FOOTBALL:

CHAMPIONS LEAGUE ROUNDUP

LONDON _ Manchester United defends a 3-2 lead against AC Milan and David Beckham in the Champions League, while Lyon aims to edge Real Madrid to a place in the quarterfinals.

MAN UNITED-AC MILAN

MANCHESTER, England _ Manchester United is protecting a 3-2 first-leg lead over AC Milan in the first knockout round of the Champions League. Milan midfielder David Beckham may have to settle for a place on the bench on his first return to Old Trafford as an opposition player.

REAL MADRID-LYON MADRID _ Real Madrid seeks to overturn a 1-0 deficit when it hosts Lyon in the Champions League. Madrid is attempting to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2004.

LILLE-LIVERPOOL

LILLE, France _ With only one loss in its last 16 European home games, Lille has all the rights to be optimistic ahead of its Europa League’s clash with English powerhouse Liverpool.

EUROPA LEAGUE PREVIEW

LONDON _ One of five former European champions in Europa League action on Thursday, Juventus is up against an unfamiliar opponent. The Italian club beat Ajax in the last round in a rerun of the 1996 Champions League final but now meets English side Fulham, which has reached the round of 16 in its first ever season of continental competition.

FRENCH ROUNDUP:

BORDEAUX, France _ French league leader Bordeaux can move three points clear of second-placed Montpellier with a win against Auxerre in a rescheduled encounter.

ENGLISH ROUNDUP

LONDON _ Stoke heads to Burnley for the day’s only Premier League match.

SKIING:

WCUP-MEN’S DOWNHILL

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany _ Carlo Janka of Switzerland won the final downhill of the season to take the overall World Cup lead with three races remaining.

WCUP-WOMEN’S DOWNHILL.

GARMISCH-PARTENKIRCHEN, Germany _ Maria Riesch of Germany beat Lindsey Vonn of the United States in the final downhill of the season to keep the race for the overall title alive.

CRICKET:

PAKISTAN-PLAYERS BANNED

ISLAMABAD _ The Pakistan Cricket Board has barred former captains Mohammad Yousuf and Younis Khan from the national team indefinitely for behavior they say contributed to Pakistan’s poor performance on its recent tour of Australia. .

AUSTRALIA-CLARKE

WELLINGTON, New Zealand _ Vice-captain Michael Clarke has been included in Australia’s test squad only two days after quitting a cricket tour of New Zealand for personal reasons and returning to his Sydney home.

WEST INDIES-ZIMBABWE

KINGSTOWN, St. Vincent _ Zimbabwe captain Prosper Utseya won the toss and chose to bowl first in the third one-day cricket international against the West Indies at Arnos Vale Sports Complex. Moved. Will be updated.

FORMULA ONE:

F1-BAHRAIN GP

MADRID _ Months of anticipation and speculation finally come to a close as the 2010 Formula One season gets under way at the Bahrain Grand Prix, where Michael Schumacher will mark his return to racing. Moved.

FIELD HOCKEY:

WORLD CUP-SEMIFINALS

NEW DELHI _ World and Olympic champion Germany is aiming to make the World Cup final by avenging a loss to England in the title encounter of last year’s European Cup, while Australia faces three-time winner the Netherlands in the other semifinal. Moved.

CYCLING

PARIS-NICE

AURILLAC, France _ Lars Boom of the Netherlands leads the Paris-Nice overall standings ahead of German veteran Jens Voigt going into the third stage that will take the riders from Saint-Junien and Aurillac on a 208-kilometer trek.