Reuters Sports Schedule at 0600 GMT on Wednesday, Aug 24

Reuters sports schedule at 0600 GMT on Wednesday (times GMT): MOTOR RACING Belgian Formula One Grand Prix Hamilton keen to pick up where he left off in Spa SPA-FRANCORCHAMPS, Belgium - Lewis Hamilton is favourite to pick up where he left off when Formula One returns from its month-long August break for Sunday's Belgian Grand Prix. (MOTOR-F1-BELGIUM/ (PREVIEW), moving at 0800 GMT/4 AM ET, by Abhishek Takle, 450 words) We will also move statistics for Sunday's race and a drivers' form sheet. GOLF PGA Tour's FedExCup playoffs, The Barclays (to 28) Top players head to Bethpage Black Big guns prepare for start of FedEx Cup playoffs World number one Jason Day is among the players scheduled to speak to the media on the eve of the Barclays, the first of four FedEx Cup playoff events on the PGA Tour. (GOLF-PGAFEDEXCUP/, expect by 2300 GMT/7 PM ET, 450 words) SOCCER Champions League playoffs, second leg (1845) Apoel Nicosia v FC Copenhagen (aggregate score 0-1) Borussia Moengladbach v Young Boys (3-1) RB Salzb v Dinamo Zagreb (1-1) Rostov v Ajax Amsterdam (1-1) Manchester City v Steaua Bucharest (5-0) Man City bid to secure group-stage place ZURICH - Manchester City will seek to ensure their place in the group stage with a 5-0 lead over Romanian side Steaua Bucharest from the first leg. (SOCCER-CHAMPIONS/ (PIX), expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, by Brian Homewood, 500 words) English League Cup, second round Sunderland face Shrewsbury test LONDON - Struggling Premier League side Sunderland take on division (third tier) Shrewsbury for a place in the third round. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/CUP, expect by 2100 GMT/5 PM ET, 300 words) CRICKET England v Pakistan, first one-day international Hosts seek strong start in one-day series LONDON - England, held to a 2-2 draw in the test series, will bid to get off to a winning start in Southampton in the first of one-day internationals against Pakistan. (CRICKET-ENGLAND/, expect by 2100 GMT/5:PM ET, 300 words) Sri Lanka v Australia, 2nd one-day international Australia keen to stretch lead against Sri Lanka COLOMBO - World champions Australia will be eyeing their second successive victory against Sri Lanka as they hope to avenge their whitewash in the preceding test series. (CRICKET-SRI LANKA/, expect by 1630 GMT, 350 words) SWIMMING Efimova holds news conference MOSCOW - Russian Yulia Efimova, double Olympic silver medallist in Rio, holds a news conference in Moscow, where she discusses her difficult preparations for the Games after serving a temporary ban from competing. (SWIMMING-RUSSIA/EFIMOVA, expect by 1630 GMT/1230 ET, by Dmitriy Rogovitskiy, 400 words) RUGBY UNION Rugby Championship BUENOS AIRES - South Africa name their starting line-up for the Rugby Championship clash against their Argentine hosts in Salta on Saturday after squeezing out a narrow 30-23 victory over the Pumas at home last weekend. (RUGBY UNION-CHAMPIONSHIP/SAFRICA, expect by 0700 GMT/3 AM ET, 300 words) BASEBALL Japanese pitching duel as Mariners meet Yankees Right-hander Hisashi Iwakuma (14-8) is scheduled to start for the Seattle Mariners against the New York Yankees, who are expected to send right-hander Masahiro Tanaka (10-4) to the mound in a contest between two teams in playoff contention, one of 15 games on the Major League Baseball schedule. (BASEBALL-HIGHLIGHTS/, expect by 0600 GMT/2 AM ET, by The Sports Xchange, 800 words) NORTH AMERICAN SPORTS Roundups of off-field developments in the major North American professional sports leagues (expect by 0001 GMT/8:01 PM ET, 500 words) (Asia Desk Editor: Peter Rutherford)