Could walking wounded stall Man City title push?
A huge game at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday as third-place Manchester City tackle table-topping Arsenal, with only one point and Liverpool dividing the two teams.
This will be the third of four matches in a row where City have faced top-six opposition after defeating local rivals Manchester United 3-1, drawing 1-1 with Liverpool, before the Arsenal clash and then Aston Villa four days later.
All Premier League managers head into an international break hoping their players emerge unscathed. “I will not watch the games,” said City coach Pep Guardiola beforehand. “I will rest and when they arrive [back] we will see which players survive and not survive.”
Sadly for the Spaniard, all did not go to plan. Kyle Walker, John Stones and Manuel Akanji all picked up injuries while away with their respective countries, leaving Guardiola with a potential defensive headache.
Goalkeeper Ederson, playmaker Kevin de Bruyne, who both missed City's FA Cup win over Newcastle, plus midfielders Jack Grealish and Matheus Nunes are also fitness concerns although all four – and Akanji – did train on Thursday.
Can Arsenal continue goal glut against champions?
If there is one game when City really need all their defensive hands on deck, it is taking on Mikel Arteta's free-scoring Arsenal.
In their eight league wins at the start of 2024, Arsenal have notched an impressive 33 goals – including six away to Sheffield United and West Ham United, five against Crystal Palace and Burnley, plus four versus Newcastle United.
But in their last victory – a narrow 2-1 win at home to struggling Brentford – the North London club showed they can dig in and scrap their way to victory when required.
“You have to win every game with the level of Manchester City and Liverpool,” said Arteta after the match. “There is no space for slip ups. We really had to respond to the challenge in the second half and show our maturity.
“Sometimes these games make you even stronger than winning four or 6-0,” added German forward Kai Havertz, who scored the late winner. “Everyone is in this together – the players, the staff and the fans.”
Will Spurs react to Fulham 'wake-up call'?
One of the surprise results during the last weekend of Premier League action before the break was Tottenham Hotspur's 3-0 capitulation at Fulham.
What made it all the more eyebrow-raising was the fact Ange Postecoglou's side had demolished top-four rivals Aston Villa 4-0 away from home the previous week.
“It is unacceptable, including me it was unacceptable,” said captain Son Heung-min at Craven Cottage. “Everybody has to look in the mirror and say 'it is my fault'.
“The performance, the attitude was not good enough. Everyone has to make a big wake-up call.”
There would have been some relief, though, that 24 hours after Spurs' loss against their London rivals, Villa could only draw at West Ham.
It means Tottenham go into Saturday's game at home to Luton Town one place and three points behind fourth-place Villa – who take on Wolves later that night – while the North London club also have a game in hand.
Will Newcastle's injury curse cost them Euro spot?
It pretty well sums up Newcastle's season that one of the players who has stepped into the fray during the club's relentless injury crisis could now miss the rest of the campaign himself.
Teenage midfielder Lewis Miley has become a key player for the Magpies this season – having started 14 of Newcastle's past 17 league games – but picked up a back injury while away with England Under-20s and is now expected to be out for around six weeks.
Newcastle are already without the services of midfielders Sandro Tonali, who is suspended until August, and Joelinton, unlikely to play again this season after undergoing thigh surgery in January. Defender Sven Botman has also just gone under the surgeon's knife after suffering a knee injury that will rule him out for up to nine months.
“You can handle one or two, but it has been three of four months for five, six, eight players. There has been no light at the end of the tunnel,” admitted manager Eddie Howe, who still has hopes of securing European football for next season, back in February.
Newcastle, currently 10th in the table, face seventh-placed West Ham at St James' Park on Saturday with the London club four points clear, albeit having played a game more.
When will Ferguson end his Brighton goal drought?
The woes of Brighton & Hove Albion striker Evan Ferguson continued while the teenager was away on international duty with the Republic of Ireland.
Ferguson missed a first-half penalty during his country's goalless friendly draw with Belgium meaning the 19-year-old has now gone 21 games without a goal for club or country, dating back to November.
“It’s one of those things,” said Ireland coach John O’Shea. “He’ll have another spell five, six years down the line of a couple of months without a goal. It happens with top strikers. As soon as he gets on the goal trail again, he’ll be back on a run again.”
It's all a far cry from the first half of a season that saw Ferguson score six goals – including a hat-trick against Newcastle – while also signing a new six-year contract with the Seagulls, acutely aware that rival Premier League big clubs were already circling their young striker.
But after February's draw with Everton, Brighton manager Roberto de Zerbi admitted: "[Ferguson] is not having the best period of his time but we can help him and we can understand him because he is very young. The team needs Evan but the true Evan, Evan at his 100 per cent of his physical condition and mental condition.”
If Ferguson is going to drag himself back on to the goals trail this weekend, he will have to do it the hard way: Brighton take on second-placed Liverpool at Anfield.
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
10 tips for entry-level job seekers
- Have an up-to-date, professional LinkedIn profile. If you don’t have a LinkedIn account, set one up today. Avoid poor-quality profile pictures with distracting backgrounds. Include a professional summary and begin to grow your network.
- Keep track of the job trends in your sector through the news. Apply for job alerts at your dream organisations and the types of jobs you want – LinkedIn uses AI to share similar relevant jobs based on your selections.
- Double check that you’ve highlighted relevant skills on your resume and LinkedIn profile.
- For most entry-level jobs, your resume will first be filtered by an applicant tracking system for keywords. Look closely at the description of the job you are applying for and mirror the language as much as possible (while being honest and accurate about your skills and experience).
- Keep your CV professional and in a simple format – make sure you tailor your cover letter and application to the company and role.
- Go online and look for details on job specifications for your target position. Make a list of skills required and set yourself some learning goals to tick off all the necessary skills one by one.
- Don’t be afraid to reach outside your immediate friends and family to other acquaintances and let them know you are looking for new opportunities.
- Make sure you’ve set your LinkedIn profile to signal that you are “open to opportunities”. Also be sure to use LinkedIn to search for people who are still actively hiring by searching for those that have the headline “I’m hiring” or “We’re hiring” in their profile.
- Prepare for online interviews using mock interview tools. Even before landing interviews, it can be useful to start practising.
- Be professional and patient. Always be professional with whoever you are interacting with throughout your search process, this will be remembered. You need to be patient, dedicated and not give up on your search. Candidates need to make sure they are following up appropriately for roles they have applied.
Arda Atalay, head of Mena private sector at LinkedIn Talent Solutions, Rudy Bier, managing partner of Kinetic Business Solutions and Ben Kinerman Daltrey, co-founder of KinFitz
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Mercer, the investment consulting arm of US services company Marsh & McLennan, expects its wealth division to at least double its assets under management (AUM) in the Middle East as wealth in the region continues to grow despite economic headwinds, a company official said.
Mercer Wealth, which globally has $160 billion in AUM, plans to boost its AUM in the region to $2-$3bn in the next 2-3 years from the present $1bn, said Yasir AbuShaban, a Dubai-based principal with Mercer Wealth.
“Within the next two to three years, we are looking at reaching $2 to $3 billion as a conservative estimate and we do see an opportunity to do so,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Mercer does not directly make investments, but allocates clients’ money they have discretion to, to professional asset managers. They also provide advice to clients.
“We have buying power. We can negotiate on their (client’s) behalf with asset managers to provide them lower fees than they otherwise would have to get on their own,” he added.
Mercer Wealth’s clients include sovereign wealth funds, family offices, and insurance companies among others.
From its office in Dubai, Mercer also looks after Africa, India and Turkey, where they also see opportunity for growth.
Wealth creation in Middle East and Africa (MEA) grew 8.5 per cent to $8.1 trillion last year from $7.5tn in 2015, higher than last year’s global average of 6 per cent and the second-highest growth in a region after Asia-Pacific which grew 9.9 per cent, according to consultancy Boston Consulting Group (BCG). In the region, where wealth grew just 1.9 per cent in 2015 compared with 2014, a pickup in oil prices has helped in wealth generation.
BCG is forecasting MEA wealth will rise to $12tn by 2021, growing at an annual average of 8 per cent.
Drivers of wealth generation in the region will be split evenly between new wealth creation and growth of performance of existing assets, according to BCG.
Another general trend in the region is clients’ looking for a comprehensive approach to investing, according to Mr AbuShaban.
“Institutional investors or some of the families are seeing a slowdown in the available capital they have to invest and in that sense they are looking at optimizing the way they manage their portfolios and making sure they are not investing haphazardly and different parts of their investment are working together,” said Mr AbuShaban.
Some clients also have a higher appetite for risk, given the low interest-rate environment that does not provide enough yield for some institutional investors. These clients are keen to invest in illiquid assets, such as private equity and infrastructure.
“What we have seen is a desire for higher returns in what has been a low-return environment specifically in various fixed income or bonds,” he said.
“In this environment, we have seen a de facto increase in the risk that clients are taking in things like illiquid investments, private equity investments, infrastructure and private debt, those kind of investments were higher illiquidity results in incrementally higher returns.”
The Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, one of the largest sovereign wealth funds, said in its 2016 report that has gradually increased its exposure in direct private equity and private credit transactions, mainly in Asian markets and especially in China and India. The authority’s private equity department focused on structured equities owing to “their defensive characteristics.”
THE BIO
Favourite holiday destination: Whenever I have any free time I always go back to see my family in Caltra, Galway, it’s the only place I can properly relax.
Favourite film: The Way, starring Martin Sheen. It’s about the Camino de Santiago walk from France to Spain.
Personal motto: If something’s meant for you it won’t pass you by.
