Friday: Leicester City v Nottingham Forest (11pm kick-off UAE)
Leicester – managed by former Forest manager Steve Cooper – are looking to make it three wins on the spin following victories over Bournemouth (1-0) and Southampton (3-2), with Jordan Ayew's stoppage-time goal sealing the points at St Mary's Stadium last weekend.
Forest continued their impressive start by beating Crystal Palace at the County Ground thanks to striker Chris Wood's fifth goal in eight games, a first win at home this season that lifted Nuno Espirito Santo's men up to eighth in the table.
Prediction: Leicester 1 Forest 1
Saturday: Aston Villa v Bournemouth (6pm)
Villa go into the game in buoyant mood having made it three successive Champions League wins after beating Bologna 2-0 under the Villa Park floodlights on Tuesday. Unai Emery's side are also going well in the league, sitting fourth in the table having lost just once all campaign.
Bournemouth enjoyed their best result of the season last Saturday when they defeated title-chasing Arsenal 2-0 at the Vitality Stadium with Ryan Christie and Justin Kluivert supplying the goals, lifting the Cherries up to 11th.
Prediction: Villa 2 Bournemouth 1
Brentford v Ipswich Town (6pm)
Brentford's 2-1 loss at Manchester United suggests it was a close-run match but the Bees were grateful to goalkeeper Mark Flekken for preventing the margin of defeat from being far greater. Thomas Frank's side have now won just once in five games – and that came against bottom club Wolves.
Ipswich's struggles continue as they fell to a disappointing 2-0 home defeat by Everton and, eight games into the new campaign, the newly promoted Tractor Boys are still waiting on their first top-flight victory since beating Middlesbrough in 2002. They are one point and one place outside the bottom three.
Prediction: Brentford 3 Ipswich 1
Brighton v Wolves (6pm)
Brighton are now up to fifth in the table after a narrow 1-0 win at Newcastle United, having lost just once this season – at Chelsea – and can make it three victories on the trot by beating struggling Wolves.
Wolves head to England's south coast having secured just a single point so far. They thought they had sealed a hard-fought draw against reigning champions Manchester City on Sunday only to concede a goal five minutes into stoppage time at Molineux.
Prediction: Brighton 2 Wolves 0
Manchester City v Southampton (6pm)
City needed a 95th-minute header from John Stones to finally overcome Wolves that keeps Pep Guardiola's side hot-on-the-heels of table-topping Liverpool. City remain the only top-flight unbeaten so far.
Southampton's miserable campaign continued last week when they threw away a two-goal lead in a 3-2 loss at home to Leicester and are level on one point with bottom club Wolves.
Prediction: Man City 4 Southampton 1
Everton v Fulham (8.30pm)
Everton made it four games unbeaten after winning 2-0 at Ipswich – with Iliman Ndiaye and Michael Keane providing the goals – which lifted them five points clear of the drop zone.
Fulham are looking to avoid a third defeat in succession, following losses against Manchester City and Aston Villa, and are in danger of dropping out of the top half of the table.
Prediction: Everton 1 Fulham 2
Sunday: Chelsea v Newcastle (5pm)
Chelsea's Liverpool hoodoo continued on Sunday when they lost 2-1 at Anfield, meaning they have now gone 10 matches without a win against the Merseysiders. But it was only the Blues' second defeat of the season and they remain in the top six.
Newcastle's defeat against Brighton was their first at St James' Park since January and saw them dropp down to ninth in the table after four games without a win. The Magpies have not won at Stamford Bridge in the league since 2012.
Prediction: Chelsea 3 Newcastle 2
Crystal Palace v Tottenham Hotspur (5pm)
Palace's 1-0 loss at Nottingham Forest on Monday means that they are third bottom of the table on three points, on their longest winless start to a season in 31 years and are the lowest scorers in the division with just five goals.
Spurs recovered from squandering a two-goal lead in their defeat against Brighton the previous week by slapping four goals past London rivals West Ham with Dejan Kulusevski and captain Son Heung-min among the goals.
Prediction: Palace 0 Spurs 2
West Ham v Manchester United (5pm)
West Ham collapsed to a 4-1 defeat against Spurs despite taking an 18th-minute lead through Mohammed Kudus, with the Ghanaian then earning himself a likely three-match ban following a straight red card for violent conduct in the 86th minute.
Manchester United came back from a goal down to beat Brentford at Old Trafford as Alejandro Garnacho ended the home side’s 316-minute Premier League goal drought before Rasmus Hojlund earned the Red Devils a much-needed three points.
Prediction: West Ham 0 Man United 1
Arsenal v Liverpool (7.30pm)
Arsenal's unbeaten start to the league season was brought to an end when they lost at Bournemouth after William Saliba became the third Gunners player to receive a red card this season, following Leandro Trossard's sending off against Manchester City and Declan Rice's at Brighton.
Liverpool manager Arne Slot made it 10 league wins out of his first 11 games in charge with a home victory over Chelsea with Curtis Jones proving the match-winner at Anfield.
Prediction: Arsenal 1 Liverpool 2
RESULT
Huddersfield Town 1 Manchester City 2
Huddersfield: Otamendi (45' 1 og), van La Parra (red card 90' 6)
Man City: Agüero (47' pen), Sterling (84')
Man of the match: Christopher Schindler (Huddersfield Town)
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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Racecard
6.35pm: The Madjani Stakes – Group 2 (PA) Dh97,500 (Dirt) 1,900m
7.10pm: Evidenza – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,200m
7.45pm: The Longines Conquest – Maiden (TB) Dh82,500 (D) 2,000m
8.20: The Longines Elegant – Conditions (TB) Dh82,500 (D)
8.35pm: The Dubai Creek Mile – Listed (TB) Dh132,500 (D) 1,600m
9.30pm: Mirdif Stakes – Conditions (TB) Dh120,000 (D) 1,400m
10.05pm: The Longines Record – Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,900m
The Rub of Time: Bellow, Nabokov, Hitchens, Travolta, Trump and Other Pieces 1986-2016
Martin Amis,
Jonathan Cape
Profile of Hala Insurance
Date Started: September 2018
Founders: Walid and Karim Dib
Based: Abu Dhabi
Employees: Nine
Amount raised: $1.2 million
Funders: Oman Technology Fund, AB Accelerator, 500 Startups, private backers
Company%C2%A0profile
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Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
Profile of Udrive
Date started: March 2016
Founder: Hasib Khan
Based: Dubai
Employees: 40
Amount raised (to date): $3.25m – $750,000 seed funding in 2017 and a Seed round of $2.5m last year. Raised $1.3m from Eureeca investors in January 2021 as part of a Series A round with a $5m target.
School counsellors on mental well-being
Schools counsellors in Abu Dhabi have put a number of provisions in place to help support pupils returning to the classroom next week.
Many children will resume in-person lessons for the first time in 10 months and parents previously raised concerns about the long-term effects of distance learning.
Schools leaders and counsellors said extra support will be offered to anyone that needs it. Additionally, heads of years will be on hand to offer advice or coping mechanisms to ease any concerns.
“Anxiety this time round has really spiralled, more so than from the first lockdown at the beginning of the pandemic,” said Priya Mitchell, counsellor at The British School Al Khubairat in Abu Dhabi.
“Some have got used to being at home don’t want to go back, while others are desperate to get back.
“We have seen an increase in depressive symptoms, especially with older pupils, and self-harm is starting younger.
“It is worrying and has taught us how important it is that we prioritise mental well-being.”
Ms Mitchell said she was liaising more with heads of year so they can support and offer advice to pupils if the demand is there.
The school will also carry out mental well-being checks so they can pick up on any behavioural patterns and put interventions in place to help pupils.
At Raha International School, the well-being team has provided parents with assessment surveys to see how they can support students at home to transition back to school.
“They have created a Well-being Resource Bank that parents have access to on information on various domains of mental health for students and families,” a team member said.
“Our pastoral team have been working with students to help ease the transition and reduce anxiety that [pupils] may experience after some have been nearly a year off campus.
"Special secondary tutorial classes have also focused on preparing students for their return; going over new guidelines, expectations and daily schedules.”
Herc's Adventures
Developer: Big Ape Productions
Publisher: LucasArts
Console: PlayStation 1 & 5, Sega Saturn
Rating: 4/5
Who's who in Yemen conflict
Houthis: Iran-backed rebels who occupy Sanaa and run unrecognised government
Yemeni government: Exiled government in Aden led by eight-member Presidential Leadership Council
Southern Transitional Council: Faction in Yemeni government that seeks autonomy for the south
Habrish 'rebels': Tribal-backed forces feuding with STC over control of oil in government territory
Islamophobia definition
A widely accepted definition was made by the All Party Parliamentary Group on British Muslims in 2019: “Islamophobia is rooted in racism and is a type of racism that targets expressions of Muslimness or perceived Muslimness.” It further defines it as “inciting hatred or violence against Muslims”.
Specs
Engine: Dual-motor all-wheel-drive electric
Range: Up to 610km
Power: 905hp
Torque: 985Nm
Price: From Dh439,000
Available: Now
West Indies v England ODI series:
West Indies squad: Jason Holder (c), Fabian Allen, Devendra Bishoo, Darren Bravo, Chris Gayle, Shimron Hetmyer, Shai Hope, Evin Lewis, Ashley Nurse, Keemo Paul, Nicholas Pooran, Rovman Powell, Kemar Roach, Oshane Thomas.
Fixtures:
1st ODI - February 20, Bridgetown
2nd ODI - February 22, Bridgetown
3rd ODI - February 25, St George's
4th ODI - February 27, St George's
5th ODI - March 2, Gros Islet
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
ELIO
Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett
Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina
Rating: 4/5
Pad Man
Dir: R Balki
Starring: Akshay Kumar, Sonam Kapoor, Radhika Apte
Three-and-a-half stars
'Nope'
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A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
Tailors and retailers miss out on back-to-school rush
Tailors and retailers across the city said it was an ominous start to what is usually a busy season for sales.
With many parents opting to continue home learning for their children, the usual rush to buy school uniforms was muted this year.
“So far we have taken about 70 to 80 orders for items like shirts and trousers,” said Vikram Attrai, manager at Stallion Bespoke Tailors in Dubai.
“Last year in the same period we had about 200 orders and lots of demand.
“We custom fit uniform pieces and use materials such as cotton, wool and cashmere.
“Depending on size, a white shirt with logo is priced at about Dh100 to Dh150 and shorts, trousers, skirts and dresses cost between Dh150 to Dh250 a piece.”
A spokesman for Threads, a uniform shop based in Times Square Centre Dubai, said customer footfall had slowed down dramatically over the past few months.
“Now parents have the option to keep children doing online learning they don’t need uniforms so it has quietened down.”
Classification of skills
A worker is categorised as skilled by the MOHRE based on nine levels given in the International Standard Classification of Occupations (ISCO) issued by the International Labour Organisation.
A skilled worker would be someone at a professional level (levels 1 – 5) which includes managers, professionals, technicians and associate professionals, clerical support workers, and service and sales workers.
The worker must also have an attested educational certificate higher than secondary or an equivalent certification, and earn a monthly salary of at least Dh4,000.
AUSTRALIA SQUADS
ODI squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Josh Hazlewood, Marnus Labuschagne, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
Twenty20 squad: Aaron Finch (captain), Sean Abbott, Ashton Agar, Alex Carey, Pat Cummins, Mitchell Marsh, Glenn Maxwell, Jhye Richardson, Kane Richardson, Steve Smith, Mitchell Starc, Matthew Wade, David Warner, Adam Zampa
