By Tim Stannard

1) Real Madrid’s pre-Clasico chow down

Sometimes Sports Burst's fluffy Shih Tzu, Starbuck - Battlestar Galactica reboot reference, not the coffee house - cannot be satisfied with her normal dry food, despite being peckish. However, sprinkle a bit of chicken on top and she is good as gold and the bowl is swiftly emptied. 

Exactly like Real Madrid this season, in actual fact. In every way. 

Plonk the team in front of the likes of Getafe and the players will do the footballing equivalent of ostentatiously licking their bottoms in disinterest over what has been served up. But add the chicken of Champions League or Sevilla into the mix and suddenly it is game on.

Well, the club might be getting quite the tasty treat ahead of a season-defining Clasico with the chance to win yet another trophy and be claimed kings of the world yet again. 

The prize is the Club World Cup semifinal on Wednesday with the Champions League winners set to take on Al Jazira in Abu Dhabi with the chance to face Brazilian outfit, Gremio in the final.

However, the challenge might be a plodding one with Henk Ten Cate promising to "park three buses" in the match. "It's not going to be easy," noted Coach Zizou. 

Catch up with all the action on the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT with Christian Vieri as the special guest in the house. 

2) Neymar sits out Strasbourg return after Brazil  

Neymar continues to rule the roost at PSG, especially off the pitch. The footballer announced his intentions to head to Brazil on Saturday for some “family issues” – a friend’s birthday party, apparently – and off the footballer went across the Atlantic with PSG’s permission. 

But it does mean that the footballer will not be back in time for the start of the PSG’s defense of the league cup which gets underway on Wednesday with an away clash against Strasbourg, the team that defeated the Parisians in the league, their first of the campaign. Strasbourg’s form is still hot to trot but Kylian Mbappe and his PSG posse are going to have to get the job done without Neymar, who is apparently enjoying a mid-winter mini-break.

Catch that game live on beIN SPORTS from 2:45PM ET / 11:45AM PT preceded by Stade Rennais against Marseille at 12:40PM ET / 10:40ET PT. 

3) “Immature” Pep takes on Swans 

The Premier League returns on Wednesday with the chances of 20-strong tunnel brawls considerably reduced than from the weekend. Sadly. 

Manchester City look to continue a record-breaking start to the season - just two points dropped in 16 matches - with a testy away trip to take on Swansea, all be it with stinging comments from King Zlatan ringing in his ears. "Not the worst coach I've worked under, but the most immature," sniffed the Swede on his short spell with Barcelona and Pep.

Second-placed Manchester United are at home to Bournemouth whilst Tottenham and Liverpool should be in for fairly comfortable home clashes against Brighton and WBA respectively. Arsenal will be dealing a new crushing disappointment to their fans in a London derby against West Ham United. Tune into the XTRA from 7PM ET / 4PM PT with Christian Vieri for the best of the day's English action. 

4) Froome faces enquiry after “adverse” drugs 

Top cyclist Chris Froome is in a spot of hot water on Wednesday with the announcement that the British rider had returned an “adverse” drugs test during last summer’s Vuelta de Espana.

A higher than permitted dosage of legal asthma drug Salbutamol in his urine and the sport’s governing body, the UCI, are requesting more information. Froome, who won the race and also the Tour de France, said that it was right to question the result and admitted that he had taken a higher than normal inhaler dose on advice from his Team Sky doctor after suffering asthma symptoms. Froome is not currently suspended while investigations continue. 

WHAT IS SPORTS BURST?

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.