It’s the first full week of the new year, and the stakes are already high, as The Athletic embarks on a stellar schedule of live coverage.
The playoffs arrive in the NFL with the wild-card round, while the College Football Playoff hits the semifinals. As for the Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, countries are moving within two games of winning the continent’s premier soccer tournament.
Our extensive live coverage from each event features the latest news, buildup, play-by-play action, reaction, analysis and more.
You can share your views, predictions and questions with us by emailing live@theathletic.com — and your responses could be featured in our coverage, so stay tuned and get involved.
Here is the full live schedule for the week of Jan. 5 to 11 …
Monday, Jan. 5
AFCON 205 — Egypt vs Benin
Liverpool striker Mohamed Salah got a rest for Egypt’s final group game against Angola, but he will surely return in Agadir as the seven-time AFCON winners begin their knockout stage against significant underdogs, Benin. Egypt were the unbeaten winners of Group B in Morocco, while Benin’s sole Group D victory — over Botswana — was enough to see them qualify for the round of 16 as one of four teams that finished third in their group. Anything other than a routine Egypt win would be a huge surprise here.
Egypt head coach Hossam Hassan’s team finished undefeated in Group B of AFCON. (Franck Fife / AFP via Getty Images)
AFCON 2025 — Nigeria vs Mozambique
The day’s second last-16 tie sees Nigeria in a similar scenario to Egypt. The Super Eagles did even better in the group stage, winning all three matches in Group C to cruise into the knockouts. Waiting for them in the round of 16 in Fes will be Mozambique, who finished third in Group F — although that was behind defending champions Ivory Coast, and a Cameroon side already secure in the quarter-finals. Mozambique’s group stage win over Gabon was their first at an AFCON. Can they add more history here?
Tuesday, Jan. 6
AFCON 2025 — Algeria vs DR Congo
The final day of the last 16 in Morocco begins with a tasty clash. Algeria rocketed through their group stage thanks to the goals of former Leicester and Manchester City forward Riyad Mahrez. In Rabat, the Group E winners face a tough cookie in DR Congo — a team on a seven-game unbeaten run and who finished second to quarter-finalists Senegal in Group D. Both sides have two previous AFCON titles to their name. Who will remain in contention to add a third?
AFCON 2025 — Ivory Coast vs Burkina Faso
The defending champions, Ivory Coast, pipped Cameroon to Group F by way of goals scored. Their reward is taking on the side that finished second to Algeria in Group E. Burkina Faso beat both Sudan and Equatorial Guinea on their way to making the round of 16, and now the 2013 finalists will be hoping to shock the 2023 winners in Marrakech.
Thursday, Jan. 8
Premier League — Arsenal vs Liverpool
The treat of a rare midweek round of Premier League games is wrapped up at Emirates Stadium, where defending champions Liverpool head to north London and the team looking primed to take their crown come May. Arsenal are clear at the top of the table and unbeaten in 10 home games this season, winning nine. As for Liverpool, they have lost as many games on the road this season as they have won and only have two draws to their name so far in 2026. It’s now or never for Arne Slot’s side here.
College Football Playoff semifinal — Miami vs. Ole Miss
Just a few weeks ago, the Ole Miss Rebels lost their head coach, Lane Kiffin, to SEC rival LSU. But Pete Golding and the Rebels haven’t missed a beat as they have beaten Tulane and Georgia in the first two rounds of the Playoff. Next up? Miami, which won two games in Texas to get to this point. The Hurricanes beat Texas A&M in the first round and then knocked off Ohio State last week. Ole Miss and Miami will meet in the Fiesta Bowl with a trip to Miami for the national title game on the line.
Trinidad Chambliss and Ole Miss will face off with Miami in the Fiesta Bowl in the semifinals of the College Football Playoff. (Getty Images)
Friday, Jan. 9
AFCON quarter-final — Mali vs Senegal
Mali needed a dramatic penalty in added time — and then a penalty shootout victory — to get past Tunisia in the round of 16; all after seeing Woyo Coulibaly sent off just 26 minutes into their clash in Casablanca. Now it’s a quarter-final date in Tangier to face Senegal, whose last two AFCON exits have come in penalty shootouts. You have to go back to the 2019 final — a 1-0 defeat to Algeria — for Senegal’s last defeat at an AFCON. They are unbeaten in their 15 matches since. Will that run snap here?
AFCON quarter-final — Cameroon vs Morocco
The AFCON hosts are back in action in Rabat, as Morocco face Cameroon in their quarter-final. Morocco were narrow last-16 winners over Tanzania, who were making their first knockout appearance at the Africa Cup of Nations. This will be a far greater test of their capabilities to win a home tournament, however, against a Cameroon side that scraped past South Africa in the round of 16 and has a genuine striker talent up front in Christian Kofane.
College Football Playoff semifinal — Oregon vs. Indiana
The Ducks have been dominant in the first two rounds of the Playoff, cruising past James Madison and then putting on a defensive display against Texas Tech in Miami last week. The Hoosiers received a bye before blowing out Alabama on college football’s grandest stage, the Rose Bowl. In doing so, Indiana became the first team in the 12-team Playoff era to receive a bye and then win its second-round game. The two Big Ten rivals (yes, that is still weird to write) met during the regular season with the Hoosiers coming out on top.
Saturday, Jan. 10
AFCON quarter-finals
The AFCON 2025 knockouts continue in Morocco, with the final two ties of the last-eight stage ahead of next week’s semi-finals.
NFL Wild Card — L.A. Rams at Carolina
The Rams (12-5) won eight of nine games and looked like they were in good shape to grab the No. 1 seed. But they blew a big lead at Seattle and fell to the Seahawks in overtime and then stunningly lost at Atlanta in Week 17. Still, with likely MVP Matthew Stafford and talent up and down the roster, the Rams are dangerous and certainly won’t be an easy out. The Panthers won the NFC South title, but they did so with a losing record (8-9). Bryce Young had an inconsistent season, and he will need to step up to lead Carolina over L.A., which he did during the regular season in a 31-28 decision.
NFL Wild Card — Green Bay at Chicago
The Packers (9-7-1) stumbled into the playoffs as the No. 7 seed in the NFC with a four-game losing streak. They split with the Bears, but the loss in the second matchup all but handed the NFC North title to Chicago. The Packers won’t have Micah Parsons, which is a huge loss for their defense, and we will have to see just how healthy Green Bay is as a team. Chicago (11-6) lost its final two games but still pulled off the No. 2 seed to set up this matchup of NFC North rivals. Caleb Williams has had a breakout season in head coach Ben Johnson’s first season with the franchise.
Drake Maye (10) and the New England Patriots will host the Los Angeles Chargers in the first round of the AFC playoffs. (Sarah Stier / Getty Images)
Sunday, Jan. 11
NFL Wild Card — Buffalo at Jacksonville
Josh Allen and the Buffalo Bills (12-5) had a bit of an up-and-down season. They started the year with a four-game winning streak and had another four-game winning streak. But in their other nine games, they went 4-5. That’s how a team finishes with the sixth seed. Trevor Lawrence had his best season as a pro quarterback for Jacksonville and led the Jaguars to the AFC South title and a 13-4 record. Jacksonville won its final eight games of the regular season.
NFL Wild Card — San Francisco at Philadelphia
San Francisco had a shot at the NFC West title and the No. 1 seed in the NFC playoffs, but Seattle dominated the 49ers in a Week 18 showdown to claim both. So the 49ers (12-5) dropped to No. 6 and a showdown with No. 3 Philadelphia, the defending Super Bowl champion. If the 49ers are healthy, they can make some playoff noise, but if they don’t get Trent Williams and Ricky Pearsall. Philadelphia (11-6) could have claimed the NFC’s No. 2 seed but instead sat out many key players in its Week 18 game against Washington. But the Eagles will have back Jalen Hurts and others for this big-time showdown in the first round.
NFL Wild Card — L.A. Chargers at New England Patriots
Two of the best young quarterbacks in the game will face off in the Chargers’ Justin Herbert and the Patriots’ Drake Maye. Herbert and head coach Jim Harbaugh have found a winning formula, making the playoffs in both of their seasons together, but they lost their first-round game last year. Maye has been in the MVP conversation this season and led his team to a turnaround season after struggling last year. Head coach Mike Vrabel, a former Patriots great, could be the coach of the year after his strong debut season with the team.