Sports Burst - Is Cristiano Ronaldo The Best?
Cristiano Ronaldo expected to watch Luka Modric steal his FIFA's The Best crown
FIFA's The Best prize awarded in Ronaldo v Modric battle
A touch of deja vu is on the horizon on Monday with yet more angst and tantrums expected from some professional soccer players over shiny trinkets and awards - Sports Burst is calling the whole affair Ballon B'ore.
London will play host to FIFA's The Best awards, the third of such ceremonies that pointlessly hands out individual prizes in a team sport for the best player of the previous season / year.
FIFA's version is voted on by a mixture of journalists, national team captains, managers and fans.
Due to his no-show at the UEFA Player of the Year awards, the departure of private jets from Turin will be monitored on Monday to see if Cristiano Ronaldo will be in attendance, a footballer who is on the shortlist for best player along with Luka Modric and Mohamed Salah, or pull a late no-show as at the UEFA awards, when he got wind that Luka Modric was going to win.
Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT to find out who came out on top at the Luka v Ronaldo trophy tug-of-war
Another step back in plan for La Liga's stateside adventure
The optimistic prediction of the La Liga president, Javier Tebas, that there is a 90% chance of a La Liga game in Miami in January is now inching downwards on the probability scale.
Spanish sports daily AS is reporting on Monday that the country's footballers' union (AFE) has written a letter to La Liga to reject a proposal to play the clash between Girona and Barcelona stateside on 26th January.
In perfect symmetry there is still controversy over the first Barcelona v Girona clash of the season on Sunday, with the VAR-assisted decision of the referee to send off Barca defender, Clement Lenglet after an elbow on Pere Pons which the Girona man later revealed he never felt.
Tune into the Locker Room at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT as our panel look at whether the right decision was made.
EDF under pressure as Roma slump continues
The signs are that the first Serie A sacking of the season could be upon us.
And it will be a big-hitter potentially being taken down with Roma's Eusebio Di Francesco in hot water after a 2-0 defeat to Bologna on Sunday, a team that hadn't scored a goal this season until Roma came along.
The club's American owner, James Palotta, admitted that he was "disgusted" over the result which continued a start to the season that sees Roma just one point above the relegation zone, as well as smarting from a comprehensive defeat to Real Madrid in the Champions League.
Despite talk of former Fiorentina boss, Paulo Sousa, in the air being lined up as a replacement, EDF - as we like to call him - may have one match left to save his job, a home clash on Wednesday against Frosinone. Then again, a defeat and EDF is toast.
Monday's Istanbul derby gives chance for Fenerbahce revival
It's Turkey time on Monday with a big Super Liga clash - and a huge Istanbul derby to boot - between Fenerbahce and Besiktas, two teams with varying paths this season.
The fiery encounter really is a must-win for Fenerbahce, a team that is muddling around just the single point from the relegation zone with six games gone. No such problems for Besiktas, a team that can go equal top of the table with an away win, but could be hampered in that challenge with Loris Karius set to start in goal, as the German keeper continues his loan exile from Liverpool.
That game is live on beIN SPORTS at 1:55PM ET / 10:55AM PT.
