by Tim Stannard

Good news for some, bad news for Ray Hudson as Barcelona confirms Valverde contract extension

Take a huge sigh of relief Barcelona fans as you stretch, yawn and go through your morning ablutions. All is perfect in the world. 

Ernesto Valverde will remain as the the coach of the Camp Nou club for yet another year as a contract extension is in full effect. 

Valverde's deal expired this summer, but a manager who seems incapable of suffering stress - quite an achievement in La Liga - will be in charge up to the end of 2020, with the option of a season more.

That was the announcement from Barcelona this morning and the reaction will be mixed from the likes of Ray Hudson who is not really a fan of a less than swashbuckling style of Valverde. In this perspective, the Barca boss is like the Property Brothers merged into one. A safe pair of hands but less than thrilling. 

Those of a more pragmatic type will point to a league title and Copa del Rey in his first season in charge and the promise of more trophies to come this season. 

Find out what our panel think of the news on the Locker Room at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT 

Manchester United hope to sign up De Gea and Rashford

Despite being rocked back on its heels this week with a Champions League defeat to PSG, Manchester United could have better news over the next weeks or months in terms of its future. 

Marcus Rashford - linked with Real Madrid - and David de Gea - nearly went to Real Madrid - are reportedly close to agreeing new deals that would keep them at Old Trafford. Both are out of contract in 2020. 

However,  according to a report in Goal it is unlikely that a decision on Ole Gunnar Solskjaer will be taken until the end of the season. United is next up in a very curious FA Cup clash on Monday against a Chelsea side that ground out a win against Malmo on Thursday in the Europa League but is still in a bit of a Sarri state. 

Bayern continues pursuit of Dortmund in fulsome Friday of football 

It's Big Cheese Friday in the world of soccer with some of the biggest names dusting themselves off early ahead of another Champions League week.

Bayern Munich is continuing its dogged pursuit of a wobbling Borussia Dortmund at the top of the Bundesliga table. The gap could be temporarily closed to two points should Bayern overcome struggling Augsburg.

It's fair to say that there isn't the same tension with Juventus, a team with an 11-point gap over second and facing Frosinone at home today. 

The Sports Burst live show will hold your hand and gently take you through some of the big storylines behind these matches. 

Just head to our beIN SPORTS USA Facebook page at 12PM ET / 9AM PT. 

Getafe to continue top-four fight in La Liga 

Heck, there's so much going on we are going to have open a new segment.

Lyon, currently in third place in Ligue Un. takes on Guingamp - kicking off on CONNECT at 2:45PM ET / 11:45AM PT. The game of the day on beIN SPORTS is Eibar v Getafe with the visitors looking to continue a remarkable run into the top four with a victory. That gets underway at 3PM ET / 12PM PT. 

And Besiktas as well? On beIN CONNECT at 12:30PM ET / 9:30AM PT. 

And you can watch some top class women's tennis right now with coverage of the WTA Qatar Open semifinals. Clickies!

The XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT is the place to be for all the best goals of the day.