Reuters Sports Schedule at 0001 GMT on Wednesday

Reuters sports schedule at 0001 GMT on Wednesday:

SOCCER

English League Cup semi-final, first leg

Chelsea v Arsenal (2000)

Chelsea face Arsenal for place in League Cup final

LONDON - Chelsea host London rivals Arsenal in the first leg of their League Cup semi-final at Stamford Bridge with Arsene Wenger's side aiming to bounce back after the holders' shock FA Cup third round defeat at Nottingham Forest. (SOCCER-ENGLAND-CHE-ARS/ (PIX), expect by 2200 GMT/5 PM ET, 400 words)

We also look ahead to the weekend's Premier League fixtures, including runaway leaders Manchester City at home to Liverpool.

King's Cup, last 16 second legs (1830 unless stated)

Deportivo Alaves v Formentera

Villarreal v Leganes

Real Madrid v Numancia (2030)

Real Madrid set to ease into King's Cup quarter-finals

MADRID - Real Madrid hold a 3-0 lead over second division Numancia going into their King's Cup last 16 second leg and should stroll into the quarter-finals of a competition they last won in 2014. (SOCCER-SPAIN/CUP, expect by 2230 GMT/6:30 PM ET, by Rik Sharma, 300 words)

French League Cup, quarter-finals (2005 unless stated)

Rennes v Toulouse (1745)

Amiens SC v Paris St Germain

Angers SCO v Montpellier

Coverage on merit

WINTER OLYMPICS

North Korea to send athletes, officials to Pyeongchang

SEOUL - North Korea said during rare talks with the South it will send a delegation of high-ranking officials, athletes and a cheering squad to the Pyeongchang Winter Olympics in South Korea next month, a senior South Korean official said on Tuesday. (NORTHKOREA-SOUTHKOREA/TALKS (WRAPUP 2, TV, PIX, GRAPHICS) moved, by Christine Kim and Hyonhee Shin, 800 words)

Forty-two Russians appeal against Olympic bans

ZURICH- Forty-two Russians have lodged appeals against bans issued by the International Olympic Committee (IOC) following doping violations at the 2014 Sochi Winter Games, the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) said on Tuesday. (DOPING-OLYMPICS/RUSSIA (UPDATE 1), moved, by Mitch Phillips, 300 words)

We are also moving a series of features and previews ahead of the Feb. 9-25 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea.

TENNIS

Sydney International

Muguruza back on court in Sydney

SYDNEY - Top seed Garbine Muguruza, who retired from her season opener with leg cramps last week, takes on Kiki Bertens in the second round of the Australian Open warm-up at Sydney's Olympic tennis centre. (TENNIS-SYDNEY/, expect by 0800 GMT/3 AM ET, 300 words)

Kooyong Classic

Djokovic takes on Thiem in Melbourne

MELBOURNE - Novak Djokovic faces Austria's Dominic Thiem at the Kooyong Classic tennis round-robin exhibition tournament. (TENNIS-KOOYONG/ (PIX), 300 words)

Hobart International

Champion Watson faces Aussie teen in Hobart

Defending champion Heather Watson of Britain takes on Australian teenager Jaimee Fourlis in the second round before top seed Zhang Shuai faces big-hitting Belarusian teen Aryna Sabalenka. (TENNIS-HOBART/WOMEN, expect by 0800 GMT/3 AM ET, 300 words)

Australian Open previews

Nadal begins new era in Australia without coach Toni

MELBOURNE - Rafael Nadal last year proved that rumours of his demise had been exaggerated by winning the French and U.S. Open titles but he faces a battle to repeat those feats without his uncle and lifelong coach Toni and fighting familiar injury troubles. (TENNIS-AUSTRALIA/NADAL (PREVIEW), moving at 0500 GMT/0000 AM ET, by Richard Martin, 550 words)

Rublev leading the Russian advance into Melbourne

MELBOURNE - Russian men's tennis has lived in the shadow of the women since Marat Safin's retirement but a new bunch of young guns led by Andrey Rublev are starting to make a big impression. (TENNIS-AUSOPEN/RUSSIANS, moving at 0500 GMT/0000 AM ET, by Martyn Herman, 500 words)

NBA

Blazers seek to rock Thunder

Two teams with almost identical records in the competitive West meet as the Portland Trail Blazers (21-18) visit Russell Westbrook and the Oklahoma City Thunder (22-18) in one of four games on the National Basketball Association schedule. (BASKETBALL-NBA/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0630 GMT/1:30 AM ET, by Field Level Media, 300 words)

NHL

Improved Panthers visit league-leading Lightning

League-leading Tampa Bay Lightning will offer the Carolina Hurricanes a gauge of whether their recent improvement is more than a flash in the pan when they meet in one of seven games on the National Hockey League schedule. (ICEHOCKEY-NHL/HIGHLIGHTS, expect by 0500 GMT/12 AM ET, by Field Level Media, 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 Field Level Media, 500 words)

MOTOR RACING

F1's Carey in Copenhagen as city seeks to host 2020 race

COPENHAGEN - Formula One CEO Chase Carey visits Denmark's capital to meet Business Minister Brian Mikkelsen as Copenhagen seeks to host an F1 race in 2020 with a pitch that it would be opening the gates to Scandinavia. (MOTOR-F1-DENMARK/, expect by 1500 GMT/10 AM ET, by Stine Jacobsen, 300 words)

RALLYING

RALLYING

Dakar rally, stage five

San Juan de Marcona to Arequipa

Defending champion Stephane Peterhansel leads the Dakar Rally into the fifth stage, the last full day in Peru before entering Bolivia. (MOTOR-RALLY-DAKAR/ (PIX), expect by 1800 GMT/1 PM ET, 300 words) (Asia desk editor: Peter Rutherford)