Reuters Sports Schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday, March 1

Reuters sports schedule at 1400 GMT on Wednesday: SOCCER Barcelona v Sporting Gijon (1830) Osasuna v Villarreal (1830) Celta Vigo v Espanyol (2030) Granada CF v Alaves (2030) Real Madrid v Las Palmas (2030) Barca, Madrid renew battle for title MADRID - Champions Barcelona, who host Sporting Gijon, can provisionally top La Liga and put pressure on current leaders Real Madrid, who later host Las Palmas and welcome their ex-forward Jese back to the Bernabeu. (SOCCER-SPAIN/, expect first take by 2030 GMT/3.30pm ET, by Richard Martin, 400 words) English FA Cup Fifth Round 5th Round replay Manchester City v Huddersfield Town(II) (1945) Man City eye FA Cup quarters Manchester City will hope to reach the FA Cup quarter-finals by easing past second-tier Huddersfield Town at the second attempt after the first encounter ended goalless. (SOCCER-ENGLAND/CUP, expect by 2145 GMT/4.45 PM ET, 300 words) Italian Cup, semi-final Lazio v AS Roma (1945) Lazio and AS Roma meet in cup tie ROME - Lazio have failed to beat neighbours AS Roma in their last seven meetings and will attempt to end that run when the neighbours meet in the first leg of their Coppa Italia semi-final. (SOCCER-ITALY-LAZ-ROM/, expect by 2145 GMT/4.45 ET, by Brian Homewood, 300 words) German Cup Hamburg SV v Borussia Moenchengladbach (1730) Bayern Munich v Schalke 04 (1945) Holders Bayern face Schalke for German Cup semi-final spot BERLIN - Holders Bayern Munich take on Schalke 04 for a place in the German Cup last four while Hamburg SV entertain Borussia Moenchengladbach. (SOCCER-GERMANY/CUP (PIX), expect by 2145 GMT/4.45 PM ET, by Karolos Grohmann, 400 words) MLS Big talent replaces big names for new MLS season MIAMI - The 2017 Major League Soccer season gets underway this week and in place of big name ‘marketing’ signings, the transfer window has seen the arrival of a new wave of talent, particularly from South America. (SOCCER-USA/MLS (PREVIEW), expect by 1500 GMT/10 AM ET, by Simon Evans, 400 words) MOTOR RACING Formula One testing Mercedes and Ferrari vie for top slot on third day BARCELONA - Ferrari and champions Mercedes are vying to top the timesheets on the third day of testing with both teams enjoying good reliability so far. (MOTOR-F1-TESTING/, PIX, expect by 1300 GMT/8 AM ET, by Alan Baldwin, 400 words) GOLF HSBC Women's Champions, Singapore (Mar. 2-6) Ko keen for 2020 Olympic venue to allow women members SINGAPORE - Lydia Ko has undergone some major changes in the off-season in her quest to remain at the top of the world rankings and the New Zealander is also hoping that the golf venue for the next Olympics makes changes to its policy of barring female members. (GOLF-LPGA/KO, moved, by John O'Brien, 400 words) Also see GOLF-LPGA/JUTANUGARN OLYMPICS Budapest withdraws bid to host 2024 Olympic Games BUDAPEST - Budapest ended its bid to host the 2024 Olympics on Wednesday, citing a lack of unity after a political movement opposing the move collected more than a quarter of a million signatures to force a referendum on the issue. (OLYMPICS-2024/BUDAPEST-VOTE, moved, by Marton Dunai, 400 words) Athletics Edwards discuss world athletics championships LONDON - Triple jump world record holder Jonathan Edwards says athletics' place at the heart of the Olympics is under threat and the sport needs to take action to re-engage with fans (ATHLETICS-EDWARDS/FUTURE/, expect by 1600 GMT/11AM ET by Mitch Phillips). Edwards also expects his 22-year old world mark to go at this year's world championships in London, (ATHLETICS-EDWARDS/RECORD), moved, by Ossian Shine, 350 words) NORDIC SKIING FIS Nordic World Ski Championship in Finland BERLIN - Johan Olsson of Sweden faces tough competition as he seeks to retain his crown in the men's 15km cross-country race at the Nordic Ski World Championships. (NORDIC-WORLD/ (PIX), by Philip O'Connor, 200 words) CRICKET Guptill's blistering ton fashions NZ win over South Africa HAMILTON, NEW ZEALAND - New Zealand's Martin Guptill underlined his importance to the one-day side with a blistering match-winning century as he guided the hosts to a seven-wicket victory over South Africa in the fourth ODI on Wednesday. (CRICKET-NEWZEALAND/, moved, 400 words) (Europe desk editor: Larry Fine)