Here are the top sports stories and upcoming coverage plans for Reuters text service as of 7:30 p.m. GMT/2:30 p.m. ET. For a full schedule of news and events, go to our editorial calendar on Reuters Connect.

TOP STORIES

MOTOR-F1-ABUDHABI/

Motor racing-Accusations fly as Russell and Verstappen row rocks F1

ABU DHABI, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Simmering bad blood between Formula Onerivals Max Verstappen and George Russell exploded into angry accusations of bullying and lying ahead of the season-ending Abu Dhabi Grand Prix on Thursday.

SOCCER-SPAIN

Soccer-Mbappe under scrutiny as rocky Real Madrid brace for Girona clash

MADRID, Dec 5 (Reuters) - With an unrecognisable Kylian Mbappe firmly under the spotlight after missing his second penalty in a week, Real Madrid will travel to Girona on Saturday to face last year's surprise package in LaLiga.

GOLF-EUROPEAN/

Golf-Homa takes first round lead in title defence at Sun City

SUN CITY, South Africa, Dec 5 (Reuters) - Defending champion Max Homa carded a six-under-par 66 to take a one shot lead after the first round of the DP World Tour’s Nedbank Golf Challenge at Sun City, finishing with consecutive birdies following a challenging back nine.

UPCOMING

SOCCER

SOCCER-ENGLAND-FUL-BHA/REPORT (PIX)

Soccer - England - English Premier League - Fulham v Brighton & Hove Albion

Fulham play Brighton & Hove Albion in the English Premier League.

5 Dec 14:30 ET / 19:30 GMT

SOCCER-ITALY-LAZ-NAP/REPORT

Soccer - Italy - Coppa Italia - Lazio v Napoli

Lazio play Napoli in Italian Coppa Italia

5 Dec 15:00 ET / 20:00 GMT

SOCCER-ENGLAND-BOU-TOT/REPORT (PIX)

Soccer - England - English Premier League - AFC Bournemouth v Tottenham Hotspur

AFC Bournemouth play Tottenham Hotspur in the English Premier League.

5 Dec 15:15 ET / 20:15 GMT

SOCCER-SPAIN-ATM/REPORT

Soccer - Spain - Copa del Rey - Cacereno v Atletico Madrid

Atletico Madrid face fourth-division side Cacereno in the second round of Copa del Rey. We will report Atletico's game wrapping up the rest of the action in which do not include Real Madrid and Barcelona who will join the competition in later stages.

5 Dec 16:00 ET / 21:00 GMT

SOCCER-ITALY-INT-PAR/REPORT (PIX)

Soccer - Italy - Italian Serie A - Inter Milan v Parma

Inter Milan play Parma in the Italian Serie A.

6 Dec 12:30 ET / 17:30 GMT

ICE HOCKEY

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-CAR-COL/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Carolina Hurricanes v Colorado Avalanche

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Lenovo Center, Raleigh, North Carolina

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-OTT-DET/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Ottawa Senators v Detroit Red Wings

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Canadian Tire Centre, Kanata, Ontario

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-MTL-NSH/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Montreal Canadiens v Nashville Predators

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Bell Centre, Montreal, Quebec

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-BUF-WPG/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Buffalo Sabres v Winnipeg Jets

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - KeyBank Center, Buffalo, New York

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-TBL-SJS/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Tampa Bay Lightning v San Jose Sharks

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Amalie Arena, Tampa, Florida

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-PHI-FLA/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Philadelphia Flyers v Florida Panthers

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Wells Fargo Center, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-NYI-SEA/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - New York Islanders v Seattle Kraken

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - UBS Arena, Elmont, New York

6 Dec 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-EDM-CBJ/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Edmonton Oilers v Columbus Blue Jackets

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Rogers Place, Edmonton, Alberta

6 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

ICEHOCKEY-NHL-CGY-STL/ (PIX)

Hockey - NHL - Calgary Flames v St. Louis Blues

2024-25 NHL Season (Regular Season) - Scotiabank Saddledome, Calgary, Alberta

6 Dec 21:00 ET / 02:00 GMT

BASKETBALL

BASKETBALL-NBA-CLE-DEN/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - Cleveland Cavaliers v Denver Nuggets

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Rocket Mortgage FieldHouse, Cleveland, Ohio

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-WAS-DAL/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - Washington Wizards v Dallas Mavericks

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Capital One Arena, Washington, District of Columbia

6 Dec 19:00 ET / 00:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-NYK-CHA/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - New York Knicks v Charlotte Hornets

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Madison Square Garden, New York, New York

6 Dec 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-TOR-OKC/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - Toronto Raptors v Oklahoma City Thunder

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Scotiabank Arena, Toronto, Ontario

6 Dec 19:30 ET / 00:30 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-NOP-PHX/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - New Orleans Pelicans v Phoenix Suns

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Smoothie King Center, New Orleans, Louisiana

6 Dec 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-SAS-CHI/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - San Antonio Spurs v Chicago Bulls

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Frost Bank Center, San Antonio, Texas

6 Dec 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-MEM-SAC/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - Memphis Grizzlies v Sacramento Kings

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - FedExForum, Memphis, Tennessee

6 Dec 20:00 ET / 01:00 GMT

BASKETBALL-NBA-GSW-HOU/ (PIX)

Basketball - NBA - Golden State Warriors v Houston Rockets

2024-25 NBA Season (Regular Season) - Chase Center, San Francisco, California

6 Dec 22:00 ET / 03:00 GMT

NFL

FOOTBALL-NFL-DET-GB/ (PIX)

Football - NFL - Detroit Lions v Green Bay Packers

2024-2025 NFL Season (Regular Season) - Ford Field, Detroit, Michigan

6 Dec 20:15 ET / 01:15 GMT

CRICKET

CRICKET-TEST-AUS-IND/

Cricket - Australia v India, second test

Australia host India in a day-nighter at Adelaide Oval in the second of five tests.

6 Dec

CRICKET-TEST-NZL-ENG/

Cricket - New Zealand v England, second test

New Zealand host England at Basin Reserve in the second of three tests.

6 Dec

CRICKET-TEST-ZAF-LKA/

Cricket - South Africa v Sri Lanka - 2nd test

South Africa will resume on 269-7 on the second day of the second test against Sri Lanka at St George's Park in Port Elizabeth.

6 Dec 03:30 ET / 08:30 GMT

MOTOR RACING

MOTOR-F1-ABUDHABI/ (PIX)

Motor racing - Formula One - Abu Dhabi Grand Prix

Abu Dhabi hosts the final race of the 2024 Formula One world championship.

6 Dec

GOLF

GOLF-EUROPEAN/

Golf - Nedbank Golf Challenge

Coverage of the Nedbank Golf Challenge, known as Africa's Major, from Sun City.

6 Dec 11:00 ET / 16:00 GMT