By Tim Stannard

1) Keylor Navas falls to Real Madrid injury curse 

Another unfortunate injury for Real Madrid to add to a veritable glut of mishaps this season that has seen the Real Madrid basecamp becoming all very ‘Final Destination’.

The injuries along a fairly short campaign so far have included sideline spells for Gareth Bale, Karim Benzema, Gareth Bale, Marcelo, Gareth Bale, Mateo Kovacic and Gareth Bale. This time, the victim of the peculiar kickball curse is Keylor Navas, a crucial figure who has been involved in more Bernabeu emergency bailouts this season that a Madrid plumber after a cold snap pipe-freeze in the Spanish capital. 

The poor Costa Rican keeper is suffering from some groin issues – we’ve all been there – and will miss Sunday’s home clash against Eibar where Madrid really need to break with recent trends and score some goals.  

Barcelona are facing a hapless Malaga at the Camp Nou on Saturday, with the visitors having only managed a possible single point from 24 this season. It’s no surprise then that the chattering in the Catalan press is over transfers rather than the game. Ernesto Valverde would reportedly like Paco Alcacer, Arda Turan and Rafinha out to create some wiggle room for the winter arrival of Philippe Coutinho. Yep. We’re going through that again. 

Tune into the Locker Room from 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT to see if our learned panel can predict if Madrid will get their scoring boots back on and whether Leo Messi should be given a break after playing every minute of every match so far, this season. 

2) Montella edges closer to Milan exit door

Another bad night for AC Milan on Thursday after the club’s Europa League goalless draw with AEK Athens.  

The Italian press are reporting a third meeting between the under-fire manager and his bosses with the big-spending Serie A side sitting in tenth in the table after three defeats and around $250 million spent this summer to at least qualify for the Champions League. A sacking appears to be on the cards sooner rather than later.

Speaking after Thursday’s shut out which saw boos and jeers from the San Siro stands, Montella called for fans to get on board the optimism train headed for Glory City. "I urge the fans and the club to stand by us and above all these players. Good luck with that. 

Tune into beIN SPORTS live on Sunday from 9:30AM ET / 6:30AM PT for Milan’s now rather crucial home clash against Genoa as well as a tasty encounter between Torino and Roma in the goals-around-the grounds Multi-Calcio service. 

3) Saint Etienne with chance to mount Monaco

Another wacky weekend of football gets underway on Friday across our glittering planet. In Ligue Un, Saint Etienne have the chance to move above Monaco into second in the standings with a home clash against Montpellier after embarking on a successful disco-themed concert tour of the States. That game is live on beIN SPORTS from 2:40PM ET / 11:45AM PT.

The Premier League is displaying a bit of a bottom-scrabbling affair with West Ham United hosting newly promoted Brighton and Hove Albion with both teams set to be involved in a relegation battle this season. The Bundesliga has a battle of the number clubs with Schalke 04 hosting Mainz 05. 

Tune into the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT for all the best action and highlights from all Friday’s games as well as look at the must-watch matches this weekend. 

4) Dodgers await opponents in World Series finals 

Baseball time! The cousin of the great sport of cricket has its first participant in the World Series – with the word ‘world’ being stretched here a little. 

The Los Angeles Dodgers are making their first appearance in the finals since 1988 after polishing off the Chicago Cubs in game 5 of the National League Championship Series play-offs. The Californians opponents could be revealed on Friday should the New York Yankees beat the Houston Astros in the American League Championship Series. The Yankees are currently 3-2 up with game six in Houston on Friday night.

There was an epic encounter in the NFL on Thursday night. The Oakland Raiders were down 24-30 at home to the Kansas City Chiefs with just seconds on the clock before clinching with a late, late touchdown.

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The life philosophy of Sports Burst is that if you are not upsetting someone, then you are not trying hard enough. SB is a daily trawl and troll through the morning's sports news to bring you fact-nuggets to make you both smile and swear. Hopefully at the same time.