By Tim Stannard

1) Zizou laments Groundhog Day on benchwarmers

If Coach Zizou did not down a fortifying brandy before facing the media on Friday, then the Real Madrid coach is a better man than Sports Burst.

Indeed, if the column had any kind of responsibility on its narrow shoulders - never mind being in charge of something like Real Madrid - then it would be on a permanent buzz, similar to how Winston Churchill got through World War II.

The topics were familiar. Madrid’s rubbish form – “not everything is so bad.” The upcoming PSG clash – “we love playing in matches like this. We’re not nervous.” And, of course, the topic of the week – the theoretical departure of Isco this summer. “I want him to stay here forever. I think he’s fantastic. Everything else said is a lie,” before Zidane noted with weariness that “one Friday you talk about Isco, then it’s Asensio, then it’s Isco…then Ceballos.”

Someone is feeling very Bill Murray in Groundhog Day.

Anyhow, Real Madrid have their final game on Saturday before facing PSG next week. And there’s a lot riding on it. Real Sociedad are coming to town and Madrid need to get the BBC working and the defense paying attention for 90 minutes.

That clash is live on beIN SPORTS at 2:35PM ET / 11:35AM PT on Saturday. But to get into the mood, tune into the Locker Room at 7:30PM ET / 4:30PM PT for a look at whether Eden Hazard would be an upgrade on Isco.

2) Juve look to make move on Napoli as marvelous Marseille look for 20-goal haul

The weekend is here!

And beIN SPORTS is off to a flier with a massive clash from Serie A pride of place on the network. Getting underway at 2:40PM ET / 11:40AM PT, it’s Fiorentina against Juventus.

Not only is the game one of the fiercest rivalries in Italy, but it is a crucial clash in terms of the title race. Should Juve win, then the Old Lady would move into first, with Napoli playing on Saturday. Juve should be feeling confident considering the reigning league champions have only conceded one goal in 15 and Gonzalo Higuain has rediscovered his mojo.

Over in the French league and second place Marseille are in action on beIN CONNECT 3 in an away clash against Saint Etienne. Need a good reason to watch? Marseille have scored 15 goals in their last two games. Yep, 15. Tune in at 2:30PM ET / 11:30AM PT to find out if Marseille can rack up some more.

La Liga has a recovering Athletic Bibao against a …also recovering Las Palmas although the Canary Islanders are still in big relegation trouble.

beIN SPORTS Español has that doozy at 3PM ET / 12PM PT. But you can catch all the goals on the XTRA at 7PM ET / 4PM PT – a special edition on Friday with Kevin Egan in place in Orlando to give you all the latest news and views ahead of Saturday’s US Soccer presidential elections, which sees Hope Solo battling to guide the US of A into the future.

3) Conte calls for calm as Mahrez comes in from the cold

A gaggle of Premier League managers have been chatting away today, including Antonio Conte who is fresh from a week of speculation that the Italian is either going to be sacked or walk away from Chelsea, after an average season so far.

Neither situations are real, says a defiant Conte ahead of Monday’s encounter against WBA. “My commitment and the commitment of my players is totally for this club,” announced Conte.

One of the Chelsea manager’s feuding partners, Jose Mourinho, has also been talking and the topic of King Zlatan’s possible move to LA Galaxy came up, although all the Portuguese would give away was that the Swede was back in training after injury, but not yet ready to play. United are away at Newcastle United on Sunday.

Normally, a Leicester City training session would not make the news, but it did on Friday with Riyad Mahrez returning to the club after over a week of sulking over a failed transfer move to Manchester City. The Algerian is not expected to feature in Saturday’s clash against the club he wanted to join.

4) There’s no business like snow business

The Winter Olympics are formally underway in Pyeongchang, South Korea!

And in fairly good news in regards to the end of the world, the North and South Korean teams marched into the stadium together at the opening ceremony – a stadium just 50 miles away from the demilitarized zone. Friday’s highlights have to be the wonderful sport of curling with both the US and Canada teams in action – do not listen to Ray Hudson’s views on this sport! It rocks. No pun intended.

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.