By Tim Stannard

1) Atletico Madrid’s Champions League mission (nearly) impossible

The mission, Atletico Madrid, is a near impossible one should you choose to except it: keep your Champions League hopes alive and avoid the ignominy of having to play Arsenal in Europe in 2018.

To achieve this, two things must happen. The first is in your Rojiblanco hands - beat a sturdy Chelsea in Stamford Bridge in a final Champions League Group C game in a clash where even the normally conservative Antonio Conte is giving warnings of failure.

“You may be in good form, but so are we,” declared the arm-waving Chelsea boss, who has been spared the headache of having to come across Diego Costa again, with Diego Simeone opting to leave the former Chelsea man behind.

Next – hope that Roma slip up bigly against Qarabag. "It's a personal challenge to fight for everything we've worked for these last few years, " declared Diego Simeone. If both those come to pass, then Atletico Madrid will be in the next round of the Champions League. Anything else, and it is a banishment to the Europa League, a competition that Koke unfairly branded with a potty-mouth word rhyming with wrap.

Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT to find out if Atletico Madrid can go all Tom Cruise, but without the weirdness.

2) Juventus face nightmare scenario in Champions League

Elsewhere and matters are a little less dramatic in the Champions League. Unless the day goes very badly wrong for Juventus. Very, very badly.

In Group A, Manchester United need just the single point against CSKA Moscow in Old Trafford to top the group and move through to the next round. The second spot will be between the Russians and Basel.

Group B is a true clash of the titans. PSG are currently top and need to avoid a 4-0 hammering against a revenge seeking Bayern Munich in the Allianz Arena. However, Neymar and co have looked shaky over the past week. That clash is live on beIN SPORTS CANADA with Manchester United’s game over on CONNECT.

Barcelona have already won Group D and have a run out against Sporting CP. If Sporting somehow manage to win that game and Juventus drop points away at Olympiakos in Greece, then the Old Lady will also be slumming it in the Europa League.

3) Zidane unbothered at world’s worries over Madrid

Real Madrid are in action on Wednesday in a dead rubber of a Champions League match and against a team in worse shape somehow in the form of Borussia Dortmund.

Coach Zizou was in his cool-as-a-cucumber setting, soothing worried Madrid brows about the direction of the season. The Frenchman promised better things to come for CR7 for the rest of the year – “six months is a very long time with Cristiano” and hoped for yet another comeback for Gareth Bale, potentially this weekend – “against Sevilla, it will depend on when he can train.” Basically, Coach Zizou doesn’t give two hoots about what everyone else is saying about his team. And good for him.

"We are playing well in games and it doesn't matter what those outside the club are saying.” Zidane may not care, but we certainly want to know what Carlos Ruiz has to say on the matter. And we have that chance on the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT.

4) Barcelona face old enemy in Copa del Rey draw

Tuesday has a Spanish vibe all round really, as the day also saw the next round for the Copa del Rey drawn. And this is where the big fish are matched against each other. Barcelona will be somewhat disheartened to see that they face two more matches against Celta Vigo, a team that has given them quite the run around over the past few seasons.

Real Madrid are taking on a strong second division side, Numancia, with Atletico Madrid also facing lower league opposition – third tier – and facing Lleida Sportu, the team that knocked out Real Sociedad. The matches will be played around January 3rd and 10th and are exclusive to beIN SPORTS. Of course.

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