Wembley will serve as the battle ground for the last major honours of the season as Bayern Munich go head-to-head with Borussia Dortmund to be crowned 2012/13 UEFA Champions League winners.

This is the first all-German final in the competition’s history and Bayern Munich and Borussia Dortmund both head for England’s national stadium purely on merit rather than through any semblance of fluke.

Fans can follow the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final live from Wembley on Saturday, May 25, with host broadcaster ITV providing free-to-air coverage, while Sky Sports will also be covering the final in high-definition and in stunning 3D.

Wembley Stadium again has the honour of hosting its second UEFA Champions League Final in three years, in part due to its widely acclaimed and successful staging of the 2011 final where Barcelona beat Manchester United 3-1.

UEFA primarily awarded the match to London’s showpiece stadium as its tribute to mark the Football Association’s 150th anniversary.

It is perhaps fitting that two German teams shall contest for European football’s biggest and most prestigious prize at the home of English football as Borussia Dortmund and Bayern Munich go head-to-head in what promises to be a compelling final.

The Bundesliga rivals were too good for their La Liga counterparts – Real Madrid and Barcelona – over the course of two thrilling semi final ties – Dortmund overcoming Madrid 4-3 and Bayern dishing out an emphatic 7-0 aggregate thrashing to Barca.

Dortmund owe their first final appearance since 1997 to a stunning first-leg win over Real Madrid at their home Signal Iduna Park stadium.

The Spanish giants were continually caught off guard by the bewildering pace and intensity of a side led by sought-after striker Robert Lewandowski.

The prolific Polish international was in a punishing mood, scoring all four of his team’s goals and helping them maintain their perfect home record in Europe this season.

José Mourinho’s charges did come close to clawing their way back in the return leg, though.

After a string of early chances went begging, they finally found some joy in the 82nd minute through Frenchman Karim Benzema.

Sergio Ramos added a second six minutes later, but Dortmund did enough to see the game out.

With rising stars – including Lewandowski, Mario Gotze, Marco Reus and Ilkay Gundogan – Dortmund have been the surprise package of the tournament having been drawn in a tough group with Manchester City, Real and Ajax.

Jurgen Klopp’s men cruised through the ‘Group of Death’ as winners and have continued their good form in the knockout stages – ousting Shakhtar Donetsk and Malaga before their famous success over Jose Mourinho’s Real secured them a place at the showpiece of European football.

In contrast, Bayern Munich were never in any danger in their semi-final against Barcelona.

The Bavarians were ruthless in their approach, dismantling the four-time tournament winners with alarming ease.

Desperately unlucky to lose out to Chelsea in last season’s final, Jupp Heynckes’s side seem determined to make amends this time around.

They followed up their 4-0 first leg demolition by adding a further three goals without reply at the Nou Camp, equalling their own record for the biggest away win in a Champions League semi-final.

The names on Bayern’s team-sheet will be even more recognisable.

Boasting the likes of Franck Ribery, Arjen Robben, Philipp Lahm and Toni Kroos, the Bundesliga champions have enjoyed a ruthless campaign.

Sweeping aside all challengers for the domestic crown, their demolition job on Barcelona in the semi-final sent shockwaves through the world of football – and they will go into the match as favourites to rubber-stamp their supposed superiority over Dortmund.

It is Bayern’s third final in four years and after defeats by Inter Milan and Chelsea the likes of Robben and Ribery will be desperate to be crowned European champions.

However Borussia Dortmund have been one of the most exciting teams in the Champions League this season and in Jurgen Klopp, they boast one of the most charismatic coaches anywhere in football.

Follow all the drama and excitement as the all-German battle for European supremecy unfolds at the home of English football on either ITV or Sky Sports.

Read SOTB’s viewing guide below:

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ITV has live free-to-air coverage of the all-German UEFA Champions League Final at Wembley Stadium.

Build-up to the showpiece match of the European football calendar includes a new two-hour documentary on ITV4 on Friday night.

As Wembley prepares to host its second Champions League Final in three years, presenter Matt Smith takes a look back at the 20-year history of football’s biggest club tournament in ’20 Years of Champions League’ on Friday, May 24, at 8pm (repeated Saturday at 3.40pm).

The competition took over from the European Cup two decades ago and has since gained in prestige to become the pinnacle achievement in domestic football.

The ITV4 programme looks back at some of the memorable moments that have made this competition so special including the great comebacks, dramatic endings and unlikely shocks.

Then on Saturday, ITV’s live coverage from Wembley begins at 7.00pm, presented by Adrian Chiles.

Joining Chiles in the ITV studio for expert analysis and comment will be Roy Keane, Lee Dixon and Gareth Southgate.

Clive Tyldesley will call his 16th Champions League final for ITV and he will be alongside Andy Townsend in the commentary box, with Gabriel Clarke and Ned Boulting providing roving reports.

Coverage is also in high-definition on ITV HD, plus live streaming of the final will be available online via the ITV Football website.

For the first time since Old Trafford hosted the final ten years ago, ITV Sport will be the host broadcaster for this year’s UEFA Champions League Final.

The ITV crew will lead a production that includes 35 cameras for the main 2D world feed, as well as an extra 12 cameras for the 3D feed, which will be beemed to around 300 million viewers worldwide.

ITV Sport’s technical producer Roger Pearce told SVG Europe: “Even though audience-wise the FA Cup Final and Champions League Final are not that far off, the Champions League Final is 500 per cent more difficult to host because you have a lot more facilities.

“We have two weeks to put this show together and it is as difficult as it is as there is a new press conference facility that needs to be put in place and much bigger mixed zone facilities.”

“The last time we hosted the Champions League Final was 2003 in Manchester and it has doubled in size since then,” says Pearce.

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Sky Sports will have the most comphrensive coverage of the 2013 UEFA Champions League Final from Wembley Stadium.

Jeff Stelling once again fronts live coverage from Wembley, beginning with a hour-long preview show which will first air on Friday, May 24, at 7pm on Sky Sports 1, and be repeated at various times in the build-up to the final on Saturday night.

The show will be broadcast live from Wembley Stadium and keep viewers on-the-ball with the latest developments, plus all the build-up and squad news ahead of the match.

On Saturday night, pre-match build-up begins at 6pm on Sky Sports 1 and Sky 3D, equating to an hour-and-45-minutes of in-depth previews, analysis and a look at the two sides, their route to the showpiece final, plus the stories behind the key characters involved on both sides.

Expert analysis and insights in the Sky Sports studio will come from Michael Ballack, Graeme Souness and Jamie Redknapp.

Commentary on the final itself will be provided by Martin Tyler and Gary Neville, while reports and pitchside interviews come from Geoff Shreeves.

All of Sky Sports’ coverage will be available in high-definition and available to view on various platforms, including online, mobile and tablet devices, via Sky Go or the Sky Sports Events Centre.

A new innovation for this year’s final is the enhanced coverage on the Sky Sports for iPad app.

Using Sky Sports 360 – a new multi-camera highlights feature – the app lets you select and replay all the most exciting saves, tackles, and near-misses during the game from over 20 different camera angles.

Live multi-camera technology from EVS makes feeds from around the pitch available during the game, allowing fans to quickly and easily pick their choice of highlights and a camera angle to enjoy all the very best game-defining moments – with the option of slow-motion too.

David Gibbs, Director of Sky Sports Digital Media, commented: “This is great news for the Sky Sports for iPad app, which keeps getting better and better.

“This is about putting the technology into the hands of the viewer and allowing them to recapture the big moments in the final.

“It’s the first time we’ve offered this through our app and it’s another example of our investment in the Sky Sports viewer’s experience.”

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With the SPL title all wrapped up, Celtic look to complete the domestic double as they take on Hibernian in the 2013 William Hill Scottish Cup Final.

Scotland’s showpiece match sees Pat Fenlon’s Hibernian take on Neil Lennon’s side for the oldest national trophy in the world, which was first played for in 1874.

Both BBC One Scotland and Sky Sports will simulcast live coverage of the conclusion to the Scottish football season at Hampden Park on Sunday, May 26.

Indeed it is the first time in the competition’s long history that the final will be played on a Sunday.

This is to comply with UEFA regulations which prohibit major televised matches being played on the same day as the UEFA Champions League Final, which takes place on May 25 at Wembley.

Fixture congestion also meant that the match could not be moved to an earlier weekend, though unlike this year’s edition of its English counterpart, the final will bring the curtain down the 2012/13 Scottish football season.

It will be the first time that Hibernian and Celtic have met in the Scottish Cup since the 2001 final, which the Bhoys won 3-0, and the Glasgow side are firm favourites to repeat that outcome.

Celtic are the most successful side in the history of the Scottish Cup with 35 triumphs already under their belt.

It overshadows the success of Hibernian, who have won the cup twice, but the last time being back in 1902.

The Edinburgh side will be hoping to extinguish the bitter memories of last season’s final when they lost 5-1 to their city rivals Hearts, meaning it’s now 111 years since they last lifted the Scottish Cup.

It’s a statistic etched on the psyche of the Easter Road supporters, so Fenlon will be hoping to create history and take the cup back to Leith. Celtic by contrast have won this trophy 35 times, more than any other club – the last one in 2011.

Neil Lennon is aiming for a league and cup double in a season in which he also led Celtic to the knock-out stages of the Champions League. Despite early promise in the SPL, Pat Fenlon’s Hibernian ended their league season in the bottom six.

However, Hibs have already beaten Celtic in the SPL this season and they carry a genuine goal threat in striker Leigh Griffiths, who has the ability to cause real trouble for the Celtic defence.

But Hibs’ own back line will have to be at their best if they are to stop potential Celtic goalscorers such as Gary Hooper, Anthony Stokes and Kris Commons.

On the way to today’s showpiece match the Leith side have defeated Hearts, Aberdeen and Kilmarnock.

In a dramatic semi-final against Falkirk, they came back from being 3-0 down at half-time to win 4-3 in extra time.

Meanwhile, in their early rounds, the team from Glasgow’s East End enjoyed victories against Arbroath, Raith Rovers and St Mirren.

They also had a seven goal extra time semi-final in which they eventually beat Dundee Utd 4-3.

A win on Sunday afternoon would see Celtic walk away with the domestic league double having long secured another Clydesdale Bank Premier League title.

They are red hot favourites to get their hands on the trophy for the 36th time, but after losing last year’s final against their fierce Edinburgh rivals, Hibs are back for another shot and will be hoping for a happier ending this time around.

SOTB’s Scottish Cup Final viewing guide below:

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BBC Scotland will have live free-to-air coverage of the 2013 Scottish Cup Final in a special edition of Sportscene with almost two-hours of build-up from Hampden Park.

The Sportscene team, led by presenter Rob MacLean, will be telling the story of this year’s journey on the Road to Hampden from the first goal last August all the way to today’s final tie.

Key players from both teams talk about their cup campaigns and aspirations.

Fans will hear the views of both managers ahead of kick-off, plus Scotland boss Gordon Strachan takes a walk down memory lane as he relives his own Scottish Cup experiences.

Plus, BBC Scotland will bring viewers all the team news and tactical analysis as kick-off approaches.

Joining Rob MacLean in the studio for expert analysis and comment will be Gary Caldwell, John Hartson and Pat Nevin.

Match commentary comes from Liam McLeod and Billy Dodds.

BBC Scotland’s coverage will be available to view on BBC iPlayer shortly after transmission.

Fans in the rest of the UK can watch BBC One Scotland’s coverage if they have access to Sky or Virgin Media (see below), or alternatively they can watch live online streaming via the BBC Sport website.

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Sky Sports will also broadcast live coverage of the 2013 Scottish Cup Final from Hampden.

David Tanner introduces coverage from Scotland’s national stadium with the transmission on Sky Sports 3 beginning half-an-hour before kick-off.

Expert analysis in the studio comes from John Collins and Neil McCann.

Match commentary will be provided by Ian Crocker and Andy Walker, while Charles Paterson will conduct interviews and pitchside reports.

Sky Sports’ coverage will be available to watch online via Sky Go, plus there will be live text commentaries and reports via skysports.com/football.

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• Sky 951
• Virgin 862
• TalkTalk TV 956

The 2013 Heineken Cup Final is an all French affair as Clermont Auvernge take on Toulon in Dublin, and with neither team having won it before, a new name will be enscribed onto the famous trophy.

In the eyes of many experts and fans, Clermont are the team to beat, but at their best the star-studded Toulon side, led by 2003 England World Cup winner Jonny Wilkinson, are a match for any team in the competition.

Sky Sports will have exclusive live coverage of the showpiece final at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin on Saturday, May 18, which will also be broadcast on Sky 3D and terrestrial highlights will be shown on S4C.

The masterful fly-half Wilkinson will lead Toulon’s bid to rule Europe as he has been instrumental in his side’s march towards the final.

He kicked all of the French side’s points in their 24-12 victory over Saracens at Twickenham having already dispatched fellow English hopefuls Leicester Tigers in similar fashion in the quarter-finals.

Toulon’s last four tie was billed as a tale of two kickers, the match pitted former England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson against his latest successor, Owen Farrell.

Wilkinson easily outscored his opposite number, slotting seven out of seven penalties and landing a superb second-half drop goal.

Ending the game with a haul of 24, the World Cup-winner set a new semi-final points record.

Wilkinson, who has enjoyed a glittering career at club and international level, has never been a winner of Europe’s premier club competition and now he and his team have the chance to change that record, as well as claim Toulon’s first top European honour.

Along with Toulon’s array of international stars – which also includes the likes of Matt Giteau, Mathieu Bastareaud, Andrew Sheridan and Bakkies Botha – he will be desperate to improve on last year’s Amlin Challenge Cup runners-up medal.

Toulon face a massive challenge against the form team in Europe in Clermont Auvergne.

Boasting the likes of France centre Wesley Fofana and former All Black Sitiveni Sivivatu, Clermont have played some irresistible rugby this season.

They booted the reigning champions Leinster out of the tournament after home and away victories over the Irish Province in the group stages, before powering past Montpellier in the quarter-finals.

Clermont secured their maiden final appearance with a 16-10 victory over former champions Munster.

The Irish side drew first blood through a Ronan O’Gara penalty, but Clermont soon took control.

They dominated the opening period and built up a deserved 13-3 half-time lead thanks to Napolioni Nalaga’s try and a conversion and two penalties from Morgan Parra.

Parra added a third penalty not long after the restart, but Munster suddenly sprang into life. 

Denis Hurley’s converted try sparked a late onslaught from the two-time tournament winners and Clermont found themselves clinging on. 

Determined to avoid a repeat of last season’s semi-final collapse against Leinster, the Top 14 team dug their heels in and successfully closed out the game.

Clermont and Toulon, two fierce French rivals, have dominated the Top 14 this season and were the first teams to secure semi-final play-off places.

They will go head to head for the crown of champions of Europe in Dublin on May 18.

Previewing the final, Sky Sports co-commentator Stuart Barnes wrote in his skysports.com column: “Toulon will not be afraid of Clermont.

“Who would they fear with their stellar cast but they are nowhere near as good a team in any of the departments bar mental hardness and goal kicking.

“Toulon were too physical for Saracens but Clermont are another kettle of fish from a Saracens team who have been exposed as not quite as special as some of the marketing elements within the club would have had us believe.

“Clermont – as they have shown time and again this season – are special. It is their centenary season. In all that time they have only once won the French league. This season the neutrals will be hoping they can claim the Heineken Cup.”

Sky Sports will be the only place to see all the action from the 2013 Heineken Cup Final as it happens. Free-to-air highlights will be broadcast on Welsh-language channel S4C later in the evening.

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Sky Sports has exclusive coverage of the climax to the 2013 Heineken Cup at Dublin’s Aviva Stadium.

This will be the fourth all-French final in the 18-year history of the tournament.

Alex Payne presents exclusive coverage on Sky Sports 1 from 4.00pm, with an hour features and interviews from both camps in the build-up to the match ahead of a 5.00pm kick-off time.

Studio analysis and insights come from a team including Will Greenwood and Dean Ryan, with touchline contributions from Scott Quinnell and Ieuan Evans.

Munster and Ireland’s legendary fly-half Ronan O’Gara will join the Sky team as a special studio guest.

Commentary on the final comes from Miles Harrison and Stuart Barnes, while touchline interviews will be conducted by Bill Latham.

Coverage will also be available to watch in 3D on the Sky 3D channel.

For the first time in a major European Cup final ‘RefCam’ will be used, giving viewers a unique glimpse of the action from the perspective of match referee Alain Roland.

A special preview show looking ahead to the final will be included in Sky’s magazine show The Rugby Club on Thursday, May 16.

Sky Sports subscribers can follow every moment of the 2013 final via the Sky Sports Events Centre or Sky Go.

You can keep up to date with all the latest Heineken Cup reports, score flashes and results by logging onto the Sky Sports rugby union website, or by following Sky Sports’ dedicated rugby union Twitter feed (@SkySportsRugby).

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Free-to-air highlights of the 2013 Heineken Cup Final will be shown on Welsh-language channel S4C just hours after the trophy is held aloft by the new European champions.

Pitchside at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin for extended highlights of the game will be presenter Gareth Roberts, alongside Gwyn Jones and Arthur Emyr.

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BBC Radio 5 live will have live commentary of the 2013 Heineken Cup Final.

Ian Robertson and Alastair Eykyn will lead the team at the Aviva Stadium in Dublin, with coverage beginning shortly before the 5.00pm kick-off.

The commentary feed will also be available to listen to via the BBC Sport website, which will also have live text commentary of the entire match as it unfolds.

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Headed back to Leeds. Picked up tablets from the Doctors for my inflamed chest, went to Boots at Crown Point to cash in the prescription, picked up some batteries for my camera at Poundland (£1 per pack ya know), went up to My Work to pick up the e-tickets, went to Elle’s Mum’s work to drop off the laptop, went to my Mum’s to say Hi, then went to Toby Carvery where I had this :

Then it was finally time to head over to Manchester to the Bewleys Hotel at the airport. We got there and found out that because we were on Honeymoon we were given a complimentary Upgrade to a Junior Suite. We have absolutely no idea how they knew we were on Honeymoon…but we weren’t going to say no.

We just spent the rest of the day chilling out in the room. Watched loads of TV and we will be about to test the Bewleys Hotel WiFi when we log into Sky Go to watch this week’s The Following.

Ordered this from Room Service too…why the hell not :

We have transfers booked tomorrow for Half 6 to the airport. Can’t wait now….24 hours and we’ll be in Vegas Baby!

As the 2012/13 Heineken Cup campaign heads towards a thrilling climax, just four sides are left in the hunt for domestic club rugby union’s most coveted prize.

Surprise package Munster will make the daunting trip to Top 14 leaders Clermont on Saturday, April 27, while Saracens will take on big-spending Toulon at Twickenham on Sunday, April 28.

Two sides will book their place in next month’s final at the Aviva Stadoum this weekend as both semi-finals are played out exclusively live on Sky Sports HD, along with the semi-finals of the Amlin Challenge Cup.

Details of how to follow the 2012/13 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup semi-finals below:

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The first of the weekend’s Heineken Cup semi-finals sees tournament favourites Clermont take on Munster at the Stade de la Mosson.

The French outfit showed their class with a thumping 36-14 win over Top 14 rivals Montpellier in the quarter-finals and are tipped by many to lift the coveted prize in May.

As you would expect from a side that currently leads the Top 14 and is in the last four of Europe’s elite competition, Clermont have a squad that oozes class.

They have a battle-hardened and rugged front five, including the likes of Thomas Domingo, Jamie Cudmore and Nathan Hines, while Alexandre Lapandry and Julien Bonnaire are a menace in the back row.

Behind the scrum Morgan Parra is the lynchpin, with the No 9′s accuracy with the boot making him such a threat.

Across the back division, the Auvergne have a scary amount of gifted players – with Napolioni Nalaga, Wesley Fofana and Sitiveni Sivivatu brilliantly marshalled by Aurelien Rougerie.

However, they come up against two-time European champions Munster, a side which demonstrated their battling spirit in a narrow 18-12 win at Harlequins in the previous round.

Few gave Munster a hope of beating the Aviva Premiership champions at the Stoop, however, inspired by Paul O’Connell, the Irishmen defied the odds.

Munster had only scraped into the last eight courtesy of the second best runners-up spot after finishing behind Saracens in the pool after losing two of their games.

On top of that their form in the RaboDirect PRO12 has been below-par – with Munster set to finish well adrift of the play-offs.

However they have a habit of coming good on the big occasions, having won an impressive 91 of their 129 Heineken Cup games, including the title in 2005-06 and 2007-08, while Saturday’s trip to Stade de la Mosson will be their 10th semi-final appearance.

They will need two of their European veterans, though, to rise to the occasion yet again if they are to reach the final.

O’Connell, the talismanic lock, has 67 Heineken Cup appearances under his belt, while kicking king Ronan O’Gara has racked up 1,360 points in 109 games.

O’Gara slotted home six penalties as the Irishmen saw off their English opponents.

It was sweet revenge for the Irish international, who suffered defeat on his Heineken Cup debut at the venue in 1997.

Clermont eased passed their French counterparts Montpellier in their quarter-final.

The match was evenly poised at half-time, but three second-half tries proved too much for Fabien Galthie’s men to overturn.

Alex Payne introduces live coverage from Montpellier’s Stade de la Mosson on Sky Sports 1 HD with analysis from Dean Ryan, Alan Quinlan and Will Greenwood.

Match commentary is provided by Miles Harrison and Stuart Barnes.

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Premiership leaders Saracens, fresh from their impressive 27-16 quarter-final win over last season’s runners-up Ulster, take on Top 14 table-toppers Toulon at Twickenham in what should be a pulsating contest.

With Leicester and Harlequins bowing out in the quarter-finals, it’s down to Saracens to fly the English flag in this season’s competition.

Until last weekend’s surprise defeat at the hands of Gloucester, Sarries had been flying high, winning six league games on the bounce and brushing aside the challenge of last year’s finalists Ulster in the Heineken Cup.

They will be only too aware that they will need to recapture this form if they are to reach their first final.

The Premiership leaders have built their game around a watertight defence and a strong kicking game.

They have conceded just 30 tries in 28 games in the league and Europe, while Owen Farrell has given them the platform to build on.

Farrell has landed 92 points in the Heineken Cup this season – including a stunning 32 points in the away win against Racing Metro.

Despite the criticisms that they play a conservative style of percentage rugby, Saracens do also have a plan B as the wins over Edinburgh, Racing Metro and Ulster highlight.

With Chris Ashton, Dave Strettle and Alex Goode they certainly have the class out wide.

Mark McCall’s side dispatched Ulster at Twickenham earlier this month and return to HQ to welcome their French semi-final opponents, who are packed with famous faces, including former England star Jonny Wilkinson.

Toulon will be looking to add another Premiership side to their collection of scalps in this season’s competition, after ending Leicester’s hopes in the quarter-finals.

Their last eight encounter saw a fascinating battle between England fly-halves past and present.

Retired international Wilkinson kicked all 21 of Toulon’s points to better the efforts of Toby Flood and keep the French side’s dream of a first Heineken Cup final alive.

Toulon’s squad is like a ‘who’s who of world rugby’ with owner Mourad Boudjellal having assembled an expensive collection of star players.

So far his ‘fantasy rugby’ side has yet to repay the investment with silverware – with a Top 14 final and two Amlin Challenge Cup final defeats in recent years - though they feel that this could be their year in Europe and domestically.

A number of the squad will feel at home in Sunday’s surroundings with Jonny Wilkinson, Andrew Sheridan and Simon Shaw regulars at Twickenham in the past – while fellow Englishmen Steffon Armitage and Nick Kennedy perhaps haven’t won as many caps as they should have.

There is likely to be a clash of styles with Wilkinson’s boot key to Toulon’s hopes, while the forward battle is likely to be an intriguing affair.

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Sky Sports also have live coverage of the Amlin Cup semi-finals, where there is a predominantly French flavour to the latter stages of this year’s tournament.

Perpignan will be gunning for a place their first European final in ten years when they host Stade Français in Friday’s all-French semi-final at Stade Aime Giral.

Perpignan were beaten by Toulouse in the 2003 Heineken Cup Final in Dublin and the Catalans are hoping to return to the Irish capital on May 17 for a date with either Leinster or Biarritz.

The Catalans lost 23-15 away to Agen in the Top 14 last weekend but results elsewhere meant they are assured of seventh spot, which could equate to a spot in the Heineken Cup next season if either Clermont or Toulon go on to claim the title.

But Perpignan should not get ahead of themselves as they face a Stade Français side led by an in-form Felipe Contepomi and full of confidence after their victory in the Paris derby last weekend.

In the second semi-final, last year’s Heineken Cup winners Leinster take on Biarritz at Dublin’s RDS. 

Both of these sides began the season in the European Cup, but transferred to this competition after missing out on the knockout stages of the more illustrious event.

They will compete for the chance to progress to the Amlin final against either Perpignan or Stade Francais.

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Sky Sports is the only place to follow all the action from the 2012/13 Heineken Cup with a plethora of live games from the opening round through to the final at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, on Saturday, May 18.

Alex Payne and James Gemmell will present Sky Sports’ live coverage of both competitions with expert analysis and comment from Will Greenwood, Dewi Morris, Dean Ryan, Paul Wallace, Scott Quinnell and many more.

Commentary on all the big games will be led by Miles Harrison and Stuart Barnes. 

Other members of the commentary team include Johnnie Hammond, Mark Robson, Martin Gillingham, Simon Ward, Ieuan Evans and Scott Hastings.

Live coverage begins on Thursday evening with a European Rugby Club Special, hosted by Alex Payne, which builds up to a brilliant weekend of knockout rugby with analysis and discussion about the events to come.

If you miss any of the live action, highlights of the whole weekend’s action will be shown in European Rugby Special on Sunday evening.

Selected games will also be shown in 3D on the Sky 3D channel, plus Sky Sports customers can watch the live action wherever they are via mobiles, tablets and laptops on Sky Go.

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Despite no Welsh representation in the latter stages of both European competitions, Welsh language channel S4C will have free-to-air highlights of the Heineken Cup semi-finals.

A one-hour highlights programme will round-up all the action from both semi-final matches on Sunday evening at 7pm, presented by Gareth Roberts with analysis former Wales captain Gwyn Jones and Arthur Emyr.

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Sky Sports subscribers can follow every Heineken Cup match via the Sky Sports Events Centre - CLICK HERE

Keep up to date with all the latest Heineken Cup reports, score flashes and results by logging onto the Sky Sports rugby union website, or by following Sky Sports’ dedicated rugby union Twitter feed (@SkySportsRugby).

Online streaming available to UK users only

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The UEFA Champions League reaches the semi-final stage this week as the four of the most exciting teams to watch in Europe begin their bids to reach May’s showpiece decider at Wembley Stadium.

This year’s semi-final line-up sees Germany against Spain in both ties as Bayern Munich face Barcelona while Borussia Dortmund meet Real Madrid.

Spain and Germany’s finest will battle for a lucrative and cherished place in next month’s Wembley final, and live coverage of the semi-final clashes will be shown on ITV and Sky Sports.

Fans can expect fireworks and breathtaking football as no team will be ready to give up on the dream of becoming European champions.

The draw dictated a nations clash between Spain and Germany, but unlike last year their is no clear favourite in each tie.

Nevertheless, last season both Real Madrid and Barcalona were given the edge by most football pundits and they ended up losing their chance to be on the final at the hands of Bayern Munich and Chelsea.

The four teams remaining in the competition are probably the four most entertaining sides in the whole of Europe.

Filled with world class talent all over the pitch, it is hard to separate all four of them.

ITV will screen Bayern Munich’s home semi-final first leg against Barcelona followed by Real Madrid’s second leg trip to face Borussia Dortmund a week later.

The opening leg of the Dortmund v Madrid clash will be shown exclusively live on Sky Sports, as will Barcelona’s home second-leg against Bayern Munich the following week.

The first legs of the semi-finals will be played on April 23/24 with the return legs on April 30/May 1.

Full details of when and where to watch the Semi Finals below:

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After a dramatic round of semi-final first-leg encounters it seems we could be set for an all-German final on May 25, and Borussia Dortmund will have the first chance to book their cherished place at Wembley.

Just 24 hours after their compatriots Bayern Munich demolished Barcelona, Dortmund stunned Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid with a 4-1 win at a raucous Westfalenstadion.

But, despite the Bundesliga boys holding a commanding advantage, there are still 90 minutes to play in Spain – and the La Liga heavyweights will be launching an all-out attack on the German’s rearguards.

The teams met here in the group stage with the score ending 2-2, and the Spanish giants can ill-afford to concede on this occasion if they are to have any chance of rescuing the tie.

Real face an uphill task if they are to reach the final at Wembley after losing the opener 4-1, with Robert Lewandowski scoring all the German outfit’s goals.

ITV has exclusive live coverage of the second leg clash from the Bernabeu, presented from pitchside by Adrian Chiles with guests Roy Keane, Lee Dixon and Gareth Southgate. 

Match commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, with pitchside reports from Gabriel Clarke.

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In a difficult week for Spain’s elite footballing powerhouses, Barcelona were outclassed by last season’s Champions League runners-up Bayern Munich, who romped to a 4-0 victory at the Allianz Arena.

Barca have not lost at home in this competition since they were beaten by Rubin Kazan in the group stage of the 2009/10 campaign.

They will have to be at their breathtaking best tonight to book their place in next month’s Wembley final and produce a similar performance to the one they managed against AC Milan in the Round of 16.

Barca suffered their worst defeat in Europe since 1997 in the first leg, when goals from Thomas Mueller, Mario Gomez and Arjen Robben helped the recently crowned German champions to a famous 4-0 win.

Jeff Stelling presents all the live action from the Nou Camp from 7.00pm on Sky Sports 1 HD, analysis comes from Jamie Redknapp, Graeme Souness and special guest Michael Ballack, and Martin Tyler and Gary Neville provide match commentary.

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ITV’s live match coverage, as well additional video clips, interviews and analysis, is available to watch for free via the ITV football website - CLICK HERE

Sky Sports subscribers can follow every Champions League match via the Sky Sports Events Centre - CLICK HERE

Keep up to date with all the latest UEFA Champions League reports, goal flashes and results by following ITV Football on Twitter (@itvfootball) and Sky Sports dedicated UCL feed (@SkySportsCL).

Online streaming available to UK users only

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Recording services such as Sky + and Tivo, are too creating a culture of viewers who just skip adverts. And why not, many people think that adverts ruin the viewing experience, however it is those adverts that pay for the programming.

This is where ‘product placement’ steps in.

Product Placement

Product Placement has only been allowed on UK made TV programmes since 28th february 2011, before this only imported programmes (E.g. From the US) were able to show product placement. UK ‘product placement’ programming is clearly labelled, as they must show a ‘P’ logo at the start of the programme and after each advertising break.

The first product placement on Sky TV appeared on the comedy programme ‘A League Of Their Own’. (Video below. Spot the ‘P’ at 0.56 and the placement at 1.10)

Orchestrated by UM London, the campaign, promoting ‘Kinect Sports 2′, had amazing results helping the Kinect Sports 2 franchise grow by over 47%.

For the most part Product Placement is quite subtle, programmes made in the UK need to conform to ‘Product Placement’ regulation to ensure the programme isn’t influenced by the placement.

Digital Product Placement

Even more recently ‘digital product placement’ has become apparent; essentially placing products or billboards into a scene during post-production. I could explain this further however, Slate News Channel has created a brilliant YouTube feature that completely sums up ‘Digital Product Placement’ (Below).

As we continue to enter a ‘on-demand’ viewing world, advertisers are looking for new and innovative ways of marketing their product; ‘Digital Product Placement’ is one of those ways.

Is there hope for live programming?

Recently I wrote about Hawaii Five-0 (A Product Placement Programme) and Sky TV teaming up to create a ‘vote-the-ending’ episode in the UK, pulling viewers to watch the programming live . This was fantastic, and also drove awareness of the programming through Social Media sites. But is it feasible to do this consistently? I believe not.

If used correctly ‘Product Placement’ in any form can only be good for advertisers, and viewers. However, it does make me laugh when you see some blatant uses of it; CBS (Sky Living) programme Elementary placed ‘Surface’ directly in the face of its viewers.

It is inevitable that we will see more ‘Product Placement’ in programming over the next few years. The question is will it become less subtle?

What do you think of Product Placement?

Comment below or Tweet me @JosephDKelly

Her latest gem of advice has been to sign up for a service called View TV Abroad. Basically, for the bargain price of about £7, it makes it possible to stream all of the UK and USA television stations that you otherwise would not have access to using a Brazilian IP address.

This means you can use the UK apps such as BBC iPlayer, ITV player and 4OD, plus stream current and past shows on American TV channel websites like ABC TV, Fox TVand AMC. I am sure there are many more channels that I am yet to discover it works for.

It is also great if you have yours or someone elses Sky Go account as you can then access all the Sky Sports channels in real time.

I realise that by posting about this I am completely going against my earlier posts where I said, “I do not watch much TV” and “I am only going to watch some shows using the magic button and then practice my Portuguese by watching local TV”. But I have a very unhealthy addiction to Mad Men which started its sixth season in the USA last night and the news that I can stream the episodes whenever I want has made my night!

Golf’s finest go head-to-head for the coveted Masters green jacket at the majestic August National course and you can follow all of the action on Sky Sports and BBC Television.

All four days of the 2013 Augusta showpiece, which takes place April 11-14 – as well as the pre-tournament Par 3 contest – will be shown live on Sky Sports HD, with live free-to-air coverage of the final two rounds on BBC Two and BBC Two HD.

Fans will be hoping for a repeat of the nail-biting excitement of last year where American Bubba Watson ensured he was the man heading to the Butler Cabin to collect his green jacket after winning a nail-biting play-off against former Open champion Louis Oosthuizen.

The left-handed American’s miraculous approach shot to the green on second play-off hole, from the trees to the right of the fairway, will live long in the memory. 

It was the shot that secured his maiden major championship and provided a thrilling conclusion to four magnificent days.

Four-time winner Tiger Woods has already secured two wins this year and has regained the world number one spot for the first time in four years, displacing close rival Rory McIlroy.

The 14-time Major champion looks set to arrive at the event as one of the hot favourites, but there will be plenty of other players gunning to prevent the American taking his fifth Masters title.

Northern Ireland’s McIlroy has had a difficult start to the New Year having switched clubs at the beginning of the season following his multi-million pound deal with Nike.

He showed glimpses of his best golf at the recent WGC-Cadillac Championship but will be hoping to rediscover the form which saw him win the PGA Championship at Kiawah Island in 2012.

McIlroy will be desperate to be in the hunt on the final day’s action having previously managed a best of just 15th in his four previous visits to Augusta.

That was the same year he held a four-shot lead going into the final round, only for it to quickly evaporate in a final round that made for painful viewing as McIlroy crumbled under the pressure.

There should also be strong challenges from Britain’s trio of Luke Donald, Lee Westwood and Justin Rose, all searching for a maiden Major championship victory.

Defending champion Bubba Watson and fellow former winners Phil Mickelson and Zach Johnson will be among the contenders hoping to succeed on home turf.

Golf ’s elite are battling not only for the coveted trophy and substantial prize money at Augusta, but also for the honour of wearing the clubhouse’s green jacket.

Bubba Watson became the fourth golfer to claim a maiden Major victory in the past six years at the Masters and, with a host of players among the 2013 field all worthy of lifting their first honour, could another new name deliver at Augusta?

Full details of how to follow the 2013 Masters on Sky Sports & BBC TV below:

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LIVE LEADERBOARD          TEE TIMES          COURSE GUIDE

Whoever prevails as the 2013 Masters champion, Sky Sports will be the only place to be to see all the drama play out with live coverage of all four days from Augusta.

The 77th Masters tees off at the picturesque course on Thursday, April 11 ,and Sky Sports will broadcast all four days live in stunning HD and in 3D, with the first two days to be shown exclusively live.

There will extended coverage this year on Saturday with an extra half-hour of live play provided by the host broadcaster CBS, adding up to a total of 23 hours of live action across the four days on Sky Sports.

There will also be special 3D coverage for certain portions of the event on the Sky 3D channel.

Wednesday evening’s par three tournament which serves as a warm-up event to the competition proper will also be shown live. First played in 1960, this event is open to tournament participants, noncompeting past champions and honorary invitees.

David Livingston presents all four days of live coverage from the Sky Sports studio overlooking the course, with Kirsty Gallagher hosting the Par 3 competition.

Colin Montgomerie, who competed in this event on 15 occasions, and Butch Harmon, son of 1948 Masters champion Claude Harmon and the man who coached both Tiger Woods and Phil Mickelson to glory in this event, will again be part of the Sky Sports team, offering their expert opinions.

On the 50th anniversary of his first Masters win, the great Jack Nicklaus will also be part of the Sky team for the third year running.

The Golden Bear will bring Sky viewers his unrivalled insight into the event, having first slipped on that famous old Green Jacket back in 1963 – the first of what turned out to be six Masters victories as he amassed a record 18 major championships.

The veteran duo of Ewen Murray and Bruce Critchley will talk viewers through each day’s play, Howard Clark will commentate direct from the course itself and Tim Barter will interview the key figures in the clubhouse.

All of Sky Sports’ extensive live coverage will be complemented by a unique interactive service, allowing users to keep abreast of the latest scores, access Twitter feeds, see highlights of the day’s key shots, focus on select groups and the holes at the famous Amen Corner, and more.

These features and more will be made available on the Sky Sports iPad app, including live streaming, leaderboards and much mroe.

Sky Sports will also deliver comprehensive build-up to the 2013 tournament.

Throughout the week running up to the first tee-off on Thursday, viewers can see players warming up on the range via the red button.

Sky Sports News will also broadcast special shows focusing on the tournament, including Special Report live from Augusta on Monday evening (April 8, 7.30pm) presented by Kirsty Gallagher and Paul Azinger, while a collection of classic films across the Sky Sports channels will remind fans of the most memorable years at Augusta.

Masters Breakfast will also return with presenter Rob Lee, David Howell and special guests looking back on all the previous day’s play and talking viewers through key moments with the help of Sky Sports’ shot centre.

Viewers can also get all the breaking news, live scores, course guide and additional information about the tournament via Sky’s dedicated Masters microsite – CLICK HERE

Follow @SkySportsGolf on Twitter for all the latest news and updates from the course.

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Subscribe to Sky Sports - CLICK HERE

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BBC TV will screen live coverage of the final two rounds on Saturday and Sunday evening, with extended highlights of the opening two days play on Friday evening and Saturday afternoon.

Hazel Irvine presents all of the BBC’s coverage of the Masters from the world famous Augusta National course, including a special preview show on BBC Two to be broadcast on Wednesday evening at 11.20pm.

There will extended coverage this year on Saturday with an extra half-hour of live play provided by the host broadcaster CBS, adding up to more than 12 hours of terrestrial coverage from golf’s most beautiful major.

Commentary will be provided by the BBC’s ‘voice of golf’ Peter Alliss alongside Andrew Cotter, Ken Brown and former US PGA champion Wayne Grady.

Rishi Persad takes over the role of on-course reporter and he will interview all the big names following their rounds.

All of the BBC’s coverage will be broadcast in high-definition on either BBC Two HD or BBC One HD.

On radio, BBC Radio 5 live will have live commentary on all four days of the tournament.

Mark Chapman will host 5 live’s coverage for the first time alongside regular golf correspondent Iain Carter, with course commentary from John Murray and Alistair Bruce-Ball, and expert analysis from Andrew Magee and Jay Townsend.

The BBC Sport website will have full online text commentary throughout, plus a live stream of action from Amen Corner and holes 15 and 16 at the weekend. 

This will then switch to holes 15 and 16 when the final group is through the 13th, while selected coverage from these streams will be available on BBC Red Button.

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Eight sides reignite their ambitions for European glory as the knockout stages of the 2012/13 Heineken Cup take place this weekend.

Three teams from France, three from England and two from Ireland remain to battle it out for a lucrative place in the semi-finals of European rugby union’s ultimate prize.

All four Heineken Cup last-eight ties will be shown exclusively live on Sky Sports HD, forming part of an unmissable weekend of knockout European rugby.

There will also be full coverage of the Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals, where Aviva Premiership sides Gloucester, Wasps and Bath compete for a place in the last four of the second tier competition.

Details of how to follow the 2012/13 Heineken Cup and Amlin Challenge Cup Quarter Finals below:

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Your weekend’s Heineken Cup entertainment gets under way on Saturday afternoon with the all-French affair between Clermont Auvergne and Montpellier at Stade Marcel Michelin.

The occasion marks the first time that the clubs have met in European competition and will be an opportunity for the visitors to make an impression on their maiden appearance in the knockout stage.

Clermont are the side to avoid in this season’s Heineken Cup and have been in simply irresistible form, having won five of their past six games domestically.

They negotiated their way through the Heineken Cup pool stages unbeaten and also boast a sensational record at home, with their 66-21 rout of Agen stretching their unbeaten streak to 57 matches.

Their quarter-final opponents Montpellier and potential last-four rivals Munster or Quins will not fancy a trip to the fortress Stade Marcel Michelin.

Montpellier return to Heineken Cup action as big outsiders to progress into the semi-final, let alone finish as champions.

They claimed their place in the last eight as one of the two best runners-up – and that means they will have the unenviable prospect of tackling their French compatriots.

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Saracens host last season’s beaten finalists Ulster in the second of Saturday’s matches, a contest that is also available to watch in 3D.

The English club are now three-time quarter-finalists and can call upon the experience and guidance of Mark McCall.

Now director of rugby at Saracens, McCall captained Ulster en route to their Heineken Cup triumph in 1999.

The Aviva Premiership leaders have been timing their run of form to perfection.

Sarries have won their previous five league encounters – including impressive wins over Leicester and Harlequins, while Wasps were brushed aside 22-13 last time out.

Their never-say-die attitude makes them a dangerous proposition for any side, as their stunning 37-28 win over Racing Metro in Nantes proved.

That victory helped Saracens claim top spot in the pool and a home quarter-final against Ulster. 

Having got the season off to a flying start with 13 successive wins in all competitions, Ulster’s form has stuttered of late.

Last Saturday’s 22-18 win over Leinster in Dublin was their first in four attempts – however given they had last won away to their provincial rivals 14 years ago, they can head to Saracens with renewed hope of emulating last season’s heroics.

Ulster had carved their way through Europe before coming unstuck against Leinster in the final at Twickenham.

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The first instalment of Sunday’s double bill pits Harlequins - one of the five clubs in the last eight to have won a European title – against Munster.

Quins came through the pool stage as the top seeds for the first time in their history and will take further confidence from the fact that they got the better of their Irish opponents when they met in the semi-finals of the 2011 Amlin Challenge Cup.

Munster boast an impressive record of their own, though. They’ve won nine of their 13 quarter-final clashes and three of those successes came away from home.

The Premiership champions are the top seeds going into the quarter-finals, however their domestic form of late will be a cause of concern.

They have lost their last three Aviva Premiership games – going down to Exeter, Saracens and Gloucester – and although they did win the LV= Cup title in between, that only papers over the cracks that have appeared in their challenge.

There is no doubting the potential at Quins, though, and if they can recapture their early season form they are a match for anyone.

On paper, Munster have a mountain to climb if they are to make it past the quarter-final stage – however never write off the Thomond Park side.

The former champions gatecrashed the last-eight places courtesy of their bonus-point win over Racing Metro on the final day.

An added bonus for the Munstermen was the fact that they claimed the last ‘best runners-up spot’ at the expense of their old foes Leinster.

Defeats to Racing and Saracens showed they are vulnerable away from home, though, while their form of late has hardly looked that of potential winners.

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Toulon take on two-time tournament winner Leicester Tigers in the final fixture of a bumper weekend.

The French heavyweights lost to Perpignan in front of a record crowd of 55,000 on their only previous quarter-final appearance.

Meanwhile the Tigers have ten last-eight encounters under their belts, six of which they’ve been on the victorious side.

With Jonny Wilkinson, Carl Hayman, Bakkies Botha, Simon Shaw, Matt Giteau, Juan Martin Fernandez Lobbe and Frederic Michalak, the Toulon squad is like a ‘Who’s Who of Rugby’.

However, despite the galaxy of stars, Toulon have not enjoyed the success to justify the amount that has been spent.

 The Top 14 leaders have high hopes of ending their 21-year wait for silverware this time around, though.

They have lost just once at Stade Felix Mayol in their past 18 games, meaning that home advantage against the Tigers will suit them in the last eight.

Leicester will make the trip to Toulon full of confidence after their 36-8 demolition of Northampton at Franklin’s Gardens.

The Tigers are currently on a three-match winning run in the league and remain hot on the heels of table-topping Saracens.

Their form in Europe this season has been equally impressive as they progressed from the hardest of the six pools.

The Tigers are five-time finalists of the competition but the last of their two wins came in 2002.

However if they are to end their 11-year wait to lift the trophy again they will have to do it the hard way, with trips Toulon and then Saracens or Ulster now on the cards.

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In addition to its coverage of every match from the Heineken Cup’s first knockout stage, Sky Sports will show all four Amlin Challenge Cup quarter-finals live.

It all begins on Thursday, April 7, when Gloucester host defending champions Biarritz at Kingsholm.

Twenty-four hours later, London Wasps tackle last year’s Heineken Cup winners Leinster at Adams Park.

Gloucester flew through the pool stage of the Challenge Cup, winning all six of their games.

Biarritz struggled to make an impact in the Heineken Cup pools for the second successive season, and finished 13 points shy of Harlequins.

Second prize is an opportunity to defend the title they won last season, after beating Toulon in a final that went down to the wire.

With just three points separating the sides, Toulon had the ball deep inside opposition territory with Jonny Wilkinson primed for the drop goal.

It was not be, however, and Biarritz’s defence stood firm to claim their first ever European prize.

Leinster will hope to make amends for a disastrous Heineken Cup showing.

Progression to the quarterfinals of the Heineken Cup had seemed straightforward for the defending champions, but successive defeats to Clermont Auvergne proved fatal.

Lifting the Challenge Cup would go some way to healing those wounds but Wasps showed they are no pushover after scoring 30 tries during the pool phase.

An early score here could unsettle their visitors and set the tone for another big European upset.

As if that wasn’t enough, Sky Sports viewers can also take in the remaining quarter-final between Bath and Stade Francais at the Recreation Ground on Saturday lunchtime, all part of a busy weekend of enthralling knockout European rugby.

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Sky Sports is the only place to follow all the action from the 2012/13 Heineken Cup with a plethora of live games from the opening round through to the final at the Aviva Stadium, Dublin, on Saturday, May 18.

Alex Payne and James Gemmell will present Sky Sports’ live coverage of both competitions with expert analysis and comment from Will Greenwood, Dewi Morris, Dean Ryan, Paul Wallace, Scott Quinnell and many more.

Commentary on all the big games will be led by Miles Harrison and Stuart Barnes. 

Other members of the commentary team include Johnnie Hammond, Mark Robson, Martin Gillingham, Simon Ward, Ieuan Evans and Scott Hastings.

Live coverage begins on Thursday evening with a European Rugby Club Special, hosted by Alex Payne, which builds up to a brilliant weekend of knockout rugby with analysis and discussion about the events to come.

If you miss any of the live action, highlights of the whole weekend’s action will be shown in European Rugby Special on Sunday evening.

Selected games will also be shown in stunning 3D on the Sky 3D channel, plus Sky Sports customers can watch the live action wherever they are via mobiles, tablets and laptops on Sky Go.

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Despite no Welsh representation in the latter stages of both European competitions, Welsh language channel S4C will have free-to-air highlights of the Heineken Cup knockout stages.

The one-hour highlights programme will round-up all the action from the four Heineken Cup ties on Sunday evening at 10pm, presented by Gareth Roberts with former Wales captain Gwyn Jones alongside.

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Sky Sports subscribers can follow every Heineken Cup match via the Sky Sports Events Centre - CLICK HERE

Keep up to date with all the latest Heineken Cup reports, score flashes and results by logging onto the Sky Sports rugby union website, or by following Sky Sports’ dedicated rugby union Twitter feed (@SkySportsRugby).

Online streaming available to UK users only

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The cream of Europe’s footballing crop contest the quarter-finals of the 2012/13 UEFA Champions League during the first two weeks of April.

There maybe no British representation in the last eight of the competition for the first time since 1996, but there will certainly be plenty to look forward to with all eight games from the quarter-final stages live on ITV and Sky Sports.

Eight of the biggest names in European football, including Barcelona, Bayern Munich, Juventus and Real Madrid, are still in the hunt to lift the famous trophy at Wembley in May.

The remaining teams in this season’s competition have won a combined total of more than 15 European Cups between them and possess more than enough quality to seriously trouble anyone they’ve been drawn against.

ITV have chosen to screen Paris Saint-Germain’s home quarter-final first leg against Barcelona and Real Madrid’s second leg trip to Istanbul to face Galatasaray.

On April 2, ITV will be live at the Parc des Princes to see tournament favourites Barcelona face one of their old boys, as Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s PSG welcome the Catalans to Paris.

A week later on April 9, ITV cameras will be in Istanbul at the Turk Telekom Arena to see if a Didier Drogba-inspired Galatasaray can see off Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid.

The remaining six ties will be shown exclusively live on Sky Sports, including both legs of the mouth-watering clash between last season’s runners-up Bayern Munich against Italian giants Juventus.

The first legs of the quarter-finals will be played on April 2/3 with the return matches on April 9/10.

Full details of when and where to watch the Quarter Finals below:

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The atmosphere at the Ali Sami Yen Stadium in Istanbul is sure to be intense as Galatasaray play host to Real Madrid in their second leg clash.

Real hold a big advantage going into the second leg having gained a 3-0 lead from the opener thanks to goals from Cristiano Ronaldo, Karim Benzema and Gonzalo Higuain, leaving the odds stacked against the hosts.

The Spanish giants are the most decorated club in the history of the European Cup and its successor while Galatasaray have never lifted the prestigious trophy.

Ronaldo will be the main threat for Real Madrid while Galatasaray will pin their hopes on Didier Drogba and Wesley Sneijder, two players who starred under Real Madrid coach Jose Mourinho when he worked at Chelsea and Inter Milan.

ITV has exclusive live coverage from Turkey, presented by Adrian Chiles with studio guests Roy Keane, Lee Dixon and Gareth Southgate. 

Match commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, plus pitchside reports from Gabriel Clarke.

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There was nothing to separate Borussia Dortmund and Malaga when they met at the Estadio La Rosaleda last week in the first leg of their Champions League quarter-final tie.

Dortmund have an exemplary record on home soil so far in this season’s competition, registering victories over Ajax, Manchester City and Real Madrid during the group stage.

They also beat Shakhtar Donetsk 3-0 to help clinch a 5-2 aggregate win and progress to this round.

Their opponents have surprised many pundits in reaching this stage despite their off-field financial concerns, but have only managed one win on their travels, having defeated Anderlecht 3-0 in a Group C contest.

However, a score draw would be enough to see the Spaniards through on the away goals rule.

Jeff Stelling introduces live coverage of this quarter-final second leg encounter from the Signal Iduna Park on Sky Sports 1 HD from 7.00pm.

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Paris Saint-Germain face the toughest test of all as they travel to Barcelona on Wednesday knowing that any victory would be enough to book their spot in the semi-finals.

The two sides played out a 2-2 draw in the first leg of their quarter-final clash last month, but Barcelona will be confident of advancing into the next round having won each of their last six Champions League quarter-finals.

The home side enter the match off the back of a thumping 5-0 win over Mallorca at the weekend, while PSG also continued their pursuit of the Ligue 1 title with a 2-0 win over Rennes, making it three wins from their last four league matches.

Lionel Messi is not expected to recover in time to start the match, but could be named on the bench by boss Tito Vilanova. His spot in the team should go to Cesc Fabregas, fresh off the back of a hat trick against Mallorca at the weekend.

PSG boss Carlo Ancelotti, meanwhile, is expected to recall Marco Verratti at the expense of David Beckham, but Maxwell should continue at left-back, with Mamadou Sakho having to make do with a place on the bench.

PSG claimed a 3-2 aggregate victory when these teams last met in the knockout stage during the 1994/95 campaign.

Barca will be favourites to progress to the last four this time around given their excellent home form this season, which saw them defeat AC Milan 4-0 in the previous round, overturning a 2-0 first-leg deficit.

Jeff Stelling presents all the live action from the Nou Camp from 7.00pm on Sky Sports 2 HD.

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When Bayern Munich and Juventus were paired together during the draw earlier this month, many tipped this quarter-final tie to be the one to watch out for.

As it stands, both of these teams hold comfortable advantages at the top of their respective leagues.

Bayern Munich lead the Bundesliga by a massive 20 points while Juventus are nine points in front of Napoli at the Serie A summit.

It’s Bayern that head into this encounter as the favourites to progress through to their third semi-final in four years, despite the fact that they are playing the home leg first.

The Italian side trail 2-0 on aggregate following a 2-0 defeat in the first leg at the Allianz Arena.

When Juve last played host to Bayern in this competition they were beaten 4-1 in a group stage match at the Stadio Olimpico di Torino in the 2009/10 campaign, and will certainly hope to avoid a similar result on this occasion.

Ben Shephard presents live coverage of this second leg encounter on Sky Sports 4 HD from 7.30pm.

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ITV’s live match coverage, as well additional video clips, interviews and analysis, is available to watch for free via the ITV football website - CLICK HERE

Sky Sports subscribers can follow every Champions League match via the Sky Sports Events Centre - CLICK HERE

Keep up to date with all the latest UEFA Champions League reports, goal flashes and results by following ITV Football on Twitter (@itvfootball) and Sky Sports dedicated UCL feed (@SkySportsCL).

Online streaming available to UK users only

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The world of film and television has changed, due to the world of technology coming into the media, with the use of Computer Generated Images (CGI). But the big changed has come into television with the use digital television and interactive service such as the red button service and the use of digital radio able to play on television, also with the on demand service where viewers can watch television when ever they want through such systems as BBC iPlayer, Sky Go, 4OD and others. [Hodgman 2013] The use of technology in television has helped sports using television technology, for example the use of Hawk-eye and television replays to help make decisions in such sports as Cricket, Tennis, Rugby and others. [. 2010]

‘New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality’ was the article I looked at this week and was written by Anna Everett and John Caldwell. The article looks at the use oftechnology within television through the years. Also the article looks to the use of the 1^st shift aesthetics and the 2^nd shift aesthetics, the 1^st shift aesthetics looks at the content flows, looking also at super text and programme strategies regarding to the use of technology and more importantly the development of digital television. With 2^nd shift aesthetics this looks at niche-ing, dispersal and the user flows, this looks at the digital networking side of television technology and the use of the Internet and other forms like that. [Everett, Caldwell 2003]

When it comes to theories behind technology, theses theorises are based on opinions and some facts, but with some technology the evidence is right in front of us. With this it is better the experience the technology changing before us then to read about it, as we look at technology improving and experience the change it’s easier to see the change then to read about it.

I will now be looking at the research area of digital technology and TV/film texts and looking towards the area of ‘Comedy’. With Comedy being a big part of the viewers as everyone loves to laugh and make other people laugh, the main part of research I would be looking into if Comedy has changed from the early years of Black and White television to the modern day HD and 3D television. This looks at the days of Charlie Chaplin and Laurel and Hardy to the modern day comedians like Dara O’Brien and others. With the modern technology of catch up are there any funny shows still out there as jokes are being played over again. Also are there any films/television programmes that are considered funny anymore, or was comedy show/films better back with the like of Morecambe and Wise and others. This has been bought to my attention as recently John Cleese stated in an interview that ‘the BBC does not make any funny shows anymore’ [Holmwood 2013]. This is the research project I will be looking into the way comedy changed for better or for worse.

Bibliography

• Charlotte Hodgman. (2013). History TV on demand. Available: http://www.historyextra.com/tvondemand. Last accessed 20th March 2013.

• .. (2010). Sport & Science Resources. Available: http://www.topendsports.com/resources/technology.htm. Last accessed 20th March 2013.

• Everett, A and Caldwell, J (Eds) (2003), New Media: Theories and Practices of Digitextuality, Routledge, London and New York – pp 127-144.
• Leigh Holmwood. (2013). John Cleese: BBC comedy bosses are Fawlty. Available: http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/showbiz/tv/article4850598.ece. Last accessed 20th March 2013.

The problem I have is that I live in a shared house, and therefore any installation of Sky would have to go through the landlord. My experiences to date suggests that approaching them would be unlikely to be successful, so I decided that getting Sky TV installed was not a viable option.

Thankfully the days of needing a TV to watch Sky are over thanks to Sky Go. Now, in theory since my parents have the full Sky package at home, I could have registered my laptop as one of the portable devices on their account even though I’m no longer living at home. I’ve heard of people doing exactly that. However, even though it is a loophole I could probably have gotten away with, it didn’t feel comfortable morally. I’m living in London permanently, barring the odd weekend back in Coventry, and pretending otherwise to save a bit of money didn’t feel right. After all, TV is not an essential good for life – if you don’t have the money to pay for it yourself, go without is always my philosophy, something that means I’ve never illegally downloaded any music or films either.

There are four account options to consider if you go for Sky Go without a Sky TV package, but to be honest the first two didn’t interest me as they didn’t include sports. Therefore the choices were the £35 per month package, which comes with the Sports and Entertainment channels, or the £40 per month package, that gives you Movies as well. I was tempted to go for the full package, but went for the £35 package instead in the end. Rather than pay £5 per month simply for Sky Movies, I’d rather save that money for trips to the cinema for any new release that I really want to see.

What you get for your money is live streaming of the channels on your package, plus a wealth of On Demand features. Which pretty much covers everything you would actually want to watch when added to your Freeview TV, and all for considerably less per month than you’d pay for a Sky TV package. Clearly though, because it costs less money, there are a few drawbacks that you have to put up with.

The first is the picture quality. To be honest, on a small screen, it really isn’t too bad. The framerate is decent and the clarity of the image makes it completely watchable – I was watching the Liverpool v Spurs game on my laptop at the same time as the Manchester United v Chelsea game on my TV, and the difference was negligible. However, that was with the screen only a couple of feet away from me. Any further away and the clarity and size of the image might become an issue. Therefore for communal viewing it’s not really a viable option, but if you spend your time watching TV alone the screen size and image resolution really isn’t a problem.

What is a problem is that you are entirely dependent on your internet connection to watch your programmes. If you’ve got a speedy and reliable internet connection, then this won’t be a concern. If you’ve got one of the more erratic connections though, it might be a problem. I haven’t run into any difficulties so far, but given my experiences streaming on iPlayer since my move, it can only be a matter of time. I might find myself in the future having to choose between higher resolution images or a stream free from buffering, which is never ideal.

But then again, it is certainly more ideal than relying purely on pubs and other public venues in order to watch Sky Sports, which whilst fine, even enjoyable for big events can be severely limiting when you watch as much sport as I do. So all things considered, Sky Go is shaping up to be an excellent purchase. And given that over the next 6 months I’ll be buying a tablet (almost certainly an iPad) and upgrading my phone to 4G at the end of my current contract means I can look forward to regular access to Sky Sports, even if the next place I move into doesn’t have Sky either.

Game of Thrones

From April 1, season one and two of the HBO series will become available on Sky’s On Demand and mobile Sky Go platforms – the same day as season three is set to air less than 24 hours after its US premiere.

Game of Thrones, based on George RR Martin’s book series A Song of Ice and Fire, follows the epic struggle for power in a vast and violent fantasy kingdom.

The series was created by David Benioff and DB Weiss.

Source: BSkyB

Sky Sports F1 will provide unrivalled coverage of the 2013 Formula 1 season, starting with the Australian Grand Prix in Melbourne on March 15-17.

Now in its second full season, Sky’s dedicated Formula 1 channel will include live coverage of every practice session, qualifying session and race from each grand prix weekend.

Simon Lazenby will lead the Sky Sports’ comprehensive coverage of the entire season alongside some of the biggest names in F1 broadcasting, including Martin Brundle, Damon Hill, Johnny Herbert, David Croft and Ted Kravitz.

In all, 10 race weekends will be exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 HD, including three of the first four races, as well as the prestigious Monaco Grand Prix in May and the prime-time United States Grand Prix in November.

After a dramatic 2012, which saw Sebastian Vettel win his third consecutive championship in the final race of the season, and with very few rule changes, the 2013 season looks set to be just as compelling and dramatic.

Sky Sports executive producer of Formula 1 Martin Turner said: “The 2013 season starts live only on Sky Sports F1 HD.

“We’ll bring viewers the whole story of the season, live from every practice, qualifying session and race in the calendar.

“We’re looking forward to covering the Monaco Grand Prix live and exclusively – it’s the jewel in the crown of F1 and this is the first time that GP will be exclusively live to Sky Sports F1 HD.

“We’ll follow the twists and turns of the most glamorous weekend in Formula 1 to bring viewers closer to the iconic race that every driver wants to win.

“Last season, we ran features on every team on the grid, broadcast the first UK F1 coverage in Dolby 5.1 surround sound and showed the Team Principal and Driver press conferences live too.

“We also introduced virtual screen technology which created the virtual car seen in the F1 Show and allowed us to recreate a driver’s perspective during key moments of a race.

“This year promises to be another great season, and we’ll look to go from strength to strength as we give F1 the Sky Sports treatment in 2013.”

Read SOTB’s comprehensive guide to Sky Sports’ F1 coverage in 2013:

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After an impressive debut season, Sky Sports F1′s award-winning broadcast team are back for the 2013 campaign with one thing in mind: providing the ultimate Formula 1 experience.

The on-screen line-up remains largely unchanged for the 2013 season, with Simon Lazenby fronting live coverage of all the key sessions, including Friday practice, qualifying and the race itself.

Commentary again coming from David Croft, who will be joined for practice sessions by Anthont Davidson, while Martin Brundle takes over for qualifying and the race.

Expert analysis on all the key incidents and issues within the world of Formula 1 will be led by 1996 world champion Damon Hill and three-time F1 winner Johnny Herbert, with contributions from various special guests throughout the season.

Pit-lane reporters Natalie Pinkham and Ted Kravitz will gather the usual mix of stories, breaking news and interviews from the pit lane and paddock – including Kravitz’s popular ‘Notebook’ segment at each race weekend.

Popular Sky Sports presenter Georgie Thompson will not be part of the Sky F1 line-up team in 2013 after leaving her post in the off-season.

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Sky Sports F1 is the only place you can watch all this season’s races live and uninterrupted, offering in-depth coverage of every session from every single race weekend.

In 2013, 10 of the 19 races weekends will be exclusively live on Sky Sports F1 HD and with variety of ways to watch you won’t miss a moment of the season ahead.

Every practice session, qualifying and race day will be shown live and in full on Sky Sports F1 HD (now channel 406 on Sky platforms), including exclusive live coverage of the Monaco, Singapore, Abu Dhabi and US Grands Prix.

High definition brings you the action in stunning picture detail, while Dolby 5.1 Surround Sound will make you feel like you are trackside.

As the self-styled ’home of Formula 1′, Sky Sports F1 strives to constantly push the boundaries of technology and innovation to enhance the viewing experience for F1 fans.

Sky’s live F1 coverage will complemented by Sky Race Control, the only interactive Red Button service during F1 weekends which will allow fans to choose between as many as ten simultaneous content streams, which gives fans the unique opportunity to choose what they want to watch.

Not only can viewers choose from on-board cameras and data streams, but they can also choose to watch a dedicated ‘Pit Channel’, with regular updates provided by Sky Sports F1′s pit-lane reporter Ted Kravitz.

A similar interactive service will be made available for iPad users, and live streaming of all Sky Sports F1 coverage will be available to subscribers online at skysports.com, and via mobile and tablet devices.

The Sky Sports iPad app allows users to completely customise your race experience. View two camera feeds with split screen functionality, you can enjoy live race footage with on board or pit lane feeds simultaneously, see the latest race stats and much more.

In addition, you don’t need to be at home to enjoy the F1 season as Sky Sports F1 is also available on Sky Go, allowing you to watch every grand prix live on laptop, mobile and selected tablet devices wherever you are.

SUBSCRIBE TO SKY SPORTS F1 HD - CLICK HERE

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Sky Sports’ weekly Formula One magazine show returns for 2013 to bring you all the latest stories and features from the world of F1 every week.

Natalie Pinkham steps in to present the show, replacing former host Georgie Thompson. Pinkham will be alongside Ted Kravitz for the new season.

They’ll be joined by a variety of famous and familiar faces each week to preview and review every race from the 2012 season, along with further analysis of all the major incidents and talking points via the Sky F1 touchscreen.

Sky’s innovative ’virtual car’ will re-appear for the new season to show important technical details in action.

As well as regular features and big-name interviews with the faces of Formula 1 both past and present, The F1 Show delves into the wider history and tradition of the sport and brings you inside insight from technicians and Team Principals.

The programmme will be presented from all 19 grand prix locations throughout the year, while on non-F1 weekends it will be presented from Sky’s west London studios.

For the first time in 2013, The F1 Show will also be simulcast on Sky 1.

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Sky Sports F1 will be broadcasting ‘Classic Races’ throughout the 2013 season, giving fans a chance to relive memorable grands prix from yesteryear.

Ahead of each GP this season, a selection of races will be screened in the week leading up to the event, starting on Saturday, March 9, with the 1994 Australian GP – with a further four races aired before first practice in Melbourne. 

And don’t worry if you miss a ‘Classic Race’ during the week as they will be repeated throughout the race weekend.

However, it is not just on Grand Prix weekends that Sky Sports F1 will be showing historic races.

Look out for themed quintets during the non-race weeks such as ‘five great wet races’ and ‘five maiden victories’.

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Former BBC and ITV F1 presenter Steve Rider will continue his fascinating series of interviews with some of the greatest figures from the sport’s history in the Legends of F1 series.

He talks intimately with the names synonymous with Formula 1 success, sharing stories of their experiences and fondest memories of the sport in a must-see series for all Formula 1 fans.

Having interviewed great names like Emerson Fittipaldi, Sir Jackie Stewart, Jody Schekter, Sir Jack Brabham, Sir Stirling Moss and many more in 2012, Rider’s series will return with a batch of new interviews in 2013 which are expected to be announced in due course.

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As in 2012, Sky Sports F1 will provide live coverage of the two major single-seater championships supporting the Formula 1 circuit throughout the season.

The 12-round 2013 GP2 Series will begin in Malaysia on March 23-24 and follows the Formula 1 circus around the world, reaching a climax at the Singapore Grand Prix, while

Sky Sports F1 will show the two races per weekend; a feature race and a shorter sprint race, along with GP2 practice and qualifying and GP3 qualifying.

This year’s GP2 Series will feature British drivers James Calado, Jolyon Palmer and Adrian Quaife-Hobbs, while GP3′s eight-round schedule begins in Barcelona on May 11-12 and features Brits Jack Harvey, Nick Yelloly, Dino Zamparelli and Josh Webster.

Commentary on all the GP2 and GP3 action comes from Will Buxton and a selected guest commentator.

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Sky Sports News will continue to provide its own comprehensive Formula 1 news service at all 19 race weekends during the 2013 season.

With two dedicated reporters primed to relay all the breaking news, Rachel Brookes and Craig Slater will share reporting duties throughout the season and provide regular updates from each race weekend, plus highlights of all the key action from each session.

Live and recorded on-site reports will begin from the paddock each Tuesday and run all through the week, with extensive reaction after each session from the drivers, team personnel, and analysis from the Sky Sports F1 pundits, including Martin Brundle and Damon Hill.

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The knockout stages of Europe’s premier club competition continues in early March with eight second leg ties from the last 16 of this season’s UEFA Champions League – all broadcast live on ITV and Sky Sports.

ITV has live coverage of the deciding legs of two huge European clashes as Manchester United and Real Madrid lock horns at Old Trafford on March5, followed a week later by AC Milan’s trip to the Nou Camp to defend a 3-1 lead against the mighty Barcelona..

Sky Sports will screen all the other six ties over the two remaining matchdays in the last 16 phase, including the deciding legs in the Arsenal v Bayern Munich and Celtic v Juventus ties, where the British sides have a mountain to climb if they are to assure progression to the quarter-finals.

Undoubtedly the tie of the round sees nine-times winners Real Madrid take on Manchester United for the first time in nine years, in a match which will see former United star Cristiano Ronaldo return to Old Trafford for the first time since his £80m move to Madrid in June 2009.

The teams last met in the 2002-03 quarter-final, where the Spaniards came out on top after two thrilling legs 6-5 on aggregate.

Full details of when and where to watch the latest action from the Last 16 phase below:

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Barcelona need to overturn a 2-0 deficit against AC Milan in the return leg of their Champions League last 16 tie.

Second-half goals from Kevin-Prince Boateng and Sulley Muntari were enough to give the Italians an advantage over the La Liga side.

Milan will now be seen as favourites to progress to the quarter-finals after also having denied Barcelona an away goal that would have aided their cause.

Lionel Messi and co have it all to do if they’re to reach the quarter-finals. Expect a night of drama and excitement at the Nou Camp.

Live coverage on ITV and ITV HD starts at 7.30pm ahead of a 7.45pm kick-off.

Adrian Chiles is joined for expert analysis by former Manchester United captain Roy Keane, plus regular panellists Lee Dixon and Gareth Southgate.

Commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, with pitchside reports and interviews from Gabriel Clarke.

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It’s all to play for in this Last 16 clash between Schalke and Galatasaray as the German and Turkish sides go head-to-head a place in the quarter-finals.

The opening leg ended 1-1, with Burak Yilmaz giving Galatasaray an early lead and Jermaine Jones scoring a potentially vital away goal just before half time.

Ben Shephard introduces live coverage on Sky Sports 2 HD from 7pm.

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Arsenal need a special performance to keep their Champions League hopes alive against Bayern Munich on Wednesday night.

The Gunners travel to Munich looking to keep their fading UEFA Champions League dreams alive as they face a proverbial mountain to climb at the Allianz Arena, following a 3-1 defeat in the first leg of their last-16 encounter in North London.

Arsene Wenger’s men have locked horns with Bayern on five previous occasions and have emerged victorious just once – with their last two visits to Bavaria seeing them concedes four times and offer just a solitary reply.

Bayern, who have suffered just two defeats all season, have graced two of the last three Champions League finals  are unlikely to be in a charitable mood, with the Bundesliga outfit looking to put down a marker to their continental rivals.

Jeff Stelling presents live coverage from 7pm on Sky Sports 2 HD with guests Jamie Redknapp, Alan Smith and Graeme Souness.

Match commentary will come from Rob Hawthorne and Gary Neville.

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Following a tight first leg encounter, Malaga host Porto at the Estadio La Rosaleda as both sides look for a lucrative quarter-final spot.

Porto head to Spain with the advantage, having recorded a 1-0 victory in the opening encounter at the Estadio do Dragao thanks to a 56th-minute strike from midfielder Joao Moutinho.

Ben Shephard presents live coverage on Sky Sports 4 HD from 7.30pm..

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ITV’s live match coverage, as well additional video clips, interviews and analysis, is available to watch for free via the ITV football website - CLICK HERE

Sky Sports subscribers can follow every Champions League match via the Sky Sports Events Centre - CLICK HERE

Keep up to date with all the latest UEFA Champions League reports, goal flashes and results by following ITV Football on Twitter (@itvfootball) and Sky Sports dedicated UCL feed (@SkySportsCL).

Online streaming available to UK users only

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We have just had the 85th annual ceremony for the Academy Awards.

Sky have recently added a Sky Movies Oscars section to their On Demand service.

You would think, with hundreds of the highest calibre films ever made being represented over these 85 ceremonies, the lengthy Sky Movies Oscars page would feature scores of different classics and greats throughout the history of film.

So what’s available?

Well, at the top of the page, we have the aptly titled, Best Picture Winners. Along with classics such as The French Connection, All About Eve and Kramer Vs Kramer, there is:

A good start, and a worthy addtion into the Sky Movies Oscars page…

Let’s scroll down and see what else is on offer. There is a Best Actor and Actress Winners category. Another chance for Sky to give us loads more films from decades of Academy Winners. So what do we have in this category?

Oh. The Bridge on the River Kwai again? Okay, so Alec Guinness did win a Best Acting gong for his performance. But that’s no reason to list it twice on this On Demand page is it? It must be a mistake. Let’s move on.

Further down the page we come to the Best Director Winners section. Now here is a real chance for Sky to bring us a bundle of great films from the likes of John Ford, Frank Capra, William Wyler, Woody Allen, Miloš Forman, Clint Eastwood, Steven Spielberg – the list is extensive.

So what have they gone for?

Again? Why would they have it listed a third time? Just because David Lean won the best Director category, that’s no reason to feature three identical links to watch the film. This is a streaming service for films that are On Demand, not a history lesson.

A bit annoyed now. Especially after they labelled Jaws 3D a Classic a few weeks ago. But lets carry on anyway.

Best Screenplay Winners?

Best Song and Score?

They could have at least changed the picture and synopsis.

It’s been the most exciting and unpredictable League Cup competition in recent memory and two clubs unaccustomed to reaching major finals go head-to-head at Wembley in this Sunday’s Capital One Cup Final.

Bradford City are only the second club from the fourth tier of English football to make the final and the Bantams are on the brink of completing one of the most sensational stories in British footballing history.

They meet Premier League outfit Swansea City who are also looking to make history by lifting their first ever major trophy.

Sky Sports and Sky 3D will show the first major cup final of the season exclusively live from Wembley Stadium, with extended free-to-air highlights on BBC One in the evening.

Bradford City have become the first team from the lowest tier of the English Football League to reach the final of the competition since Rochdale in 1962 and could complete a fairy-tale story by lifting their first major piece of silverware in over a century.

Victory would also see them qualify for next season’s UEFA Europa League.

Phil Parkinson’s men have already overcome three Barclays Premier League teams to reach this weekend’s final hurdle.

They knocked out Wigan Athletic in a penalty shootout and repeated those heroics in the last eight against Arsenal to set up a two-legged semi-final with Aston Villa.

Once again they were undaunted and outclassed Villa in the opening leg at Valley Parade to take a 3-1 advantage to the West Midlands.

Paul Lambert’s men did take the lead early in the return leg at Villa Park, but the Bantams’ solid defence stood firm to take their side through to the final.

New Swansea City boss Michael Laudrup could become an instant legend at the Liberty Stadium.

Victory at Wembley would see the Swans lift the first major trophy in their history.

Laudrup’s side have also upset the odds on several occasions this season.

Having reached the semi-finals of the competition for the first time, the Welsh side were drawn against tournament favourites Chelsea.

The Swans stunned their West London rivals at Stamford Bridge. Goals from Michu and Danny Graham handed the Swans their first victory at Chelsea in 87 years, along with two vital goals to take back to south Wales.

A goalless draw in the return leg booked Swansea’s place in this weekend’s showpiece match.

They will now hope to go one better than their Welsh rivals Cardiff City, who were narrowly beaten by Liverpool in last season’s final.

Anthony Gerrard, cousin of Liverpool captain Steven, missed the decisive spot kick in a penalty shootout to hand the Reds their eighth League Cup.

The overall record between Bradford and Swansea is tied, with both teams winning 20 games each, and 14 clashes between the two ending level.

Former Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba will present the Capital One Cup to the winning captain at full-time.

The retired 24-year-old is the sponsor’s guest of honour for the day and will watch the game from the Royal Box, as well as being introduced to the squads before the match begins.

This season’s final is sure to entice neutrals, as well as fans of both clubs, and Sky Sports will be the only place to see the drama unfold live from Wembley Stadium.

Build-up from Wembley begins with a special edition of Goals On Sunday, live from Wembley with Ben Shephard and Chris Kamara at 11am.

Shephard returns to host Sky Sports’ live and exclusive coverage from Wembley at 3.30pm with guests including Jamie Redknapp, Chris Coleman and Peter Beagrie, while match commentary comes from Alan Parry and Alan Smith.

Free-to-air highlights of the 2013 League Cup Final will be shown on BBC One and BBC One HD at 11.25pm, presented by Manish Bhasin with commentary from Guy Mowbray.

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Europe’s premier club competition enters the knockout stages in February and all 16 games from the last 16 of this season’s UEFA Champions League will be broadcast live on ITV and Sky Sports.

ITV has live coverage of the first legs between Celtic and Juventus, followed by Arsenal’s tough tie against last season’s runners-up Bayern Munich.

Then two mouthwatering second legs follow exclusively live on ITV as Manchester United host Jose Mourinho’s Real Madrid at Old Trafford, with Barcelona to come a week later.

Sky Sports will screen all the other 12 ties over four matchdays in the last 16 phase, including the deciding legs in the Arsenal v Bayern Munich and Celtic v Juventus ties, plus the first legs ties between Real Madrid and Manchester United, as well as AC Milan v Barcelona.

The undoubted tie of the round sees nine-times winners Real Madrid take on Manchester United for the first time in nine years, in a match which will see former United star Cristiano Ronaldo return to Old Trafford for the first time since his £80m move to Madrid in June 2009.

The teams last met in the 2002-03 quarter-final, where the Spaniards came out on top after two thrilling legs 6-5 on aggregate.

Having made it through a tough group where they famously beat Spanish giants Barcelona, Celtic have been rewarded with a tie against Italian side Juventus, while Arsenal take on last year’s beaten finalists Bayern Munich.

The first legs will be played on either February 12/13 or 19/20, with the return matches on March 5/6 or 12/13.

Full details of when and where to watch the latest action from the Last 16 phase below:

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Following their shock exit from the FA Cup at the hands of Championship side Blackburn Rovers at the weekend, Arsenal face a tough test of their Champions League credentials in midweek.

They take on last year’s runners up Bayern Munich in the first leg of their round of 16 clash.

After finishing second in Group B, the Gunners will go into this tie as underdogs against the German giants, who topped the Group F table by virtue of their superior head-to-head record against Valencia.

Arsene Wenger’s men have already faced Bayern’s compatriots Schalke 04 in this season’s competition, finishing two points behind them in the table after losing 2-0 at home and drawing 2-2 away.

Arsenal have fallen at this stage of the competition in the last two years and the talented Bayern are a team in form – they’re well clear at the top of the Bundesliga.

Adrian Chiles is joined by guests Gareth Southgate and former Arsenal defender Lee Dixon for live coverage from the Emirates stadium, starting at 7.30pm.

Match commentary comes from Clive Tyldesley and Andy Townsend, plus pitchside reports from Gabriel Clarke.

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The other Tuesday night contest pits Portuguese giants Porto against Malaga, one of the surprise packages of this season’s competition, at the Estadio do Dragao.

Malaga are appearing at this stage for the first time and will be looking to build on their excellent record in the group phase, which saw them come through unbeaten and top Group C ahead of AC Milan.

The Spaniards sold star players over the summer, but that hasn’t hampered their European progress.

Having been unbeaten in the group stage they will look to continue that run against their more seasoned opposition.

Ben Shephard introduces live coverage on Sky Sports 2 HD from 7pm.

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This week’s matches from the last 16 is headlined by Barcelona’s trip to the San Siro to take on seven-time European Cup winners AC Milan.

The hosts start as underdogs against the tournament favourites and it is very clear to see why.

The Catalan club have won the Champions League twice in the past four years and possess a squad which contains two of the three players shortlisted for the 2012 FIFA Ballon d’Or.

They are also eight points clear of their nearest rivals in La Liga, having won 18 of their first 20 games.

Milan’s current team falls someway short of the standard set by its illustrious predecessors, but it certainly isn’t without a threat.

A squad that was once adorned with ageing icons is now far more youthful and it is to this emerging talent that the Italian giants may well look when Barca come to town.

Twenty-year-old Italian international Stephan El Shaarawy has already scored 17 times this season and is perhaps the most likely contender to inspire an upset.

The sides met twice in the group stage last season, with Barca winning 3-2 on this ground after being held to a 2-2 draw on home soil.

Jeff Stelling presents live coverage from the Nou Camp with guests Jamie Redknapp and Graeme Souness from 7pm on Sky Sports 2 HD.

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Turkish champions Galatasaray will go into their game against Schalke at the Turk Telekom Arena in Istanbul on the back of three successive Champions League victories.

They began their group campaign with two defeats and a draw before turning their form around completely to finish second behind Manchester United.

The hosts finished as runners-up to Manchester United in the group stage of the competition and added to their ranks during the recent transfer window, with Wesley Sneijder and Didier Drogba their most notable acquisitions.

Meanwhile the visitors beat Arsenal to the top of Group B, but have seen midfielder Lewis Holtby complete a January move to Tottenham Hotspur, six months earlier than initially planned.

Ben Shephard presents live coverage on Sky Sports 4 HD from 7.30pm.

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ITV’s live match coverage, as well additional video clips, interviews and analysis, is available to watch for free via the ITV football website - CLICK HERE

Sky Sports subscribers can follow every Champions League match via the Sky Sports Events Centre - CLICK HERE

Keep up to date with all the latest UEFA Champions League reports, goal flashes and results by following ITV Football on Twitter (@itvfootball) and Sky Sports dedicated UCL feed (@SkySportsCL).

Online streaming available to UK users only

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The update to the app saw a much-needed ‘Download’ option added, giving Sky subscribers (who’ll happily stump up an extra fiver a month for the privilege) programs and films that can be cached to your device allowing for offline viewing at a later date. Although, understandably, those of us without film subscriptions will not have access to those… Or more bluntly, you only have access to what you can access through your Sky box under your TV. And once you’ve downloaded what you want, you get 30 days to watch it, or 48 hours once you’ve hit play.

Downsides (and yes, there are some) currently include downloads being only in standard definition, which is probably a decision made to minimise hefty downloads. And you can only download one thing at a time, and you have to stay in the app for this to happen (so no background downloading while you do something else on your device).

If you’ve already installed the app, an update should be pushing to your device(s) now. If not, it’s available in its new form from the App Store or Google Play

ORIGINAL – Hod tight Android-loving Sky subscribers. Those of you that have been hiding green eyes from your iPhone owning friends can now breathe a huge sigh of relief, as the signs are pointing towards Sky releasing its Sky Go app for Android from as early as Feb 22nd.

As you may know, the app allows you to watch a range of live TV channels from the broadcaster, as well as giving access to its range of sport and movie channels. The only downside when it launches is that it will only available for a handful of Android devices to start (although admittedly looking at the list they’re the most popular). They are HTC’s Desire, Desire S, Desire HD, Incredible S and Sensation, and Samsung’s Galaxy S and Galaxy S2 wunderfone.

Just remember that streaming over 3G will seriously dent your data allowance. Just as well Sky bought out The Cloud for easy access to their existing wi-fi spots for Sky Broadband customers. It’s almost as though they planned it…

TV provider Sky (http://www.sky.com/shop/new?DCMP=KNC-) has just announced it will launch a new internet TV service which will be available to anyone in the country with a broadband connection. Sky is aiming the service at the 13 million UK households who don’t currently subscribe to pay TV. This new service will have access available via “PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, games console or connected TV.”

It will offer Sky Movies on demand joined by sports and entertainment options later, with access based on either monthly unlimited subscription or “pay-as-you-go” pricing.

As far as the company’s basic services, it will continue to develop its existing Sky Go product for it’s standard pay-TV subscribers so this will be another competitor for firms such as Lovefilm and Netflix.

UK pay TV service Sky has just announced its quarterly results, and despite adding 100,000 subscribers as well as notching its “highest ever first-half adjusted operating profit” it will launch a new internet TV service, available to anyone in the country with a broadband connection. Sky describes the new over the top (OTT) service as being aimed at the 13 million UK households who don’t currently subscribe to pay TV, with access available via “PC, laptop, tablet, smartphone, games console or connected TV.” Initially, it will offer Sky Movies on demand joined by sports and entertainment options later, with access based on either monthly unlimited subscription or “pay-as-you-go” pricing. As far as the company’s basic services, it will continue to develop its existing Sky Go product for standard pay-TV subscribers and zeebox iPad companion app, although this seems to initially be a worth competitor for things like Lovefilm and recent UK entrant Netflix. We have plenty of questions about what it will offer cord-cutters and cord-nevers in the UK when it launches in the first half of this year, we should find out more on the earnings call shortly. Until then, hit the PDF link for more detailed financial breakdowns, or check out the IPTV service press release after the break.

Update: Still waiting for Sky Go on Android? The company mentioned during its presentation that the app will finally arrive on Google’s platform in February. It will also have new channels, including Sky 1, Sky Living and Sky Arts, plus, of course, the new Sky Sports F1 HD channel. The company is also expanding its broadband reach, with plans to cover a million more homes by June 2013, and add a Sky Broadband Unlimited Fibre option. For 20 a month, it offers 40 megabit download speed with no usage caps based on BT Fibre.

Earnings (PDF), Sky broadband

The SkyPlayer used to be available on 4 devices and they recently reduced it down to 2. This is just barking mad. If your an average family household say with an Xbox, laptops and iPAD perhaps how the heck are you meant to watch on all these devices..you can’t. Some member of the household has to be disappointed somewhere. Is mum on the iPAD…nope…is it the kids on the Xbox consoles…nope or is it me on my laptop…nope. I would love to able to add in new subscription packs to allow me add extra devices as I would be most willing to do that..but no Sky does not allow that!

So what’s the result? Nobody in the house has access to SkyGo and just how rubbish is that! Sky get real!