By Tim Stannard

Klopp calls for cool Liverpool heads for hot night against Roma

It’s a Champions League clash so painfully hipster that even both coaches sport the exact same microbrew-chugging look.

"(Jurgen) Klopp said some nice things today that we both have beards and glasses and we are very similar in that way. I like his football philosophy a lot,” joked Roma boss Eusebio Di Francesco ahead of Tuesday’s Champions League semi-final clash at Anfield against Liverpool, a clash between two teams fairly surprised to be in the final four in the first place.

Much of the match has been spent rubbing chins over the attractive footballing stylings of both teams and the concept of Mohamed Salah, the footballer Roma sold to Liverpool over the summer, who is facing his old colleagues and friends. Except they won’t be his buddies for a harsh 90 minutes notes Klopp - "Mo will know pretty soon they are not his team-mates anymore," warned the Liverpool boss.

An awful lot of attention has also been paid to events before the game as well, and rightfully so with the Manchester City team coach being attacked with bottles ahead of the quarter-final tie a few weeks back. Klopp has called for a warm hand on the entrance of the Italian visitors this time around. “We want to beat them on the football pitch but off the field we show respect,” was the message recorded for Liverpool fans to keep the heat in Anfield and not around the stadium.

Liverpool v Roma is live on beIN SPORTS CANADA with coverage beginning at 2PM ET / 11AM PT

Bayern hoping European luck runs out for Madrid

Jupp Heynckes and Zinedine Zidane have been and will be speaking on Tuesday ahead of the Champions League clash between Bayern Munich and Real Madrid a day later.

In fact, Sports Burst is surprised that the Germans did not have their press conference 5:30AM just to clear the day for planning the downfall of their Spanish opponents a year after a Madrid passed through the competition somewhat controversially after the incorrect sending off of Arturo Vidal and two offside goals from Cristiano Ronaldo.

It is this kind of luck that has helped fuel Real Madrid over a remarkable three years in the Champions League – see the late penalty against Juventus, late headers from Sergio Ramos – but Bayern will be hoping that it finally runs out to allow Bayern a very good chance of grabbing a first European Cup title since 2013, when Heynckes was also in charge of the club.

Naturally, Bayern are on message that the past is the past with Jerome Boateng opining that "last year's elimination isn't in our minds anymore. We have a great chance to make the final this year, and that's all we're focused on."

Tune into the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT where Ray Hudson and Carlos Ruiz will predict who will get the upper hand in this huge battle of the beasts.

Dani Alves wants Barcelona return. No really

Sports Burst has been to Paris. It’s really nice. The city has loads of old stuff. Sports Burst would eat every meal on a boat going up and down the River Seine if it could. It didn’t even mind paying $236 for a small beer near the Eiffel Tower.

But apparently, the city is not good enough for a couple of fancy-pants Brazilians who want nothing more than to leave it, and more particularly PSG. Now, the rumors of Neymar wanting out of the Ligue Un champions are just stories – for the moment. But jabber-mouth Dani Alves has gone out and actually admitted that he would leave PSG in a heartbeat.

In one of those endearing ‘if I speak to my local media, it will never go further’ moments, the fullback has admitted to Globo TV that "I would come back tomorrow if Barcelona were to call me." The kind of comment that will go down tremendously well with the PSG boxes who rescued Alves from Juve after the Brazilian complained about being there, having moved to the Serie A club having complained about being in Barca, the club that Alves now wants to return to. A true footballing Goldilocks.

Ancelotti set to take on Italian Job

Staying on a soccer streak and Italy might finally get a new national team coach. However, it sounds like there is a bit of arm-twisting to be done. Ever since the swift departure of Gian Piero Ventura, nobody has particularly been lining up to take a job that is fairly low paid for the likes of Antonio Conte and endless row when dealing with the media.

However, the Italian press is suggesting that Carlo Ancelotti is on the brink of stepping up to the plate after a meeting between the former Real Madrid manager and the Italian federation bosses.

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. Sports Burst 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.