Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday, Feb 23

Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Thursday: SOCCER Europa League Spurs out to overturn deficit against Gent LONDON - Tottenham Hotspur will have to overturn a 1-0 first-leg deficit at home to Belgian outfit Gent if they are to reach the last 16, while AS Roma and Olympique Lyonnais will look to consolidate large aggregate leads. (SOCCER-EUROPA/, expect by 2000 GMT/3 PM ET, by Toby Davis, 600 words) Premier League Swansea's Clement keen to give former club Chelsea the blues LONDON - Having helped Chelsea to win the Premier League as assistant to Carlo Ancelotti, Paul Clement will be looking to put a dent in their title hopes this season when he takes his resurgent Swansea City side to Stamford Bridge on Saturday. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/ (PREVIEW), moved, by Toby Davis, 400 words) We continue the build-up to the weekend matches in the Premier League. (SOCCER-ENGLAND-TEAM/, expect throughout) Mabbutt gives verdict on Spurs progress under Pochettino London – Former Tottenham Hotspur player Gary Mabbutt talks about the progress of his old club and the impact Mauricio Pochettino has had on the London club. (SOCCER-ENGLAND-TOT-STO/, expect by 1100 GMT/6 AM ET, by Martyn Herman, 400 words) Italian Serie A Fresh faces, new troubles for Juventus ROME - Serie A leaders Juventus return to domestic action when they host Empoli on Saturday having seen off Porto in their Champions League last 16 first leg, with Massimiliano Allegri’s side enjoying the emergence of new faces but having to contend with tension from within. (SOCCER-ITALY/ (PREVIEW, PIX), expect by 1400 GMT/9 AM ET, by Ed Dove, 400 words) RUGBY Super Rugby - Week One Melbourne Rebels v Auckland Blues, Melbourne (0845) MELBOURNE - The Rebels host Tana Umaga's Blues in the first Thursday night Super Rugby clash to open the new season of the provincial championship. (RUGBY UNION-SUPER/REBELS, expect by 1100 GMT/6 AM ET, by Ian Ransom, 350 words) We will also run highlights (RUGBY UNION-SUPER/HIGHLIGHTS) with brief updates on each match of the round. CRICKET India v Australia, first test, Pune (to 27) India and Australia kick off four-test series PUNE - Australia captain Steve Smith won the toss and opted to bat against a spin-heavy India in the first match of the four-test series between the top two teams in the world on Thursday. (CRICKET-INDIA/ (PIX), expect throughout, by Sudipto Ganguly, 400 words) MOTOR RACING Hamilton and Bottas unveil new Mercedes F1 car SILVERSTONE, England - Formula One world champions Mercedes take the wraps off the car they hope will continue their domination into a fourth sucessive season with Lewis Hamilton and newcomer Valtteri Bottas. (MOTOR-F1-MERCEDES/, (PIX, TV), expect by 1500 GMT/10 AM ET, by Alan Baldwin, 400 words) GOLF European Tour: Jo’burg Open, Johannesburg (to 26) Expansive field over two courses JOHANNESBURG – A total of 210 golfers tee off across two courses at the start of the Jo’burg Open as the European Tour returns to South Africa at the Royal Johannesburg and the Kensington Golf clubs. (GOLF-EUROPEAN/, expect by 1630 GMT/ 11:30 AM ET, 250 words) NHL Caps snap skid with win over Flyers Evgeny Kuznetsov netted his second two-goal game of the season and Braden Holtby turned aside 33 of 34 shots to earn his 30th win, leading Washington over Philadelphia. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0630 GMT/1:30 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 400 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues. (Expect by 0100 GMT/8 PM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 500 words) ASIAN WINTER GAMES Asian Winter Games, Sapporo (to 26) The eighth edition of the Asiad for winter sports involves some 1,200 athletes from 32 countries competing in five sports, 11 disciplines and 64 events at 12 competition venues mostly in Sapporo on Japan's northerly Hokkaido island. (GAMES-ASIA/ (PIX), copy on merit) (Asia desk editor: Peter Rutherford)