France resume their bid to win a first Six Nations title since 2010 with a trip to face wounded England at Twickenham, and Wales should made it four wins out of four this weekend.
A coronavirus outbreak in the French camp led to their clash with Scotland being postponed, but they will be back in action against the Red Rose on Saturday a month after beating Ireland.
Wales shattered England's hopes of retaining the title with a 40-24 win at the Principality Stadium and will be expected to stay perfect when they face Italy in Rome, also on Saturday.
Scotland will look to reignite their title challenge when they face Ireland at Murrayfield on Sunday.
We use Opta data to preview the round-four encounters.
ITALY v WALES
FORM
Wales have won their last 15 Tests against Italy, and a 16th would represent their longest ever winning run against a single opponent in Test rugby (they won 15 in a row against France from 1908 to 1927).
A win over England secured Wales' fifth Triple Crown of the Six Nations era, They completed the Grand Slam in each of their previous four Triple Crown-winning campaigns since 2000 (2005, 2008, 2012, 2019).
Italy's losing run in the competition stands at 30 games and they have lost 19 in a row at home, stretching back to a defeat of Ireland eight years ago.
ONES TO WATCH
Azzurri fly-half Paolo Garbisi has made more kicks in play (29) and recorded more kicking metres (1,142m) than any other player in this year's Six Nations.
Josh Adams marked his first match of the tournament by scoring a controversial try against England and the Wales wing will fancy his chances of touching down again in Rome.
ENGLAND v FRANCE
FORM
England have won nine of their 10 home games against France in the Six Nations, including the last seven in a row. Their only defeat came in February 2005, going down 18-17.
France have won seven of their last eight games in the Six Nations and will look for a fourth consecutive victory in the competition this weekend.
Les Bleus have scored the opening try of the game in 15 of their most previous 18 matches in this tournament, including their last eight in a row.
ONES TO WATCH
Wing Anthony Watson will win his 50th cap for England. He has the best average gain per carry rate (10.1 metres) of anyone to make 10 or more carries in the 2021 Six Nations and has also made the most post-contact metres (141).
France lock Paul Willemse has not missed any of his 34 tackles in the Six Nations this year and has made the joint-second most dominant tackles with four, England's Tom Curry (5) the only player to have made more.
SCOTLAND v IRELAND
FORM
Ireland have lost just three of their last 19 games against Scotland in the Six Nations, winning all the rest. Each of the men in green's defeats came by a margin of five points or fewer.
Scotland have lost their last two Test matches at Murrayfield. They have not been beaten in more consecutive games at their traditional home venue since losing four on the bounce between November 2014 and March 2015.
Gregor Townsend's side are the only team to average fewer than 10 missed tackles (8.5) per game in the Six Nations in 2021 and as a result boast the best tackle success rate of 92 per cent.
ONES TO WATCH
Hamish Watson has been an influential performer for Scotland, winning three turnovers and getting through a huge amount of work in the back row.
Ireland back-row Tadhg Beirne has recorded the most ruck arrivals (117) in the tournament, hitting the most rucks of anyone in both attack (87) and defence (30).
Everton 0-0 Newcastle United: Pickford penalty heroics deny Goodison old boy Gordon
Everton old boy Anthony Gordon saw a penalty saved on his return to Goodison Park as Newcastle United were held to a 0-0 draw on Saturday.
Gordon had been Newcastle's spot-kick hero a week earlier, winning and converting a penalty to earn a point against Manchester City, but his failure this time cost the Magpies.
After James Tarkowski's foolish foul on Sandro Tonali gave Gordon, who left Everton for Newcastle in January 2023, his opportunity from 12 yards, he could not find a way past England team-mate Jordan Pickford.
The save from Pickford was heartily celebrated by the Everton fans, though their fury was directed at referee Craig Pawson midway through the second half, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin felt he too should have had a penalty.
Idrissa Gueye missed a huge chance as part of that incident, before Gordon was wasteful again late on as both sides were forced to settle for a point.
It nudges Sean Dyche's side further clear of the relegation zone, while Newcastle can at least take solace in a place in the top six.
Data Debrief: Gordon's Goodison nightmare
Gordon was at the centre of attention right from the outset, jeered by the Everton fans and on the end of a number of heavy challenges from his former team-mates. He won four fouls, more than any other player on the pitch.
So the Newcastle winger was clearly determined to provide a response when the visitors were awarded a penalty, stepping up as he had against City but this time denied by Pickford. This was Pickford's first Premier League penalty save since May 2023, ending a run of eight consecutive concessions against a man he knows so well from both club and international duty.
Gordon should have done better late on, too. He had only two shots, but they were worth a combined 0.87 xG – more than Everton's total of 0.73.
Manchester City 3-2 Fulham: Kovacic's brace helps champions keep pressure on Liverpool
Mateo Kovacic's brace helped Manchester City come from behind to beat Fulham 3-2 at the Etihad Stadium.
The former Chelsea midfielder struck either side of half-time, with Jeremy Doku also on target, to give Pep Guardiola's side their first win in three in the Premier League and keep the pressure on leaders Liverpool, who beat Crystal Palace earlier on Saturday.
City fell behind midway through the first half when Andreas Pereira volleyed in Raul Jimenez's back-heeled cross from close range, but Fulham passed up chances to add to their lead.
Kovacic's goals either side of half-time, and a clinching third from Doku ultimately made the visitors pay for their wastefulness, although substitute Rodrigo Muniz set up a nervy finish for the champions when he halved the deficit with two minutes to play.
City held on to stay second and move onto 17 points – one behind Liverpool – while Fulham remain sixth on 11 ahead of seventh-placed Newcastle United playing later in the day.
Data Debrief: 400 up for Walker as City hit half-century
In the second half, Kyle Walker sprinted on for his 400th Premier League appearance, becoming the 44th different player to hit the milestone.
His defensive efforts helped City equal their club record of 30 consecutive unbeaten Premier League games, while they are now 50 without defeat at home across all competitions - becoming only the fourth English top-flight side to achieve that feat.
However, they are now without a clean sheet in nine straight league games on home soil - equalling their club record - but Fulham could not take advantage, suffering their first defeat after scoring the opening goal in 20 matches.
Djokovic recovers from slow start to move past Michelsen on Shanghai return
Novak Djokovic marked his Shanghai Masters return with a hard-fought straight-sets win over Alex Michelsen.
The four-time champion, who is appearing in this event for the first time since 2019, required two tie-breaks before prevailing 7-6 (7-3) 7-6 (11-9) in just under two hours.
Djokovic, still donning a protective sleeve over his right knee, made a slow start in only his second match since losing to Alexei Popyrin in the US Open third round, winning just four points in the first three games as he fell 4-1 behind.
However, the 24-time major winner broke back in the seventh game before dominating the tie-break for first blood.
Roles were reversed in the second set as Michelsen cancelled out an earlier break in game seven.
However, the American squandered two set points to level and was eventually punished by Djokovic, who will play either 28th seed Flavio Cobolli or three-time major winner Stan Wawrinka in the next round.
Data Debrief: Djokovic continues American dominance
Djokovic was given an early scare, but his experience eventually showed as he came through.
Including team events, the Serb has now won his last 33 ATP-level matches against American opponents, with his last such defeat coming against Sam Querrey at Wimbledon in 2016.
The 24-time major winner also demonstrated his determination when the pressure intensified, and he has now come through 12 of his 16 tie-breaks played this season.
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