Barcelona welcome Sevilla to Camp Nou on Sunday night with coach Xavi hoping his side can extend their "extraordinary" form of the first half of the season into the second.
The Catalans lead reigning champions Real Madrid by five points La Liga having reached the milestone of 50 points at the halfway stage of the season.
Only two sides have reached 100 points in the Spanish league's history, Real Madrid in the 2011/12 season and Barcelona the following year.
It is the fifth time Barcelona have earned that many points at this point of a campaign and four times they went on to lift the title.
"I don't like drawing conclusions halfway through the season, everything can still be turned on its head," Xavi said after an impressive midweek win at Real Betis.
"We have to match this first half. We are on a good path, but there are 19 more games to go — the numbers [so far] are extraordinary."
Barca's impressive first half of the campaign has been built on a watertight defence, conceding just seven goals all season in the top flight, with new arrivals Jules Kounde and Andreas Christensen key.
Goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen has returned to his best form too, making the Catalans Europe's meanest defence across the top five leagues.
By contrast opponents Sevilla are having their worst season for some time, although the roots of revival under Jorge Sampaoli are finally growing.
The Andalusians, 13th, have won three of their past four league games, after only two victories in their first 15.
Without injured winger Ousmane Dembele, Barca still earned a 2-1 win at Real Betis to hit 50 points.
Dembele's replacement, Raphinha, netted the opening goal, after a clever quickly-taken free-kick by Frenkie de Jong.
Xavi said the goal demonstrated his team was mentally ready to succeed this season.
"It's about attitude, competitiveness, desire, faith, our hopes are huge," added the coach.
"We have confidence and the morale to achieve success."
The Blaugrana are boosted by Robert Lewandowski's return from suspension, with the Polish forward scoring his 14th league goal of the season against Betis.
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The view from The National
What is blockchain?
Blockchain is a form of distributed ledger technology, a digital system in which data is recorded across multiple places at the same time. Unlike traditional databases, DLTs have no central administrator or centralised data storage. They are transparent because the data is visible and, because they are automatically replicated and impossible to be tampered with, they are secure.
The main difference between blockchain and other forms of DLT is the way data is stored as ‘blocks’ – new transactions are added to the existing ‘chain’ of past transactions, hence the name ‘blockchain’. It is impossible to delete or modify information on the chain due to the replication of blocks across various locations.
Blockchain is mostly associated with cryptocurrency Bitcoin. Due to the inability to tamper with transactions, advocates say this makes the currency more secure and safer than traditional systems. It is maintained by a network of people referred to as ‘miners’, who receive rewards for solving complex mathematical equations that enable transactions to go through.
However, one of the major problems that has come to light has been the presence of illicit material buried in the Bitcoin blockchain, linking it to the dark web.
Other blockchain platforms can offer things like smart contracts, which are automatically implemented when specific conditions from all interested parties are reached, cutting the time involved and the risk of mistakes. Another use could be storing medical records, as patients can be confident their information cannot be changed. The technology can also be used in supply chains, voting and has the potential to used for storing property records.
Essentials
The flights
Return flights from Dubai to Windhoek, with a combination of Emirates and Air Namibia, cost from US$790 (Dh2,902) via Johannesburg.
The trip
A 10-day self-drive in Namibia staying at a combination of the safari camps mentioned – Okonjima AfriCat, Little Kulala, Desert Rhino/Damaraland, Ongava – costs from $7,000 (Dh25,711) per person, including car hire (Toyota 4x4 or similar), but excluding international flights, with The Luxury Safari Company.
When to go
The cooler winter months, from June to September, are best, especially for game viewing.
Nayanthara: Beyond The Fairy Tale
Starring: Nayanthara, Vignesh Shivan, Radhika Sarathkumar, Nagarjuna Akkineni
Director: Amith Krishnan
Rating: 3.5/5
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Name: Thndr
Started: 2019
Co-founders: Ahmad Hammouda and Seif Amr
Sector: FinTech
Headquarters: Egypt
UAE base: Hub71, Abu Dhabi
Current number of staff: More than 150
Funds raised: $22 million
Black Panther
Dir: Ryan Coogler
Starring: Chadwick Boseman, Michael B Jordan, Lupita Nyong'o
Five stars
Countries recognising Palestine
France, UK, Canada, Australia, Portugal, Belgium, Malta, Luxembourg, San Marino and Andorra
Pakistan T20 series squad
Sarfraz Ahmed (captain), Fakhar Zaman, Ahmed Shahzad, Babar Azam, Shoaib Malik, Mohammed Hafeez, Imad Wasim, Shadab Khan, Mohammed Nawaz, Faheem Ashraf, Hasan Ali, Amir Yamin, Mohammed Amir (subject to fitness clearance), Rumman Raees, Usman Shinwari, Umar Amin
Batti Gul Meter Chalu
Producers: KRTI Productions, T-Series
Director: Sree Narayan Singh
Cast: Shahid Kapoor, Shraddha Kapoor, Divyenndu Sharma, Yami Gautam
Rating: 2/5
The specs
Engine: 1.6-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 217hp at 5,750rpm
Torque: 300Nm at 1,900rpm
Transmission: eight-speed auto
Price: from Dh130,000
On sale: now
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Founders: Michele Ferrario, Nino Ulsamer and Freddy Lim
Started: established in 2016 and launched in July 2017
Based: Singapore, with offices in the UAE, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
Sector: FinTech, wealth management
Initial investment: $500,000 in seed round 1 in 2016; $2.2m in seed round 2 in 2017; $5m in series A round in 2018; $12m in series B round in 2019; $16m in series C round in 2020 and $25m in series D round in 2021
Current staff: more than 160 employees
Stage: series D
Investors: EightRoads Ventures, Square Peg Capital, Sequoia Capital India
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