Los Angeles Clippers stars Kawhi Leonard and Paul George have been cleared to return against the Orlando Magic on Friday.

Leonard and George missed the opening two games of a six-game road swing after reportedly entering the NBA's health and safety protocols.

The Clippers went 1-1 in the pair's absence against the Atlanta Hawks (lost 108-99) and Miami Heat (won 109-105).

But Leonard and George are set to take to the court when the Clippers (14-5) visit the Magic (8-11).

Leonard has been averaging 25.9 points, 5.7 assists and 5.4 rebounds per game in 2020-21, while Clippers team-mate George is averaging 23.9 points, 6.2 rebounds and 5.4 assists.

The Clippers have gone 8-1 in their last nine games and have outscored opponents by an average of 12.8 points per game, second in the NBA in that span (Utah Jazz, plus-15.6), per Stats Perform. This stretch has come after the Clippers began the season 6-4, outscoring opponents by 0.8 points per game in that period.

Meanwhile, the Clippers have won 13 successive games against the Magic – dating back to January 2014. It is tied for the longest active winning streak by any current NBA franchise against any opponent (the Philadelphia 76ers versus New York Knicks and the 76ers against Charlotte Hornets – both 13).

Kevin Durant will sit out the Brooklyn Nets' showdown with the Oklahoma City Thunder to rehabilitate his Achilles.

Durant, who has returned this season after sitting out the entire 2019-20 NBA campaign due to an Achilles injury, posted a game-high 32 points in Brooklyn's double-overtime victory over the Atlanta Hawks on Wednesday.

Now the two-time NBA champion and Finals MVP has been kept out of Friday's clash against the Thunder in Oklahoma.

Durant – who injured his Achilles during his time with the Golden State Warriors in the 2019 NBA Finals – has played in 15 of the Nets' 20 games this season.

The 32-year-old is averaging 30.5 points, 7.5 rebounds and 5.5 assists per game in 2020-21.

Durant recorded his 15th consecutive 20-plus point game to start the season against the Hawks midweek – only Wilt Chamberlain (56 games), Adrian Dantley (20 games) and Dominique Wilkins (19 games) have better streaks in NBA history.

Steve Nash's star-studded Nets (12-8) have won three games in a row to sit fourth in the Eastern Conference, behind the Philadelphia 76ers (13-6).

Paris Saint-Germain duo Marco Verratti and Abdou Diallo have tested positive for coronavirus.

The Ligue 1 champions confirmed on Friday that the pair had returned positive PCR tests and will enter self-isolation.

They will subsequently miss Sunday's game at Lorient, with PSG looking to extend their unbeaten run under head coach Mauricio Pochettino to six games.

PSG host Nimes on Wednesday before a trip to the Stade Velodrome to take on arch-rivals Marseille.

Pochettino's men are level on points with Lille at the top of the Ligue 1 table and two clear of Lyon as the nine-time champions face a rate battle to retain the title.

Andre Villas-Boas expects to leave Marseille at the end of the season after the former Chelsea and Tottenham boss admitted to an "abysmal" failure.

The 43-year-old, who was appointed by OM in May 2019, will see his two-year contract expire at the end of this campaign.

Marseille sit 13 points behind Ligue 1 leaders Paris Saint-Germain heading into the latest round of fixtures, occupying sixth place having lost their last three games in the competition.

Their Champions League performance was also far short of expectations, with Marseille finishing at the foot of their group with just three points.

Asked whether it looked as though he would leave in June, Villas-Boas said on Friday: "Yes, I think so. I don't have other information.

"But I'm not asking for anything, with the position we have, it's rather normal.

"With our performances this year, it's normal. It's true that it goes a bit against what the management said, but yes, I think it'll be the end.

"I think we all agree this is the path it's taking. Before, there was some noise, there were some talks between my agents and the club, now there's nothing."

Villas-Boas had hoped his team would be challenging PSG for the title, but instead they are outside the Europa League qualifying places.

Marseille sold midfielder Morgan Sanson to Aston Villa this week, while young winger Marley Ake left for Juventus and Kevin Strootman was loaned to Genoa.

Such exits may weaken Marseille for the remainder of the season, although they have signed Arkadiusz Milik on loan from Napoli and Franco Tongya arrived from Juventus.

"Guys, look, we're 15 points behind, which is an abysmal gap behind our season goal," Villas-Boas said.

"I'm not going to argue that. I told you that next season is Year Zero for the club, after all has been done, it's going to be deep cleaning.

"And it's good to create a strong base for the future."

Portuguese coach Villas-Boas had his big break when he served on Jose Mourinho's staff at Porto, Chelsea and Inter before striking out on his own.

After spells in Portugal with Academica and Porto, he had stints with Chelsea and Tottenham before moving on to Zenit and Shanghai SIPG, spending 18 months without a club prior to accepting the Marseille job.

Cristiano Ronaldo's behaviour on his days off is not Juventus's responsibility, according to Andrea Pirlo, after the five-time Ballon d'Or winner allegedly broke coronavirus travel restrictions.

Valle d'Aosta police are investigating whether Ronaldo failed to adhere to Italy's strict COVID-19 protocols by travelling to the area from Piedmont to go skiing with his girlfriend Georgina Rodriguez, as part of her birthday celebrations this week.

Both Valle d'Aosta and Piedmont are listed as "orange zone" regions, with travel between such locations prohibited.

Ronaldo, who tested positive for coronavirus last October, may face a fine if found guilty.

"Cristiano Ronaldo had a day off and on your days off you are free to do what you want," head coach Pirlo told a news conference ahead of Saturday's trip to Sampdoria.

"When they are here they are under my control, but outside of here they are free citizens and can take their own actions."

Weston McKennie has become one of Juve's key performers this season since joining from Schalke, scoring four times across all competitions from midfield since the start of December.

Pirlo believes the 22-year-old United States international has plenty of room for further improvement.

"He is so young he can improve everywhere," he said.

"We were the fastest to sign him in Germany and we are so happy to have him with us.

"He is humble and very keen to improve, especially from a technical point of view. I mean, he is a bit rough in ball control, in his body movements, but he can improve quickly.

"He is a healthy kid, he knows he is not done, he is just at the beginning and being aware of this is already a good starting point."

Pirlo has a clean bill of health, with the exception of forward Paulo Dybala, who is still nursing a knee injury.

Federico Chiesa completed the scoring in the 4-0 Coppa Italia win over SPAL and will start after shaking off an ankle problem.

Alvaro Morata put Juve in front from the penalty spot in midweek - his 13th goal of the campaign - and is ready to go again having been compromised by groin pain of late.

"He played last time and we managed to save him some minutes, so tomorrow he will be at the top of his game," Pirlo added.

"We know him well, he dwells so much on enthusiasm and that is what we need to give him back.

"But he has done well, he knows he is very important for Juventus, so I am more than convinced he will go on at his best."

Concussion substitutes will be trialled in the Premier League from February 6, English football's top division has confirmed.

A maximum of two substitutes will be allowed in addition to the stipulated allocation of three substitutions in the event of a player suffering a head injury and showing symptoms of concussion.

The Football Association (FA) and the Premier League applied to the International Football Association Board (IFAB) to introduce the trials .

The 12:30 GMT kick-off between Aston Villa and Arsenal on February 6 will be the first game of the trial, which runs until the end of 2020-21, with an option to extend into next season.

The Women's Super League and Women's Championship will also take on concussion subs from the same date, with the men's FA Cup introducing them from the fifth round on February 9-11.

Concussion substitutes in the FA Cup would be in addition to the five clubs are permitted to make in this season's competition.

A Premier League statement read: "The trial is a result of the IFAB's consultation with stakeholders and recommendations from their concussion expert group to allow additional substitutions for players with actual or suspected concussion."

FIFA has also moved to use concussion substitutes at the forthcoming Club World Cup, although teams at next month's tournament will only be able to make one such replacement per match.

Bayern Munich have confirmed Leon Goretzka and Javi Martinez have tested positive for coronavirus.

The players are self-isolating at home after returning positive results this week, although the club described both as being in "good health".

They will be unavailable for Saturday's Bundesliga match at home to Hoffenheim.

The European champions then face Hertha Berlin away on February 5 before their Club World Cup campaign starts three days later.

Goretzka has made 20 appearances in all competitions this season, while Martinez, 32, has played 18 times, mostly as a substitute.

Bayern also confirmed goalkeeper Alexander Nubel is likely to be out of action for up to a month.

The former Schalke man, who has only played twice this season, suffered ankle ligament damage on Thursday.

Milan head coach Stefano Pioli insists Zlatan Ibrahimovic is "certainly not a racist" but thinks his clash with Romelu Lukaku could rekindle his best form. 

Ibrahimovic was sent off having scored the opening goal in the Rossoneri's 2-1 Coppa Italia defeat to Inter this week. 

The veteran striker earned his first of two yellow cards after a heated confrontation with former Manchester United team-mate Lukaku, in which he appeared to tell the Belgian forward: "Go do your voodoo s***, you little donkey". 

It was suggested Ibrahimovic was referring to comments made in 2018 by Everton majority shareholder Farhad Moshiri, who said Lukaku had declined a contract extension because a "voodoo message" told him to move to Chelsea - a transfer that never transpired. 

Some accused Ibrahimovic of racially abusing Lukaku, with the Swede responding by stating on Twitter: "In ZLATAN's world there is no place for RACISM." United midfielder Paul Pogba also tweeted to say his old team-mate was "the last person I'd think of as racist". 

Ibrahimovic will serve a one-game ban for his red card but Pioli hopes a line can now be drawn under the incident as Milan focus back on Serie A.

"Ibrahimovic is determined and up for it, as he always is," Pioli said ahead of Saturday's game at Bologna. "Certain things can happen on the pitch; I'm not going to justify that, but you need to draw a line under it and move on. 

"Ibra is certainly not a racist; the club has always been on the front line in the fight against discrimination. Zlatan also needs these situations to get a bit of energy and motivation back." 

Milan's cup exit followed a 3-0 home league defeat to Atalanta that allowed Inter to close the gap on the leaders to two points. 

Pioli says back-to-back losses have not changed his view of his team's potential as he aims to return them to the Champions League. 

"We're not interested in what people are saying outside of the club," he said. "We just need to focus on ourselves, maintain a good balance, continue to work and improve. We know that opinions can change quickly in football. 

"It's useless to look back; we only need to look forwards. I haven't changed my mind on our quality. We have a good team and the ideas are there. We are able to put in consistently good and competitive performances, which we have shown up to now. 

"We're having a great season; we have 18 more points than we did at this stage last season and have closed the gap to our direct rivals.

"The second half of the season will be more complicated and hard-fought. Qualifying for Champions League football won't be easy, but we have the quality to do it."

Mikel Arteta is adamant Martin Odegaard's arrival does not have to negatively impact Emile Smith Rowe's form, with the Arsenal manager convinced they can play together.

Arsenal completed the loan signing of Odegaard from Real Madrid on Wednesday, the Norwegian adding creativity to a squad that had not included Mesut Ozil at all this season prior to his move to Fenerbahce.

The 22-year-old Odegaard had struggled at Real Madrid this term, making just three LaLiga starts for Zinedine Zidane after returning from an impressive temporary spell at Real Sociedad.

But there is great hope that he could make a real impact for the Gunners if he is able to rediscover the form he displayed with La Real, for whom he created a team-high 62 chances and provided six assists in 2019-20.

Despite some expressing doubts over his compatibility with Smith Rowe, Arteta believes the two can play together, while Odegaard's signing will alleviate some of the creative burden.

"Of course, they can play together, and it is not about pushing somebody else [out of the team]," Arteta told reporters ahead of Saturday's clash with Manchester United.

"Emile has earned his right to play the way he is performing - and Martin has to earn that.

"Emile cannot play every single game, as we knew the other day. For example, in the FA Cup he was injured, he could not play.

"The other day [against Southampton on Tuesday], he could only play certain minutes because he was struggling for the last minutes.

"It has been a massive step for him from what he was doing three, four months ago and what he is doing right now. We need options."

DOUBLE THREAT

Smith Rowe has enjoyed a sudden rise to prominence with the Gunners – before Christmas he was exclusively used in cup competitions, but he has started six Premier League matches in a row since.

The first of those was the 3-1 win over Chelsea on Boxing Day, a result that ended a run of seven games without a league victory and began to ease the pressure on Arteta. The Gunners are unbeaten with Smith Rowe in the side in the league this season.

His three assists from open play across the same period is more than anyone else has managed in the Premier League, so concern for Smith Rowe's momentum was an understanding by-product of the initial links to Odegaard.

But, Opta data lends credence to Arteta's assessment they can play together.

None of Smith Rowe's key passes or assists have come from the central third of the attacking half, with all of them coming from wider positions.

While Odegaard operated predominantly from the right at Real Sociedad last term, the highest proportion (31.2 per cent) of his assists and key passes came from the central zone directly outside the penalty area.

Creativity in this zone has been a weak point of Arsenal's this season, with most of their threat coming down the left – Odegaard's arrival might just offer the Gunners a little more balance.

Barcelona have been drawn away to Granada in the Copa del Rey quarter-finals.

Ronald Koeman's team fought back to defeat second-tier Rayo Vallecano 2-1 on Wednesday, earning their place in the last eight after a major scare.

Barca will now have to face a LaLiga team in Granada, a side they defeated 4-0 at Los Carmenes earlier this month.  

Sevilla, who have not won the competition since 2010, will play away to Almeria, the last team from outside the top flight left in the tournament.

Real Betis will take on Athletic Bilbao, who are yet to play Real Sociedad in the final of last season's Copa, while the other match will see Levante host Villarreal.

Ties will be played across next week from Tuesday to Thursday, with Barca favourites to win it after Atletico Madrid and Real Madrid were eliminated against lower-league opposition.

Serena Williams and Rafael Nadal agreed it was great to be playing in front of busy grandstands again as tennis stars emerged from lockdown in Australia.

The women's and men's tennis tours have been contested largely behind closed doors over the past year, and a number of tournaments, most notably Wimbledon, have been cancelled due to the COVID-19 crisis.

The Australia public has given a cautious welcome to the arrival of the world's leading players, who have been quarantining in hotel rooms for much of the past fortnight, only allowed to briefly leave in order to train.

Ahead of the Australian Open, which begins on February 8 in Melbourne, Williams and Nadal are among a star-studded set of players who travelled to Adelaide to feature in the 'A Day at the Drive' exhibition event.

They both scored victories on Friday, with Williams defeating US Open champion Naomi Osaka 6-2 2-6 10-7 and Nadal snatching a 7-5 6-4 win over Dominic Thiem.

The delight in both at seeing crowds at a tournament was plain, with Williams saying in an on-court interview: "Thanks everyone for having us. We haven't played in front of a crowd in over a year. It's been a really long time."

In fact, it has not quite been a full year since the tours locked down initially, as it was early March when most tournaments began to be called off, with crowds frozen out.

Williams said the reception made the difficult past fortnight, being hidden away from the world, worth the strain for the players.

"This is really cool and then for having us and trusting us with your laws was great," said the 23-time grand slam winner. "We were so excited to be here and it's worth it."

Nadal said he was "super happy" to still be playing at the highest level and back in front of Australian crowds.

The pandemic has been carefully managed to the point where very few have the virus and it is considered safe to allow crowds into sporting events in the country.

Nadal said: "Hopefully this situation will go away quick and we will be able to enjoy fans on court [around the world].

"We're super excited to have fans at the Australian Open and today."

That optimism and excitement was shared by men's world number one Novak Djokovic, who played just one set against Jannik Sinner due to a problem with blisters on his right hand.

Eight-time Australian Open champion Djokovic told fans: "Thank you so much for coming out and making our day and making our year.

"We didn't play in front of this much crowd for 12 months. This is definitely something very special.

"It wasn't easy, obviously, with 14 days being constrained in the room and a few hours to train, but at the end of the day it was worth it because you guys made it very special today for us."

Miami Heat coach Erik Spoelstra insisted his team still have the right spirit and a huge "sense of urgency" after suffering a fifth straight loss, going down 109-105 to the Los Angeles Clippers.

In an NBA first for the shot-clock era, the Clippers won a game despite being outscored by 14+ points in the first and fourth quarters, according to Stats Perform data. 

The Heat fell to 6-12 for the season having been beaten by a Clippers team playing without Kawhi Leonard, Paul George and Patrick Beverley. 

Spoelstra was also without key players; Jimmy Butler, Goran Dragic and Andre Iguodala were among seven who were unavailable. 

The Clippers trailed by 18 early, but then turned the tables and built a lead as high as 19 by the time the third quarter ended.

However, the Heat won the fourth quarter by 15 points and were within three before ultimately losing out in a frantic finale. 

The struggles this season are a stark contrast to last, when they impressively made the NBA Finals in the Orlando bubble. 

"When it went good, it was because their hearts are in the right place for sure," said Spoelstra. 

"We are just grinding and trying to figure out how to get over the hump and try and give ourselves our best chance of winning.  

"It is just a matter of consistency to be able to do that throughout the course of the game.  

"Our group has a great spirit and a big-time sense of urgency. It is not a matter of that, it is a matter of finding a way to be consistent throughout. 

"There are a lot of moving parts. That makes it unique. You can’t make an excuse for it. You have to continue to grind, to learn and compete for each other. We just need to be more consistent with it."

Tyler Herro had 19 points as he returned after missing seven games with neck spasms, with Spoelstra hoping more players will follow soon. 

He added:  "We will be getting guys back soon enough. You get Tyler back and there is just a boost to it and that is encouraging.  

"Everyone in the locker room really wants to play better and in a perfect world we want to be in a better place than we are right now and we are not.  

"We just have to continue to grind." 

Nicolas Batum scored 18 points for the Clippers, one of their six players to reach double figures. Tyronn Lue's team improved to 14-5 on the season and have won eight of their last nine games.