Roger Federer leads the Swiss quest to win a first Davis Cup title in Lille on Friday, taking on a powerful French quartet spearheaded by Jo-Wilfried Tsonga and Gael Monfils.

The 33-year-old tennis superstar will be playing in his first Davis Cup final and as a partner will have long-time accomplice Stan Wawrinka.

Real Madrid's superstars, flying high at the top of La Liga, enter the land of Spanish football's little people on Saturday when they take on humble Eibar in the Basque country.

Unlike Real's cavernous, fabled Bernabeu with its 85,000-capacity, Eibar's Ipurua stadium has room for just 5,000 fans -- they have had to build temporary seating to accommodate fans wanting to see Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale.

Arsenal striker Danny Welbeck's reunion with former club Manchester United supplies one of the sub-plots as the Premier League resumes this weekend following the international break.

Arsenal welcome United to the Emirates Stadium on Saturday evening for a match that will see both teams attempt to avoid conceding further ground to early-season pace-setters Chelsea.

France striker Olivier Giroud is fit after three months out with a broken leg and could make his return for Arsenal in the Premier League match against Manchester United on Saturday.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger says Giroud has made a quicker-than-expected recovery from a small break to his tibia during the 2-2 draw at Everton on Aug. 23.

Manchester United manager Louis van Gaal says Daley Blind faces a "long" spell out after the midfielder hurt his left knee playing for the Netherlands in a European Championship qualifier.

Van Gaal says Thursday that Blind's knee is in a brace and that the player will go for a scan after 10 days of rest.

Juventus veterans Gianluigi Buffon and Giorgio Chiellini extended their respective contracts with the club on Thursday, the Serie A giants announced.

With 14 seasons at Juventus already under his belt club captain and goalkeeper Buffon has extended his contract until 2017, while central defender Chiellini has signed to play on until 2018.

Sebastian Vettel admitted he hopes to emulate his "greatest idol" and fellow German Michael Schumacher after being announced as a Ferrari driver for next season on Thursday.

Ferrari confirmed that the four-time world champion will join up with Kimi Raikkonen at the Italian Formula One giants on a three-year deal from 2015.

Two-time world champion Fernando Alonso's five-year spell with Ferrari will be over at the end of the season after the Italian “Scuderia” confirmed the Spaniard's departure on Thursday.

In a statement that paid tribute to Alonso's contribution to the Formula One giants, Ferrari ended months of speculation regarding Alonso, who has been tipped to return to the McLaren team.

From anonymous middle England to a life of fabulous riches, a rock star girlfriend, a scarlet red private jet and the brink of a second Formula One world title.

Lewis Hamilton's journey from his humble roots to become Britain's most successful racing driver will enjoy another surge on Sunday if, as expected, he sees off the challenge of Mercedes teammate Nico Rosberg in the season-concluding race in Abu Dhabi.

Nico Rosberg's first recollection of Formula One came in Monaco when, asleep on a yacht in the harbor, he was awoken by the sound of Ayrton Senna's McLaren screaming through the tunnel.

Fast forward to 2014 and the son of 1982 champion Keke arrives for the Abu Dhabi Grand Prix with a very real shot at his own world title.