Football
Australia's preparations for the 2026 World Cup continue on North American soil when they take on two of the three co-host nations.
They'll be in Montreal to face Canada (rank no. 26) at 10:30am AEDT on Saturday morning before stepping it up a gear against the USA (rank no. 16) next Wednesday afternoon.
Mitch Duke, Mat Ryan, Daniel Arzani, Jason Geria, Nicholas D’Agostino, Cameron Devlin and Alex Robertson all have the opportunity for their first minutes in a Socceroos kit since World Cup qualification was secured.
Head coach Tony Popovic described the two friendlies as "a taste of what to expect at next year’s tournament" and "one of the advantages of qualifying directly".
Six other Asian nations - Oman, Qatar, UAE, Saudi Arabia, Iraq and Indonesia - will spend the weekend jostling to join the Socceroos at next year's 48-team showpiece event.
Back home, the inaugural round of the 2025 Australian Championship - the next step towards a permanent second-tier in the Australian football pyramid - commences at Lakeside Stadium on Friday night when South Melbourne host Sydney Olympic.
SBS is the host broadcaster of the tournament.
One to follow: Canada v Australia - Saturday 10:30am AEDT
AFLW
Round 9 of the AFLW is headlined by a potentially decisive top-eight clash between the Crows and Eagles at Norwood Oval early on Saturday afternoon, whilst on Sunday an out-of-form Sydney Swans are staring down the barrel of a fifth consecutive loss when they host fourth-placed Carlton at the wonderful Henson Park.
Every AFLW game is live on Fox Footy and Kayo Sports.
One to follow: Adelaide v West Coast - Saturday 1:05pm AEDT
Tennis
Our rank no. 7 Alex De Minaur made it through to the quarter-finals of the Shanghai Masters on Wednesday and faces Daniil Medvedev in the last of the four quarter-finals, with the winner to face either Arthur Rinderknech or Felix Auger-Aliassime who will play earlier in the evening.
The start time is scheduled for 9:30pm AEDT, though will depend of course on the length of the previous game between Rinderknech and Auger-Aliassime.
In addition to following all of the live scores and stats on Flashscore, fans in Australia can also watch the match live on beIN Sports.
One to follow: Alex De Minaur v Daniil Medvedev - Friday 9:30pm AEDT
Basketball
Round 4 of the NBL began on Wednesday night with the debut of the Ignite Cup and continues through to Sunday afternoon when the undefeated Melbourne United host mid-table Cairns Taipans.
After the embarrassment of their huge loss to the previously winless New Zealand Breakers, Illawarra Hawks will be desperate to open their own account against another struggling club when they host Brisbane Bullets at 5:30pm AEDT on Saturday.
The NBA pre-season also continues, heading into its penultimate weekend before the regular season starts at 10:30am AEDT on Wednesday October 22 (Oklahoma City Thunder v Houston Rockets).
ESPN Australia broadcasts every NBL game through Foxtel and Kayo Sports.
One to follow: Cairns Taipans v Perth Wildcats - Friday 7:30pm AEDT
Motorsport
Practice began for the Bathurst 1000 on Thursday and leads into Sunday's iconic race, which starts at 11:45am AEDT on Sunday, with the chequered flag usually being flown at around about 6:00pm after 161 laps and 1000 kilometres of driving.
The race has been run around Mount Panorama since 1963.
Broc Feeney and four-time Bathurst 1000 winner Jamie Whincup are favourites to take out the race, whilst 51-year-old Craig Lowndes will be making his 32nd appearance at the race.
Lowndes is driving under the famous Triple Eight banner for the 458th and final time before he moves to Team 18 next season, choosing to stay with General Motors instead of Ford who are taking over the team in 2026.
One to follow: Bathurst 1000 Race - Sunday 11:45am AEDT
Golf
The Western Australia PGA Championship continues at Kalgoorlie Golf Course across the weekend, and keep an eye out for Adam Scott who was tied for fourth after the first round of the Baycurrent Classic in Yokohama. That resumes at 2:00pm AEDT on Kayo Sports and Fox Sports, whilst Flashscore will always have you covered with live leaderboards.
One to follow: PGA Baycurrent Classic - Friday 2:00pm AEDT
Netball
Australia's Diamonds stretched their winning streak over South Africa out to 48 games on Wednesday and wrapped up the three-game series with one to spare, making Sunday's match in Adelaide at 4:30pm AEDT a mere formality.
It'll therefore be an opportunity for the trio of Lucy Austin, Ash Ervin and Hannah Mundy to all potentially make their debuts before next weekend, when the Constellation Cup against New Zealand begins in Melbourne at John Cain Arena.