By Tim Stannard

1) PSG looking for European breakthrough against Barcelona

Thiago Silva is learning what it is like to balance both a top football career and also life as a dairy farmer as the Brazilian stopper is missing out on Tuesday’s Barcelona clash due to a calf problem. Unless the calf in this case refers to a leg muscle of course, which is entirely possible in this particular context.

And what a match that will be missed, a chance to stop Barcelona’s conquest of the coveted Champions League title and put paid to PSG’s own lofty European ambitions for yet another season. The odds are stacked against Unai Emery’s men though, even if Silva was in the side. Barcelona won the last two Champions League ties against PSG and have progressed past the last-16 stages of the UCL on the past nine occasions. That’s not to mention that Luis Enrique’s life would be made an absolute misery were Barca to stumble.

Another worrying factoid for the PSG massive is that Unai Emery has won just the single match in the 23-times that the Spaniard has faced Barcelona as a coach. "He's a manager who knows us very well,” noted Luis Enrique politely. That clash is live on beIN SPORTS in Canada from 2:45PM ET / 11:45AM PT.

2) Benfica suffering from Jonas bothers

But let’s not forget that there is another match-up also taking place that has a very American flavor. Borussia Dortmund and Christian Pulisic will be travelling to Portugal and hoping that dreadful Bundesliga form does not repeat on a Champions League level. Dortmund very much have their year’s eggs in a European basket although the visiting side will be without Mario Gotze. “We encourage the team to score as many goals as possible,” announced the Tuchel on a cunning strategy for his side.

Benfica will be hoping that leading striker, Jonas, can shake off a back injury in time for the clash. The Brazilian forward is set to have a fitness test before Tuesday’s match.

Catch the highlights and best analysis of both of those games on the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT.

3) Bale back in action but misses Napoli cut  

The other half of the Clasico Kerfuffle are in action on Wednesday with a couple of questions set to be answered with the visit of Napoli. Are Napoli actually that good and are Real Madrid actually that ‘meh’? And will there be a rush to the buffet before Diego Maradona’s expected attendance at the pre-match dinner?

Coach Zizou was speaking in the Spanish capital ahead of the game and enthused that “"Napoli play good football. Sarri is doing a great job as coach and you can see what they're about through their results.”

In footballing terms, Cristiano Ronaldo was back in full training after spending Monday chilling in the gym after a weekend knock and Gareth Bale was also in full action on the road to recovering after three months out but did not make the final squad. “We have to take things slowly with Gareth,” noted the Madrid manager on when the ever-wounded Welshman will return.

Tune into the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT for a full preview on a genuinely tantalizing battle that viewers in Canada will be able to see live on beIN SPORTS from 2:45PM ET / 11:45AM PT.

4) Gabriel Jesus with potential season-ending injury

After a dream start for Gabriel Jesus to his Manchester City career, a tree has fallen in the glory path of the player.

The Brazilian forward limped off in the early stages of Monday’s Premier League clash against Bournemouth. City were hopeful that the injury was nothing too serious but there is still unconfirmed news dribbling out of Manchester that the footballer could be out for up to three months with a metatarsal problem. It’s an injury that could spell the end of the club season for the young forward and certainly Brazil’s upcoming World Cup qualifiers with Uruguay and Paraguay at the end of March. If Jesus is going to walk on water…it will be very tenderly indeed.

5) Banega is no-go to China

With the Chinese Super League transfer window open until the end of February, there are more big moves expected. One of those was Ever Banega, reportedly disgruntled with limited playing time with a resurgent Inter. However, his agent has poo-pooed such suggestions of a $25million move to Tianjin Quanjian. “These are just classic market rumors, just chatter,” was the scoff from Marcelo Simonian whose client has only started 15 Serie A games this season.

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