With 2016 officially behind us, let's look forward and speculate about the events, people and issues that will shape 2017.
Luis Suarez feared he had destroyed his career and that Barcelona would not want to sign him following his four-month ban for biting at the World Cup.
Liverpool scored a stunning 3-2 win over Queens Park Rangers with four of the five goals coming in the last seven minutes capping an astonishing finale to their Premier League match at Loftus Road on Sunday.
Swansea City have sacked their Danish manager Michael Laudrup with the Welsh club having dropped into a Premier League relegation battle after a dramatic slump in form that has left them two points above the drop zone.
The club versus country row which has dogged England in the past reared its ugly head once again with manager Roy Hodgson saying he should not be solely responsible for resting 'tired' Liverpool forward Raheem Sterling.
Stephan El Shaarawy took a small step towards refuelling his career at Monaco when the AC Milan loanee came off the bench to rescue a late 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur in the Europa League's second round of group matches on Thursday.
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
India maintained their stranglehold over Zimbabwe, winning the fourth ODI in the five-match series by nine wickets, in Bulawayo, on Thursday. Opting to field after winning the toss, India dismissed the hosts for a paltry 144, and then chased down the target with 115 balls to spare at the Queens Sports Club.
Pakistan look to get their so far lacklustre World Cup campaign going with a win over Zimbabwe.
A round-up of our favourite photographs from the week gone by.
Niall O'Brien, the sturdy batting backbone during Irish cricket's meteoric rise, owes much of his World Cup success to the timely arrival of a pet dog.
US President Barack Obama has stepped up his personal engagement with lawmakers over the government shutdown, which the White House hoped would help in resolving the current economic crisis including the one of raising the debt ceiling by October 17.
15 photographs that prove we live in an odd, odd world!
News of all that's transpired on and off the football field
De Boer, who lasted only 77 days as Crystal Palace manager after losing his first four league games in charge with no goals scored, said in an interview on BT Sport that it was "a pity" Mourinho was Rashford's manager because he was not getting enough chances.
Opinion polls have suggested that while big business is broadly in favour of staying in the EU, small firms have been evenly split in what looks like a photo-finish.
Liverpool's hopes of winning their first title in 24 years suffered a huge setback when they lost 2-0 at home to Chelsea and Manchester City took advantage with a 2-0 victory at Crystal Palace.
Manchester United consolidated their fourth place, on 22 points, after first-half goals from Chris Smalling and Wayne Rooney and a brilliant, morale-boosting strike from Robin van Persie after the break sealed a 3-0 victory over Hull City.
Goals rained in for Manchester City and Manchester United but Juergen Klopp's first game as Liverpool manager was solid rather than spectacular as they drew 0-0 at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League.
Tehran plans to lift exports by 500,000 barrels per day
Arsenal delivered a brutal lesson in fast-paced Premier League football to beat Liverpool 4-1 on Saturday, maintaining their faint title aspirations and almost certainly dashing their opponents' hopes of a top-four finish.
Adam Lallana and Jordan Henderson scored as Liverpool registered their first Premier League win since August with a 2-1 victory over West Bromwich Albion at Anfield on Saturday.
India Test regulars like Cheteswar Pujara and Ishant Sharma have also thrown their hat into the ring with base prices of Rs 50 and Rs 75 lakh respectively.
Liverpool's 1-0 defeat by Aston Villa on Saturday was more than an early season setback - it raised the question of whether they have the strength in depth to cope with the dual challenge ahead of them this term.
Playing tennis professionally can be difficult physically, mentally and emotionally. But the tennis courts have often been the venue for for blossoming romance as love-struck couples decide it is game, set and match.
In its 'Right of Reply', India also rejected the 'fanciful and misleading' remarks by the Pakistani envoy to the United Nations.
Two superb curling efforts from Jordan Henderson and Philippe Coutinho handed Liverpool a 2-1 home win against Manchester City in the Premier League on Sunday to deliver a thumping blow to Manuel Pellegrini's title aspirations.
At ground zero, hundreds of victims' relatives and dignitaries gathered to hear the reading the names of the nearly 3,000 people killed during the attack.
Steven Gerrard's future at Liverpool may be in doubt but the captain turned back the clock to score in a 3-1 victory at bottom side Leicester City in the Premier League on Tuesday.
Barcelona look well set to wrap up the La Liga title.
The United States and Iran held their highest level of talks in over 30 years, during which Tehran put "possibilities" on the table to resolve the longstanding dispute over its nuclear programme, even as Washington sounded a cautious note.
Zimbabwe recorded their first win over Pakistan for 15 years as they cruised to a seven-wicket victory in the opening one-day international at Harare Sports Club on Tuesday.
Samsung has reason to be worried.
The three teams with 100 percent records in this season's Champions League can secure their places in the knockout stage this week with two games to spare.
Liverpool took a giant step towards their first title in 24 years with a 3-2 win at a plucky Norwich City on Sunday, opening up a five point lead over second-placed Chelsea with three matches remaining.
Virat Kohli remained the highest-placed Indian batsman at fourth even as Shikhar Dhawan rose a rung to sixth in the latest ICC ODI rankings.
Leg-spinner Amit Mishra notched up a career-best haul (6-48) as India ended their Zimbabwe tour with another convincing victory, in the fifth and final One-Day International in Bulawayo on Saturday, thereby completing a 5-0 series sweep.
South Africa's AB de Villiers and Sri Lanka's Kumar Sangakkara will take their battle for the coveted No 1 spot in the Reliance ICC Player Rankings for ODI batsmen to Sydney when they go head-to-head in the first quarter-final of the World Cup.
Pep Guardiola says Manchester City are not yet ready to compete with Europe's elite but his side will be confident of opening their Champions League campaign with victory over Borussia Moenchengladbach on Tuesday.
It is testament to Steven Gerrard's ability that his Liverpool career will be remembered for heroic acts of willpower that ensured no deficit was irretrievable and no opponent unbeatable, rather than the league title that eluded him.
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