Sports Burst - Atletico: First Among Equals?
In officially the Biggest Game Since the Madrid Derby, Atletico Madrid have chance to pull away from LaLiga title rivals
by Tim Stannard
Atletico Madrid face Athletic Club on Wednesday with chance to go six points clear over Barcelona in title race
Remember all the talk of Sunday's Madrid Derby being the title decider in LaLiga? Well, it was to an extent apart from the fact that the 1-1 draw decided very little.
Instead, Wednesday's match for Atletico Madrid against Athletic Club could be the real clincher in what is officially The Most Important Game in LaLiga Since the Madrid Derby. True, that was only three days ago, but today's game that is live on beIN SPORTS at 1PM ET is Atletico's famous match-in-hand.
In just a few short hours, no need to keep prefacing every talk about the league title race with 'if Atletico Madrid win their extra game'. After today, everyone will have played 26 matches in LaLiga. Although this would be a lot simpler if you go looked at a league table yourself, the basics of the match are that if Atletico Madrid win, the side will have a six-point lead over Barcelona and eight over Real Madrid.
Anything less, such as a draw or a defeat then obviously that gap will be smaller. Basically, today is a big 'un and just as important for Real Madrid and Barcelona fans to tune in and support Athletic Club than for Rojiblancos.
Don't be tardy.
Sampaoli leads Marseille for first time against Rennes
There is a true second string experience today on beIN XTRA with other fiery Argentinean touchline performer in action with Jorge Sampaoli in charge of his first game for Marseille.
The man branded El Loco 2 by France Football has only taken two training sessions for a troubled Marseille side but has to get a tune out of the team today in a Ligue 1 match against Rennes that is live on beIN XTRA - for free - at 1PM ET.
Are PSG still PSG and are Barca still Barca?
There is a certain Ship of Theseus philosophical conundrum about PSG vs. Barcelona that is also taking place today.
Obviously, must readers are more than familiar with the this scenario but the 101 for those needing to brush up, is - if the parts of a ship are replaced entirely over time, is it still the same ship?
The Ship of Theseus relates to this match. How much does Barcelona winning 6-1 to overcome a 4-0 lead in the Champions League in 2007, almost four-years-ago to the day, have a bearing on today's result?
PSG hold a 4-1 advantage in the Parc de Princes from the Last 16 first leg. So it's a different result for a start. Also, it's a different location. Barcelona's comeback took place in a full Camp Nou rather than an empty Parc de Princes.
As for the PSG side, only four players from that match are likely to feature in today's clash - and the coach is completely different. The same for Barcelona with the familiar faces being Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Samuel Umtiti, Sergi Busquets and Lionel Messi.
This is why Mauricio Pochettino for one says that the past has no relation to the present - "for us, the past goes back to January 3, when we joined the club."
The Sports Burst show will look ahead to both the Atletico Madrid and Barcelona games on Facebook Live at 12PM ET.