By Tim Stannard (@stannardsports)

1) Newcastle dump McClaren, name Rafa the gaffer

In the kind of muddled, tangled, dithering thinking that plonked Newcastle United in their current fine mess in the first place, the club’s comedy bosses took nearly a week to come to the decision that Steve McClaren was going to be fired: a decision that was never in any doubt in the first place. The former England manager has left the Magpies second-from-bottom of the table with just six lonely wins all year.

With Ray Hudson unable to tear himself away from the warm embrace of the beIN SPORTS bosom, Rafa Benitez has been named the manager for the remaining 10 games of the EPL season, with the chance of signing on for more permanent punishment should the Magpies fly out of relegation danger. Rafa will likely be presented on Saturday with just two days to get his players ready for the visit to league leaders, Leicester City, on Monday. Let’s see what the Great Ray himself thinks about the appointment on The Locker Room at 10.30PM.

In other EPL news, Eden Hazard’s father has said that the drop in performance from his son, this season, is due to the footballer being forced to play by Jose Mourinho and Guus Hiddink whilst suffering from a very painful groin. We’ve all been there. “You can compare it to a knife stabbing,” said Hazard senior to the Belgian press.

2) Juventus begin balancing act as Memo Ochoa says ‘hola’ to Malaga fans, 18-months later

With a good 24-hours recovery from last week’s football, the new weekend is upon us like an endless buffet of sporting goodness. The big match of the day in the beIN world is over in Italia with Juventus looking to sneak a six-point lead over Napoli with a home clash against Sassuolo. But be warned, there could be football dragons, as the visitors are the last team to beat Juventus in Serie A, back at the end of October

As our Adam Digby writes, the trick now for Massimo Allegri is to manage Friday’s must-win match with another on Wednesday, as Juve head to Munich to take on Bayern. Boom goes some very big dynamite. Find out how Juve get on and see if Gigi Buffon can close in on an all-time clean sheet record from 2.40PM ET on beIN SPORTS.

But the channel has football coming out of its pores like a sporting spinning session. Over on beIN EEEEESSSSPPPPAANOL, we have Mexican goalkeeper, Memo Ochoa, making his home league debut for Malaga – 18-months after he joined – as the Andalusian side hosts Sporting at 2.25PM ET. Monaco are in action in Ligue Un on beIN CONNECT with a home clash against Stade Reims. A win could see the gap with PSG close to 20 points. Watch out King Zlatan, resting on your Swedish laurels after the win against Chelsea! You can catch all those highlights on the typically furious Friday edition of the XTRA, as well as an exclusive chat with Fernando Torres. The fun starts at 10PM ET.

3) No RM improvement under Zizou says Villarreal boss, Benzema gets Euro 2016 boost, and former Argentina boss says Messi not the greatest

There be pirate fighting talk in La Liga with the captain of the Yellow Submarine, Marcelino, claiming that there has been no improvement to the Real Madrid side under Captain Zizou. Villarreal themselves look solid for moving through to the next round of the Europa League after a 2-0 win over Bayer Leverkusen last night, although Marcelino says that catching Madrid in third, seven-points away, will be a near impossible feat. Remember to tune in to beIN SPORTS on Sunday for Real Madrid’s next challenge, an away match against a very in-form Las Palmas at 3.25PM ET. Europe tinkers with its clocks this weekend, so check local listings, etc.

Life got a little brighter for Karim Benzema after a court lifted restrictions on the footballer being in contact with fellow French international, Mathieu Valbuena. However, charges involving a blackmail case involving the Lyon man still remain, and the French Football Federation may still choose to keep Benzema away from the national side. The Real Madrid man is currently sidelined with a hamstring injury.

Mixed messages for Leo Messi in Argentina from the former national team’s manager, Carlos Bilardo, who says that the Barça man is not the best in history and has reached his peak in terms of playing power. “I put him among the best just of this moment, but not in history,” claimed Bilardo. Ouch.

4) Serena claims to be playing clean as Murray puts boot into Maria Sharapova

The tennis world continues to wobble with Maria Sharapova’s positive doping test still the understandable talk of the town. Serena Williams is the latest to deny that she takes any extra substances, whilst Andy Murray in typical Andy Murray style says that there can be little sympathy for the Russian player, for apparently taking a performance enhancing substance that she did not need for medical reasons.

5) New sheriff in town as Jonathan Rea faces challenge to Superbikes supremacy

The start of round two of the SBK Superbikes is almost upon us, and it is a definite star of the future who is setting the pace with rookie turned racer-extraordinaire, Michael Van Der Mark, fastest in Friday’s practice. You can find out if the Dutchman can overhaul Jonathan Rea of USA’s legend, Nicky Hayden, can make a podium finish as the action gets under way on beIN CONNECT at 4.00AM ET on Saturday, with the race replayed on beIN SPORTS at 8.30AM ET. You can also catch some top class international diving from Beijing and see if USA gold medal winner, David Boudia, can pick up another win in Friday’s action. Tune in from 8.00PM ET on beIN SPORTS.