Championship clubs are determined to resume playing and finish the season no matter what - even if it means completing the remaining fixtures behind closed doors.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: The decision to bring the curtain down on Premiership rugby for five weeks and postponing European competitions only delays an inevitable shutdown.

SIR CLIVE WOODWARD: Professional rugby's financial vulnerability has been cruelly exposed and, frankly, it has always been built on shifting sands.

MATT HUGHES - AHEAD OF THE GAME: The FA Cup quarter-finals were postponed following the lockdown and will be played despite pressure to prioritise the Premier League.

A European plan is being formed to resume football around July and August, with domestic leagues told Thursday not to abandon competitions yet due to the coronavirus pandemic.

UEFA are reportedly set to present their plans for the Champions League with the tournament being played out from August 7-31 after clubs have completed their domestic campaigns.

UEFA have opened the door for Celtic to be crowned champions of Scotland with eight games still left to play in the Premiership.

The match has since received a huge amount of scrutiny after a huge crowd of 54,000 - with 3,000 fans arriving from Madrid - were allowed to attend the match, against the advice of the WHO.

AHEAD OF THE GAME - MATT HUGHES: Sky Sports and BT Sport will resist pressure to screen for free the 47 Premier League matches they have left this season.

France prime minister Edouard Philippe announced this week that 'no major sporting events can take place in the country before September' due to the coronavirus pandemic.

GameStop has closed all of its 5,700 retail locations to protect customers and employees from possible exposure to COVID-19, reversing a previous policy to try and stay open during the pandemic.

MATT HUGHES - AHEAD OF THE GAME: Stoke City's new manager, Michael O'Neill, may be forced to sell players in January to help club avoid falling foul of EFL's profit and sustainability rules.

Excellent strikes form Anthony Knockaert and Harry Arter saw Fulham overcome Aston Villa in the third round of the FA Cup while Watford blew a 3-0 lead at home to Tranmere Rovers.

Bowyer was charged following incidents which occurred during and after Charlton's 2-1 defeat to Swansea, when Bowyer's side squandered an early lead and had penalty appeals turned down.

It's time for another Hot or Not as Sportsmail's Riath Al-Samarrai reveals what's been making him feel warm and what's left him with a chill this week.

WILL KELLEHER IN TOKYO: Warren Gatland joked Wales would rather play a drinking game against New Zealand than play the third-fourth playoff - but says his squad will be motivated to beat them.

Centre Willis Halaholo and back-three player Johnny McNicholl are included in a 35-man squad for the November 30 match at the Principality Stadium as two of five uncapped players for the Welsh.

Wales have brought in Ross Moriarty and Gareth Davies for their next Six Nations match against France as Wayne Pivac made two changes for the Cardiff Test.

France's Six Nations clash against Ireland joins England v Italy in being pushed back, although RFU chief Bill Sweeney says he sees no reason why Wales v Scotland can't go ahead.

COMMENT: It is a sad fact that the main barrier to rugby's progress lies here; in the home nations and those other centres of the sport's narrow European landscape - France and Italy.

The singer turned radio presenter, 32, was positively bowled over as she joined her sportsman beau, 33, and pet pooch Alfie for another game of garden cricket on Thursday afternoon.

Although the permutations over the third-place teams who will progress are complicated enough to require some serious mathematics the make-up of the individual groups are rather simpler.

The countdown to the English domestic season continues for Premier League and Football League clubs. Sportsmail's LUKE AUGUSTUS provides live coverage of the 3pm friendlies.

MATT HUGHES - AHEAD OF THE GAME: This week, Derby County have earmarked Rooney as a future manager, as he joins up with the Championship side for this weekend's home game.

SAFC chairman Stewart Donald said: 'This is a decision that has been made with a heavy heart.' The Black Cats sit in sixth place in League One, four points behind second-placed Wycombe.

Wycombe closed on Sky Bet League One leaders Ipswich with a 1-0 victory over Sunderland at Adams Park. Defender Darius Charles struck the 34th-minute winner.

MARTIN KEOWN: There is no such thing as being too good to go down. I remember hearing that when I was a player with Aston Villa in 1986-87, before we were relegated to the Second Division.

The Republic head into the clash with the Group D favourites sitting top of the pile with 10 points from a possible 12, but knowing they face their sternest test yet at the Aviva Stadium.

Ethan Ampadu's pre-season move to the Bundesliga was hailed as a smart move given that the teenager has had limited opportunities since joining Chelsea from Exeter in 2017.

The TV picks for next summer's tournament have been revealed, with ITV showing England's final two group matches, including the final game with the Czech Republic.

The Football Association of Wales could lose money at Euro 2020 after being drawn to play fixtures in Azerbaijan, its chief executive Jonathan Ford has warned.

MATT HUGHES - AHEAD OF THE GAME: Marcus Rashford is being courted by Roc Nation, the American entertainment agency founded by rapper Jay-Z.

In Saturday's Daily Mail, chief sports writer Martin Samuel considered the growing conflict between top and bottom over restarting the season. Now he responds to reader comments.

Anthony Joshua has outlined his game-plan to beat Alexander Povetkin, saying he needs to 'bully' and swamp him with punches if he is to get through a major threat to his titles at Wembley.

MARTIN SAMUEL - CHIEF SPORTS WRITER: It is the clubs that make the game; they bring the people together and give that confluence meaning. The only enduring unit in team sport is a club.

Usain Bolt: The Slot Game was launched at the gambling industry's annual showcase in London last week. Gambling campaigners say the deal will do 'great harm to those who look up to Bolt'.

Morocco captain Medhi Benatia made a generous gesture by personally paying for a village to watch the Atlas Lions' African Cup of Nations game against South Africa. 

Inter Milan striker Romelu Lukaku declared that he has been 'a man on a mission' ever since Belgium's third-placed finish at the 2018 World Cup.

The Portuguese midfielder has settled in well to life at Old Trafford and already has pundits, fans and former United players fawning over his early performances after his £68m move from Lisbon.

Man United midfielder Fred has put his hands up and admitted to having an 'awful' first season after struggling to settle into the Premier League. He failed to make his mark under ex-boss Jose Mourinho.

The 'Fold@Home' technology involves users downloading an app for their PC hat runs in the background, letting it use any processing power they're not using.

From Scrabble and Monopoly to Uno and Pictionary, everyone has a favourite board or card game. Now more Australians are playing classic games online while in quarantine.

Friends of the character known as Ferne Le'roy organised the funeral after his human player died from the virus. Mourners gathering in the desert city of Ul'dah on the game's Zalera server.

MasterChef Australia fans have created a drinking game to play as they watch the Back To Win season. 

Former Game of Thrones actress Emilia Clarke has revealed she won't Google herself.

MATT HUGHES - AHEAD OF THE GAME: Billy Gilmour was so far from Chelsea's first team that the club did not put him forward when Sky Sports filmed their walk-on shots at the start of the season.

Google will make its video game streaming service Stadia free for two months while many around the world are living under restrictive shutdown policies. Current subscribers are eligible.

Some, like Ajax star Hakim Ziyech, have their future sown up but aren't sure whether they've played their last game in Holland, while others have been linked with moves but are yet to put pen to paper.

AHEAD OF THE GAME: Chelsea players' U-turn on accepting pay cuts last weekend followed pressure from players at other Premier League clubs

Army solders at Fort Hood, Texas are conducting training exercises in the online computer game War Thunder while observing social distancing habits during the COVID-19 pandemic.