It is a return that calls for popcorn when the Brooklyn Nets head to the Philadelphia 76ers on Thursday.

A month after leaving the Nets for the Sixers, James Harden will have the opportunity to face his former team and show them what might have been.

The 32-year-old's time in Brooklyn was underwhelming to say the least, but he has taken to life in Philadelphia like a duck to water, with the Sixers winning all five games in which he has featured so far.

His partnership with Joel Embiid in particular has thrived, with the Cameroonian putting up 43 points and Harden making 14 assists in Monday's win against the Chicago Bulls.

Harden insists he is calm ahead of meeting his former teammates, saying: "I'm not nervous. It's basketball.

"I put the work in to go out there and just play my game and live with the results. Honestly, every game is a big game for us. We're fairly new. We got championship aspirations so every game is a learning process for us no matter who we’re playing."

Meanwhile, another highly anticipated return won't quite be the same as Ben Simmons remains sidelined for the Nets but will reportedly be in attendance at Wells Fargo Center.

Another less discussed story will be Seth Curry, who has made an excellent start to life in Brooklyn since being a part of the trade that saw Harden and Simmons swap cities.

In 10 outings for the Nets, Curry has maintained his average of 15 points per game that he managed in 45 appearances with the Sixers this season, though he has gone three without reaching double figures so will want to put that right against his former team.

The Nets have lost four of their six clashes since the All-Star break and sit on an even record of 33-33, while the Sixers have won five of six in that time, and all three home games.

They have met three times already this season, of which Brooklyn have won two, though Philadelphia did come out on top in late December 110-102.

It promises to be a fun night in Philly, and whether it be cheering Harden or booing Simmons, Sixers fans will likely make themselves heard.

PIVOTAL PERFORMERS

Philadelphia 76ers – James Harden

I mean… who else?

It's not just because of the overwhelming amount of narrative involved. Harden has been a success story so far in Philly and will want to put on a show on this night of all nights.

Of course, as the league leader for points per game (29.7), Embiid will likely be the main man as usual, but with an average of 24.6 points per game since joining the Sixers and a big point to prove here, expect Harden to be at the centre of things either way.

Brooklyn Nets – Kyrie Irving

It's not very often that Irving isn't the centre of attention, but with the Harden/Simmons factor here you would think he might get a night away from the spotlight. 

Then again, if his form is anything to go by, maybe not.

Irving hit 50 points in Tuesday's win against the Charlotte Hornets and is averaging 26.2 points per game for the season, albeit while still missing several games due to vaccination rules.

KEY BATTLES – Nets must rely on experience

The cliche is that sport is a young person's game, but Brooklyn will be hoping that isn't true.

The Nets have the fourth-oldest average age of active roster in the league, and the second-highest percentage of points scored by players over 33 years old (40.8 per cent).

The Sixers are not exactly kids themselves but do have the 10th most points scored in the league by players under the age of 23 (15.5 per cent), mostly thanks to impressive 21-year-old Tyrese Maxey, who is averaging 17.6 points per game this season.

HEAD-TO-HEAD

As mentioned, the Nets actually lead this season's head-to-head 2-1, although since the start of the 2016-17 season, the Sixers have won 14 and lost just eight of the 22 meetings between the two.

Dustin Johnson has paid tribute to Tiger Woods ahead his induction into the World Golf Hall of Fame, saying everyone wanted to be like the 15-time major champion when growing up.

Woods is to be inducted at the PGA Tour headquarters in Florida on Wednesday alongside former PGA Tour commissioner Tim Finchem, four-time major winner Susie Maxwell and course developer and architect Marion Hollins.

The 46-year-old has won 82 times on the PGA Tour in his illustrious career, while his 15 majors is second only to Jack Nicklaus, who has 18.

Johnson, who has 28 professional wins to his name, including triumphs at the US Open in 2016 and Masters in 2020, credited Woods with helping to grow the game into a "cool" sport.

"Tiger obviously was huge for the game of golf and deserves to be in the Hall of Fame," Johnson said at a news conference ahead of The Players Championship, which begins on Thursday.

"For me growing up as a kid, even when I was in high school, golf was still kind of not really considered a cool sport to play. 

"Maybe not that many people played it, and especially in high school you kind of were a dork if you played golf.

"But Tiger made it actually a cool sport to play. For me, it was huge. Obviously at that time it was when he was in his prime, so watching him, everybody wanted to be like Tiger.

"He was a huge part of me playing golf and wanting to get out on Tour and play against him."

Johnson has registered just one top-10 finish in 12 previous appearances at TPC Sawgrass, when finishing in a tie for fifth in 2019.

Pep Guardiola picked homegrown talent CJ Egan-Riley for Manchester City's second leg with Sporting CP, handing the 19-year-old a Champions League debut.

The youngster made his maiden first-team appearance in the 6-1 Carabao Cup win over Wycombe in September, but this was comfortably the biggest senior occasion of his fledgling career at the club.

He came in amid a defensive crisis for City, with Nathan Ake, Ruben Dias, Joao Cancelo and Kyle Walker all unavailable. Ukrainian Oleksandr Zinchenko started at left-back, with John Stones and Aymeric Laporte in the centre.

It was a night at the Etihad Stadium when City were surely on their way through to the quarter-finals after seizing a commanding 5-0 lead in Lisbon three weeks ago.

Guardiola made six changes, with Egan-Riley joined by Zinchenko, Fernandinho, Ilkay Gundogan, Gabriel Jesus and Raheem Sterling, who came into the side three days after the thumping 4-1 derby win over Manchester United.

Kevin De Bruyne, Jack Grealish, Rodri and Riyad Mahrez dropped to the bench as Guardiola allowed that star quartet a breather, while Cancelo was unwell and Walker suspended.

Egan-Riley stepped in at right-back for England international Walker, who Guardiola ticked off in his pre-match news conference for the red card he received late on in City's group-stage clash with RB Leipzig after lashing out at Andre Silva.

Guardiola said: "When one player does this stupid thing he deserves the three games, I'm sorry. I'm not so kind to Kyle in this kind of action."

The Washington Commanders have agreed a trade with the Indianapolis Colts to acquire quarterback Carson Wentz.

According to a report from ESPN's Adam Schefter, the Colts will receive a package of draft picks that is thought to include two third-round selections.

Wentz spent just one season with the Colts, who last year traded a 2021 third-round pick and a 2022 conditional second-round pick that later became a first-rounder to land him in a deal with the Philadelphia Eagles.

However, an unsatisfactory end to the season, which saw the Colts miss the playoffs with a shock loss to the Jacksonville Jaguars on the final Sunday of the regular season, led to questions about Wentz's future, with coach Frank Reich and general manager Chris Ballard non-committal on whether he would remain with the team.

Indianapolis ultimately came to the decision to cut their losses and move on, with Washington landing Wentz having reportedly offered three first-round picks for Russell Wilson before he was traded from the Seattle Seahawks to the Denver Broncos.

Kevin Magnussen has returned to Formula One after signing a multi-year deal with Haas for 2022, replacing outgoing Russian driver Nikita Mazepin.

The American-owned team parted ways with Mazepin ahead of the season following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.

Magnussen is back in F1 having left Haas at the end of the 2020 season after four years with the team. He has also previously driven for McLaren and Renault.

The Dane has since participated in sportscars and IndyCar in the United States, and had been about to join Peugeot's World Endurance Championship squad before the call came to return to Haas.

Magnussen joins up with the team's other driver, Mick Schumacher, son of German great Michael Schumacher.

Mazepin spoke to the media on Wednesday, four days after his sacking was announced by Haas, and he described that ousting as "an injustice".

His father, Dmitry, has close ties to Vladimir Putin, holding face-to-face business talks with the Russian president as recently as January. Dmitry Mazepin is deputy chairman of Uralkali, the potash fertiliser producer that has been a major financial backer of Haas.

Haas also cut the sponsorship link with Uralkali with immediate effect, leading to a demand on Wednesday from the Russian firm for reimbursement of funds it had invested ahead of the new season.

The Russian Grand Prix for 2022 has been cancelled, with F1 announcing this week it has terminated its deal for future races in the country.

Kylian Mbappe has overcome a training injury to be named in Paris Saint-Germain's starting XI to face Real Madrid in the Champions League on Wednesday.

World Cup winner Mbappe suffered a knock on Monday as PSG prepared to defend their 1-0 aggregate lead in the last-16 second leg at the Santiago Bernabeu.

PSG said the following day that Mbappe's progress had been "reassuring", with a further assessment to be made closer to kick-off after travelling to Madrid.

He then took part in a training session at the Bernabeu on Wednesday and was later confirmed to be leading the line for PSG.

Mbappe was the star of the show and scored the decisive goal in the first leg at the Parc des Princes last month.

He has been strongly linked with a move to Madrid at the end of the season, with his PSG contract set to expire in June.

Mbappe is joined in attack by Neymar and Lionel Messi, who has not scored in 695 minutes against Los Blancos in all competitions.

Madrid named their starting XI early.

While there were few surprises, Carlo Ancelotti is without the suspended Casemiro and Ferland Mendy, meaning Federico Valverde and Nacho Fernandez deputise in their respective places.

British property developer Nick Candy is "actively exploring" the possibility of bidding for ownership of Chelsea.

The billionaire – a lifelong Blues fan – is looking to join up with another party or consortium to make a bid to buy the club after Roman Abramovich last week announced he was willing to sell.

Russia's invasion of Ukraine has led to calls for current owner Abramovich – and other Russian individuals and entities – to face sanctions from the British government, with the 55-year-old Russian oligarch having been photographed with president Vladimir Putin in the past.

Although a spokesperson for Abramovich claimed he was "trying to help" achieve a peaceful resolution to the conflict, the billionaire later announced he had taken the "incredibly difficult" decision to sell the club, which he has owned since 2003.

Candy – who has a background in luxury real estate and is married to Australian singer and actress Holly Valance – would also look to improve the club's facilities. Plans to build a new 60,000-seater stadium at Stamford Bridge were shelved in 2018.

A spokesperson for Mr Candy commented: "Nick Candy is actively exploring a number of options for a potential bid for Chelsea Football Club.

"Any bid would be made in conjunction with another party (or consortium) and we have serious interest from several international partners.

"Mr Candy has a huge affinity with Chelsea – his father was asked to play for the club and he has been watching matches at Stamford Bridge since the age of four.

"The club deserves a world-class stadium and infrastructure and Mr Candy’s unique expertise and background in real estate would be a hugely valuable asset to delivering this vision."

Other bidders to have come forward so far include a Swiss-American consortium led by billionaires Hansjorg Wyss and Todd Boehly.

The sale of the club is being handled by the US-based Raine Group, which has set a deadline of 15 March for prospective bidders, though further bids are expected to be made.

Brandon Williams explained his decision to hug Christian Eriksen during Norwich City's recent 3-1 defeat to Brentford was pure instinct following the Dane's ordeal.

A video clip went viral on Saturday after a comical and heart-warming moment between Williams and Eriksen, who initially looked set for an angry tussle.

Eriksen grappled with Williams in an attempt to halt a Norwich attack, and the two players fell to the floor in a pile.

Williams' reaction suggested anger as he appeared about to pin the midfielder down, but upon realising who it was he was tussling with, he instead gave Eriksen a hug – the latter's confused smile as he got up said it all about the amusing exchange.

Four days on, Norwich defender Williams has spoken publicly about his gesture, which he says came from a place of awe following Eriksen's return to the football pitch less than a year after suffering a cardiac arrest while playing for Denmark at Euro 2020.

"Obviously, it was just a moment that happened, it was just instincts," Williams told Sky Sports.

"I got past him and I felt him pull me down, so we were on the attack and I was really angry.

"I was going to…hold him, but I know what he's been through, and it's incredible what he's done, and he's back now.

"It was something special for him to be on the pitch for himself, and to be involved in that, I felt like he needed a hug.

"[Eriksen's health emergency] is something that no player wants to go through, it was amazing that he's back and he's a top quality player. I'm sure he'll be back to his best very soon."

Jamie Vardy is set for another layoff with a knee injury after Brendan Rodgers confirmed the Leicester City striker will be out for "a few weeks", while Wesley Fofana's return from a long-term absence has been delayed.

Vardy, 35, has already spent a lot of time on the sidelines in 2022, with his substitute appearance in the 2-0 win at Burnley on March 1 being his first outing of the year following a two-month spell out with a hamstring injury.

He subsequently started Leicester's 1-0 defeat of Leeds United four days later, but during that match he sustained damage to his knee.

Rodgers was somewhat vague when outlining how long he expects Vardy to be out, but it would seem Leicester will be without their top scorer for potentially up to a month.

"He got a knock to his knee, but hopefully in the next three to four weeks it responds okay," Rodgers said ahead of Thursday's Europa Conference League last-16 clash with Rennes.

"He's going to be out for a few weeks, which is a shame."

Rodgers had been hoping to give centre-back Fofana his first competitive minutes of the season during the visit of Rennes.

The young Frenchman returned to training in February after breaking his leg in a pre-season clash with Villarreal last August.

But he will have to wait a little longer for his long-awaited return after a bout of COVID-19.

"[Fofana] has picked up COVID, which has been our season right the way through with injuries and unfortunate circumstances," Rodgers said.

"He is not going to be able to feature [Thursday] but we are hoping for the weekend now.

"It is really unfortunate for the two guys, and in particular Wesley, who has been building up to this moment. We just have to cope with the set-backs that come along."

Steven Gerrard says it "doesn't make any sense" to discuss Philippe Coutinho's future now and Aston Villa should simply enjoy having such a "world-class talent."

Villa pulled off a major coup during the January transfer window by signing the Barcelona midfielder on loan until the end of the season.

Coutinho has enjoyed a new lease of life on his return to the Premier League, scoring three goals and providing as many assists in seven appearances.

The playmaker was outstanding in Villa's 4-0 demolition of Southampton last weekend and Leeds United will be wary of facing the former Liverpool man at Elland Road on Thursday.

Coutinho is under contract with Barca until June 2023, but Villa have the option to buy the Brazil international for a fee of £33million (€40m)

Villa boss Gerrard is ensuring he gets the best out of Coutinho for the remainder of the season rather than concern himself over whether he can sign his ex-Reds team-mate on a permanent basis.

"When he's comfortable, he's happy and he's enjoying his football we all know we're dealing with a world-class talent," he said.

"For me, it doesn't make sense to make any decisions now or say anything else on this, we just need to keep enjoying him and keep him healthy from now until the end of the season."

Pedro Neto has signed a new deal with Wolves that will keep him at Molineux until 2027.

The Portugal international only made his return to action for the Premier League club in the recent 2-1 win against Leicester City having been out since April 2021 with a knee injury.

Wolves announced on Wednesday – Neto's 22nd birthday – that he had put pen to paper on a long-term deal.

Neto joined Wolves from Braga in 2019 after spending two seasons on loan at Lazio in a double deal that also saw midfielder Bruno Jordao arrive in the Midlands.

He has scored eight goals in 64 Premier League appearances (40 starts), and also bagged on his debut for the Portugal senior team in a 7-0 win against Andorra in November 2020.

Only 10 players in the Premier League created more chances than Neto's 61 in the 2020-21 season, and only five attempted more dribbles than his 143.

He also supplied plenty of crosses in that campaign, with just five players averaging more per 90 minutes than Neto's 7.21, and only four achieving better than his average successful crosses per 90 of 2.08.

Wolves boss Bruno Lage expressed his happiness at the news during a media conference ahead of Thursday's clash with Watford, saying: "We want to go in a way where we keep our best players, to build a strong team in the future to fight for different things.

"Pedro is one of our best players, I'm happy twice because it was his birthday, he has recovered, he had some minutes, and he’s renewed his contract.

"He deserves it, he started his job here with Nuno [Espirito Santo] and I hope I can bring him to the same level or to continue to improve.

"He's a good kid, a massive player, and I hope he can stay with us and play at his level as soon as possible."

Josh Navidi has been passed fit to start his first Test for almost a year when Wales face leaders France in the Six Nations on Friday.

Navidi last played for his country against Les Bleus in the 2021 Six Nations, but will start at open-side flanker at the Principality Stadium after recovering from a shoulder injury.

Seb Davies comes in at blindside flanker, as Ross Moriarty and Taine Basham drop out of the side following a defeat to England at Twickenham that leaves the holders in fifth place.

Prop Gareth Thomas and centre Jonathan Davies also get the nod for the round-four showdown in Cardiff.

Tomas Francis and Josh Adams have been given the green light to start after coming through the return to play protocols.

Nick Tompkins will not feature after suffering a concussion in Saracens' win over Leicester Tigers last weekend. Wing Louis Rees-Zammit returns, but will be among the replacements.

Wales head coach Wayne Pivac said: "Josh is a fantastic player and has played well for us in the past.

"He’s come back before straight back into the side so having 80 minutes under his belt for Cardiff we think that’s enough for him and we look forward to him being back out there bringing that experience.

"He’s a very good player and has played at this level on many occasions so that’s going to be great for us.

"Seb at six just gives us a little bit more size. It helps the lineout, but also in the wider channels where he often runs he’s got the skill set to trouble a few defenders out wide.

"I think Gareth made a really big impact for us last week as did a number of players and so he gets to start."

Wales team: Liam Williams, Alex Cuthbert, Owen Watkin, Jonathan Davies, Josh Adams, Dan Biggar (captain), Tomos Williams; Gareth Thomas, Ryan Elias, Tomas Francis, Will Rowlands, Adam Beard, Seb Davies, Josh Navidi, Taulupe Faletau.

Replacements: Dewi Lake, Wyn Jones, Dillon Lewis, Ross Moriarty, Jac Morgan, Kieran Hardy, Gareth Anscombe, Louis Rees-Zammit.

Thomas Tuchel knows Andreas Christensen could be on his way out of Chelsea in light of reports he is set to sign for Barcelona.

Tuchel conceded that Christensen may have already decided to leave the European and world champions for pastures new at the end of this season, but made clear he wants the 25-year-old centre-back to stay.

Reports on Wednesday suggested the Denmark defender is on the verge of agreeing terms with Barca.

Speaking at a media conference ahead of the Blues' Premier League fixture at Norwich City on Thursday, Tuchel said when asked about Christensen's future: "It's in doubt, no?

"We hear the rumours and the situation with Andreas has clear for many weeks and we are not happy about it, because we think that it's best for him to stay and we rely heavily on him.

"He did not sign yet, so you cannot not communicate. This is also a signal to us and communication from his side is that he did not sign until now, so we have to consider the possibility that he leaves us.

"Will we like it? No. Will we live with it? Yes. Things are not personal [and] never should be personal, but this can happen and I have no further information."

Tuchel also confirmed Reece James is a doubt for the trip to Carrow Road after suffering a muscle injury in the 4-0 win at Burnley on Saturday.

The England right-back recently returned from injury and registered a goal and an assist at Turf Moor before being replaced by Mateo Kovacic in the 70th minute.

"Reece James has a bit of a muscular problem after his last three matches," Tuchel said. "Not in his injured leg, the other leg. We thought he could be on the [training] pitch today but he couldn't so we need further examinations to see what is going on.

"He felt it during the match so that's why we took him out and it didn't get better. It's obvious what he can give to our team, so not good news at the moment."

Tuchel is proud of the manner in which his players have gone about their business amid uncertainty at Stamford Bridge following Roman Abramovich's decision to sell the club.

"To have clarity is always better than to have uncertainty, but I have to say we produced performances and we produced results in times of global uncertainty and also club-wise uncertainties, that makes us proud," he said.

"It shows we can trust in ourselves and gives us a lot of trust in the culture of the club and here at Cobham. At the moment I have absolutely no more information than you have [on the sale], for sure."