by Tim Stannard 

Welcome to another edition of beIN SPORTS Must-See beIN, in which we highlight the best games on the network this week and provide daily updates on team and league news. Oh, and we give you HIGHLIGHTS after the fact. 

BURNLEY 1 BLACKBURN 0

Before the game

One of football's oldest rivalries renews in a top Championship clash 

It's the East Lancashire Derby, the Cotton Mills Derby, the Battle of the 'Burns' - Burnley against Blackburn in a clash between two historic clubs from the Nort-West of England that dates back to 1888, when both teams were founder members of the English Football League.

The very first formal league game ended up being a 7-1 win for Blackburn at Burnley's Turf Moor, the venue of Saturday's encounter, 128 years later.

Burnley are now taking their place on the lead horse of the Championship leadership carousel, having put together a record that sees just one league defeat in the last 13 games, thanks in part to an increasingly water-tight defense that has conceded just 1 goal in the past five.  But with Hull City, Middlesbrough and Brighton and Hove Albion all starting to grind into gear as England's second tier, any of the quartet could end the round of action atop the table.

The tale is not so terrific for Blackburn Rovers, a team that once won the Premier League but are far from making a return. Former Norwich City and Aston Villa manager, Paul Lambert, was supposed to guide Rovers to the play-off zone, when taking over in November, but instead Blackburn have been slipping towards the dropzone with just two victories in 12.

Head-to-head: An all-English clash between Blackburn keeper, Jason Steele, and Andre Grey, the division's top scorer with 20 goals this season.

beIN SPORTS prediction: Burnley to prove themselves to be the better 'Burn' with a win 

ROMA 4 FIORENTINA 1

Before the game

With Juve and Napoli having opened up their own private club at the top of the table, the battle rages below between Roma and Fiorentina who are the front runners in the chase for Serie A' s final Champions League spot. And these two Italian stallians are facing off on Friday in a clash which Roma won back in October, in a rather handy 2-1 away day victory. 

Despite Juve seeming unstoppable, it is Roma that is the in-form side in Serie A, having won six-on-the-bounce, clearing through the undergrowth of Italian football by dismissing the likes of Frosinone. But Fiorentina will be a tough test for Luciano Spalletti, the architect of Roma's revival with the Firenze outfit fresh from holding Napoli to a 1-1 draw on Monday.

Roma will be looking to perhaps the best winter transfer window signing of the season with Stephan El Shaarawy continuing to deny all stories of his footballing demise during a troubled spell in the French league. The striker has now racked up four goals in five games since moving from Monaco, just two less than Edin Dzeko has racked up in 22 league appearances for Roma.

The Italian's form has not been all positive for Spalletti as it set up the scenario that Roma legend, Francesco Totti, is now surplus to requirements at Roma, a reality that the 39-year-old has not embraced whole-heartedly. It remains to be seen if there is a way back for Totti, who was very public in his making his displeasure to Spalletti over the change in his day to day reality.

Head-to-head: Both teams boast striking talent up front, but Roma's Mohamed Salah and Josep Illicic of Fiorentina have been burning through the goals this season, with 19 goals between the pair.

beIN SPORTS prediction: Monday's Napoli clash to take its toll on a tired Fiore. Comfortable Roma win.

ATLETICO MADRID 3 REAL SOCIEDAD 0

Before the game

Real Sociedad aim to put Barça foot in league title door with victory in the Vicente Calderon

Like a regular bather with bad hygiene habits, Diego Simeone does not want to throw in the towel into the laundry basket of failure, despite his Atletico Madrid side eight points behind a near unstoppable Barcelona at the top of the table. But buoyed by the buzz of a dramatic victory in Saturday's demolition derby, and a near impenetrable defense, the Rojiblancos will be looking to make sure his team are still in Barca's rear view mirror.

Rayo Vallecano, a team just two points from the relegation zone, have scored as many goals as Atletico in La Liga this season. So it's a good job that the defense is so water-tight, that not even a football flood from an upstairs bathroom to drench Atletico's drywall. Just 11 goals have been conceded by Simeone's side this year in La Primera with 16 clean sheets having been kept.

The Vicente Calderon encounter will always be a special one for Antoine Griezmann, who will be playing the side where he was raised as a player, before a move to the Spanish capital in 2013. A footballer seen as a possible Ballon d'Or candidate of the future will be looking to continue on his scoring ways after his winner against Madrid ended a recent drought.

Only Barcelona are better than Real Sociedad in terms of football form in La Primera. Whilst the league leaders have won all five of their past La Liga encounters, La Real have dropped just two points, Saturday's home draw against Malaga. However, history is against the Basque visitors with La Real only winning the single match of the past six encounters between the two teams, having been defeated twice by a 2-0 margin this season, already, in the league and cup.

Head-to-head: a straight battle between the stars of present and that past for Real Sociedad with Imanol Agirretxe and Antoine Griezmann both on 13 for the season in La Liga and looking to add to that tally.

beIN SPORTS Prediction: It may be a fourth game in 10 days for Atletico Madrid, but the Rojiblancos are unrelenting in their reliability - home win. 1-0. 

Levante 1 Real Madrid 3

Before the game

To borrow a much-used phrase, well, that escalated quickly. Real Madrid's luxury liner under Captain Zidane has been steered onto the rocks with a dose of bad chicken tummy trouble for the passengers. Saturday's derby defeat to Atletico Madrid had supporters calling for Florentino Perez to step down, and Cristiano Ronaldo suggesting that some of his team-mates weren't up to the job. Madrid are now 12 points behind Barcelona, but should be looking in the direction of a rapidly-advancing Villarreal, a team just two points away in fourth. Dropped points to Levante is not an option.

Madrid's away form suggests that dropped points may well be coming Zizou's way with 16 having been lost, scattered in grounds from Malaga to Mestalla. The one big break in the visitors' luck will be the fact that the Bernabeu outfit have won the past eight meetings against Levante, and 15 of the 19 played in the historical pairings. 

Cristiano Ronaldo was right, Real Madrid's back-up plan isn't up to scratch. With Karim Benzema set to miss the next month through injury, and no return date set for Gareth Bale, Zidane's men are without players who have scored 32 league goals between them, dwarfing the two from Jese in 16 appearance and just one from Lucas Vasquez. Whilst CR7 should remember that there is no 'I' in team, the team should remember that they need score a bunch of goals as well.

Levante may be at the bottom of the table, but have a good record against the other members of the top three. Relatively. Both games against Atletico Madrid and Barcelona ended up in defeats, but the Valencia side gave it a heck of a go and are more than capable of making life uncomfortable for Madrid. "We have to keep going with our momentum at home," said midfielder, Jose Luis Morales, with Levante having won three of the side's last four matches at home.

Head-to-head: Too player that have 'must-do better' on their report cards. Giuseppe Rossi has yet to get his scoring boots on for Levante with just a single strike from open play since a loan move from Fiorentina, whilst Jese needs to deliver on his promise if he is to escape Cristiano Ronaldo's bad books.

beIN SPORTS Prediction: A life line to be thrown to Zizou by Levante - a narrow win for Madrid on the card.

RAYO VALLECANO 1 BARCELONA 5 

Before the game

At some point, Rayo manager, Paco Jemez, might work out that a gung-ho approach to football where attack comes first, second, third, fourth...all the way down to sixteenth may not work to well against Barcelona. Over the past four fixtures in Rayo's three-sided stadium, Barcelona have scored 18 goals. Without reply. Not one. 

Rayo currently have the leakiest defence in the division with 53 conceded - just over two goals a game - which adds to the narrative that Thursday may not go well for the home side.

With Rayo potentially not offering up too much resistance against the cule club on Thursday, Luis Enrique might want to consider resting at one part or even two of the MSN and look for goals throughout the rest of the squad. The Barca boss could be left hunting high and low although 59 league goals have been scored by Barca's tantilizing trio, the rest of the squad have come up with a total of eight. So, scratch that idea for Enrique...it's the MSN once again. 

Rayo might look to a recent league record that sees the side unbeaten in seven as a glimmer of hope against Barcelona. But they would be wrong. Five of those games have been draws, including three successive 2-2 results over the past three matches, with Rayo having given a two goal head start to the opposition in the last two of those matches, against Sevilla and Betis, apparently to make things fun. That policy may not work on Thursday.

Head-to-head: Manucho v Luis Suarez - a battle between a striker who once promised to score 40 goals in a season and other who will probably do so. 

beIN SPORTS prediction: It's going to get Messi for Rayo, and Neymar, and Suarez. Another hefty win in Vallecas.