play Empoli and mid-table AC Milan ahead of Sunday's clash between leaders Fiorentina and visiting Napoli. (SOCCER-ITALY/ (PIX), expect by 1800 GMT/2 PM ET, by Ed Dove, 400 words) - - Ligue 1 (1800 unless stated) Bastia v Paris St Germain (1500) En Avant Guingamp v Lille Nantes v ES Troyes AC St Etienne v GFC Ajaccio Stade de Reims v Caen Toulouse v Angers SCO Unbeaten PSG travel to Bastia, Angers at Toulouse PARIS - Unbeaten leaders Paris St Germain visit mid-table Bastia while second-placed Angers, who are five points adrift, travel to lowly Toulouse. (SOCCER-FRANCE/ (PIX), expect by 2100 GMT/4 PM ET, 400 words) - - Dutch championship Groningen v Willem II Tilburg (1630) SC Cambuur v AZ Alkmaar (1630) Heracles Almelo v Ajax Amsterdam (1745) Utrecht v Roda JC Kerkrade (1845) PSV Eindhoven v Excelsior (1845) Leaders Ajax at third-placed Heracles, PSV host Excelsior AMSTERDAM - Leaders Ajax Amsterdam, still smarting from a home defeat by PSV Eindhoven, visit Heracles Almelo while their arch-rivals PSV welcome mid-table Excelsior. (SOCCER-DUTCH/ (PIX), expect by 2245 GMT/18:45 PM ET, 400 words) - - Argentine championship Masked Tevez aims to lift title with Boca Juniors BUENOS AIRES - Carlos Tevez, wearing a protective mask after breaking his nose on international duty with Argentina, will try to help Boca Juniors clinch the league title this weekend. (SOCCER-ARGENTINA/CHAMPIONSHIP (PREVIEW), moved, 300 words) - - - - TENNIS ATP: Shanghai Masters, China (to 18) Djokovic takes on Murray, Tsonga test for Nadal in semis World number one Novak Djokovic meets Britain's Andy Murray while Rafa Nadal faces Jo-Wilfried Tsonga in the Shanghai Masters semi-finals. (TENNIS-MEN/SHANGHAI, 300 words) - - WTA: Hong Kong Open (to 18) Linz Open (to 18) Tianjin (to 18) Copy on merit on above tournaments - - - - CRICKET Pakistan v England, 1st test Cook-inspired England heading for draw against Pakistan ABU DHABI - England resume on on 569-8 on the final day of the first test, 46 runs ahead of Pakistan, after Alastair Cook completed the third-longest innings in test history and the longest by an Englishman. (CRICKET-PAKISTAN/, expect throughout, by Matt Smith, 400 words) - - Sri Lanka v West Indies, 1st test, Galle (to 18) Sri Lanka need eight wickets for Windies victory Sri Lanka need eight more West Indies wickets for a victory in the opening test at Galle, with left-arm spinner Rangana Herath looking ominous for the visiting side. (CRICKET-SRI LANKA/, expect throughout, 350 words) - - - - NHL Sharks, Red Wings look to stay perfect The San Jose Sharks and Detroit Red Wings will try to improve to 4-0 when they play the New Jersey Devils and Carolina Hurricanes in two of the seven games on the National Hockey League schedule. (NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0330 GMT/11:30 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (moved, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) - - - - GOLF PGA Tour: Frys.com Open (to 18) American Steele leads, McIlroy six back Rory McIlroy lamented a "frustrating" putting performance in the Frys.com Open second round in northern California on Friday while Brendan Steele increased his lead to two shots despite shooting seven strokes worse than his opening round. (GOLF-PGA/, moved, 400 words) - - - - MOTORCYCLING Australian MotoGP, Phillip Island (to 17) Rossi and Lorenzo to battle for pole MELBOURNE - Championship leader Valentino Rossi and Yamaha team mate Jorge Lorenzo will vie for pole position at the breezy seaside circuit with the title race delicately poised (MOTORCYCLING-PRIX/ (PIX), expect by 0500 GMT /1 AM ET, by Ian Ransom, 300 words) (Asia desk editor: Peter Rutherford)