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Best sports to stream on TV this week: 5 unmissable sporting clashes

From the Brazilian Grand Prix to England vs New Zealand, the NFL, FA Cup and live boxing, here are the 5 best sports events streaming this week.

01 November 2024

Give us a passionate crowd, jeopardy and bragging rights and we'll duly shuffle towards the edge of our seats. Live sport can do weird things to a person – this correspondent was once brought to tears by a snooker match – and once you're hooked there's no going back.

With an eye honed by countless misspent evenings and weekends, we've picked out the best sport to watch on TV this week, from consequential clashes to entertaining showpieces, including a free-to-air option here and there.

Whether it's football, boxing, rugby, F1 or NFL, here's what we recommend streaming this week...

England vs New Zealand (2 Nov)

The Autumn Nations Series (Autumn Internationals to proper fans) gets underway on Saturday, with a fixture that will lay bare the trajectory of each team, whether they like it or not. Twickenham will be an uneasy place, and not just because of the stadium rebrand. There’s been a strange stopgap feel to Steve Borthwick’s reign, as if he’s only ever one more defeat away from the sack, and All Blacks head coach Scott Robertson is now in the same boat too. His reign started with a pair of victories over England in the summer, but after losing three Rugby Championship games, one of those to Argentina, things are unravelling fast.

Conceicao vs Foster (2 Nov)

At the age of 35, taking the WBC super featherweight title off O'Shaquie Foster should have been the highlight of Brazilian veteran Robson Conceicao’s career. It’s turned out to be anything but. The fight itself wasn’t a classic, but the outcome, a split decision victory that most onlookers could scarcely believe, has gone down as one of the most controversial of the year. The rematch takes place at Turning Stone Resort Casino in Verona, New York, against a backdrop of anger.

Harrogate Town vs Wrexham (3 Nov)

"That wasn’t in the script,” winks the studio anchor, as the camera pans to Ryan Reynolds and Rob McElhenney, trying in vain to blend in with the crowd despite the outrageous antics of a plainly inebriated Will Ferrell and Paul Rudd. Bingo cards at the ready for Wrexham’s clash with Harrogate Town, who it says here are nicknamed the Sulphurites. Here’s hoping this FA Cup first round proper tie is no stinker. The Robins have never actually beaten Harrogate. Granted, they’ve only met three times, but they were all post-takeover and two were only last season, when both clubs were in League Two. For Paul Mullin, read Sam Folarin.

Brazilian Grand Prix (1-3 Nov)

No need to fret if you’re not a regular F1 watcher. The FIA, F1’s governing body, are making the rules up as they go along. Perma-scowling reigning champion Max Verstappen got away with a cynical barge on his closest challenger, baby-faced cherub Lando Norris, in Austin a fortnight ago, only to have the same move punished a week later in Mexico City. As Lewis Hamilton fans would testify, the FIA had plenty of chances to set the boundaries three years ago but opted to instead indulge the then-rising star. It’s making for an acrimonious title race, and neutrals are savouring every minute.

Detroit Lions vs Green Bay Packers (2 Nov)

Even the most dedicated American football hater might want to take note of the pick of this weekend’s NFL fixtures. The Detroit Lions and Green Bay Packers are fierce rivals in the NFC North division, and they’ve been two of the best teams in the league all season. Despite losing their star man to a broken leg, the Lions are being spoken of as legit Super Bowl contenders, which is pretty huge considering they’re one of only four teams never to have even reached NFL’s biggest game.

Use a VPN to watch sport from anywhere

With sports broadcasting rights so splintered, it's tricky enough watching your favourite teams and events without factoring in what you do if you're away from home on holiday or for work. That's where a VPN comes in handy. It'll let you access your usual (geo-restricted) streaming services from anywhere in the world, all while protecting your data. Well worth a few pounds a month. We recommend NordVPN for its speed and reliability. Give it a whirl risk-free.

Image Credit: World Rugby - Handout/World Rugby via Getty Images

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