APRIL

The last time Tottenham won a trophy was 13 years ago when Juande Ramos led them to victory at the 2008 Carabao Cup Final. In comparison, Manchester City have won an amazing 14 trophies in 13 years. This is the first step in their ambition of landing an unheard of ‘Quadruple’ of The Carabao Cup, The FA Cup, The Premier League and The Champions League.

The Monte Carlo Masters is the annual curtain raiser for the clay court season and it should give a good idea of who might be the 'King of Clay'. Dominic Thiem looks poised for a top clay season and his stats on the surface are very favourable. Over his career his win rate on clay is 76%, compared to his hard court of 59.62% and grass of 51.52%. Can he take advantage of this and gain the second ATP 1000 win of his career?

With only 22 matches left of the regular season the places for a playoff spot are intensifying. Ten teams still have a realistic chance of making the playoffs and the remaining matches in April will decide their fate. Real Madrid, Zenit, Baskonia and Valencia all look set to do battle for likely one remaining place in the last eight.

The Valero Texas Open takes place from 1st April to 4th April and will be the last chance for golf fans to get a look at players before The Masters, which starts April 8th. However, the tournament hasn’t been the best guide for finding a Master’s winner. Arnold Palmer in 1962 was the last man to win the Texas Open and go on to win The Masters at Augusta.

Francis Ngannou’s victory at UFC 259 meant that Africa became the continent with the most UFC Champions holding current belts. Ngannou, Adesanya and Usman all hold belts and underline the deep roster of talent the continent holds. Usman will look to maintain this record when he takes on the very dangerous Masvidal at UFC 261. UFC 261 will be the first event since UFC 248 in March 2020 to hold a full capacity crowd.

The Buffalo Sabres really need a win in April as going into the month they hold the joint record for longest losing streaks in NHL history. They have gone 18 matches without a win, equalling the record set by the Pittsburgh Penguins in 2003-04. To make matters worse, they squandered a 3-0 lead in the third quarter, in their last game against the Philadelphia Flyers.

John Higgins has recorded the highest break at each of the last three World Snooker Championships. He will be a likely contender to hit the highest break for an amazing fourth time in a row. His 147 last year was just the 11th official 147 in World Championship history and the first since Stephen Hendry in 2012.