London // Champions Chelsea will aim to continue their laborious climb up the Premier League table with a victory at home to Newcastle United on Saturday.
Guus Hiddink’s side are unbeaten in nine league games, but six of those have been draws. They come into the weekend in 13th place and cannot move into the top 10 until the following week at the earliest.
Stamford Bridge continues to be the home of entertaining speculation, however, with the club still searching for a permanent successor to Jose Mourinho and captain John Terry on course to leave at the end of the season.
Read more: Chelsea's John Terry sought by clubs from Qatar, says Gianfranco Zola
One man who does appear to have a long-term future at the club is Oscar, despite the Brazil playmaker having reportedly been the subject of a mega-money bid from Chinese Super League club Jiangsu Suning.
“I want to stay here for a long time,” Oscar told Chelsea TV. “I want to win more games, more trophies, because I love Chelsea, I love the fans. I like the city, my family like it here.
“I don’t have a reason to change the club. Everyone likes me here and I’m very happy here.”
But Oscar, who is under contract until June 2019, was at a loss to explain Chelsea’s dramatic fall from grace.
“It’s just the results,” he told Sport magazine. “We started off not doing well this season. Last year we would play well and win, this year we were playing well and not winning. The results are everything.
“It’s better now because we’ve started to win games again. We went back to playing well again. But when we lose, the mood is bad. When we win, the mood is good. It’s the same anywhere.
“We are doing everything we can to win games and get back to the old Chelsea that won last season.”
Defender Kurt Zouma’s season is over after he suffered a serious knee injury in Sunday’s 1-1 draw at home to Manchester United, in which striker Diego Costa netted a stoppage-time equaliser.
England’s Gary Cahill will replace the Frenchman in central defence alongside Terry.
Newcastle’s only aim is to avoid relegation and Jamaal Lascelles feels the arrivals of Jonjo Shelvey and Andros Townsend in the January transfer window can help them address their woeful away record.
Steve McClaren’s side have lost 14 of their last 18 games on the road and start as big outsiders at Stamford Bridge, where they have won just once in 21 Premier League visits.
Both Shelvey and Townsend, signed for a combined £24 million ($34.7 million, 30.6 million euros) from Swansea City and Tottenham Hotspur respectively, played central roles in the 1-0 victory over West Bromwich Albion that lifted the Tyneside club out of the bottom three by a point.
Lascelles, who is available after suspension, is confident the England internationals will help the team pursue an upturn in results in the final third of the season.
“All the January arrivals have given everyone a lift,” said the 22-year-old defender.
“In Andros and Jonjo, we’ve brought in two big characters, which I think we needed because we’ve lacked a bit of leadership and determination on the pitch recently.
“They’ve lifted us and hopefully we can go to Chelsea and get three points.”
McClaren hopes to welcome back midfielder Jack Colback and defender Paul Dummett from injury, while right-back Daryl Janmaat faces a fitness test on a thigh muscle problem.
Dutch goalkeeper Tim Krul, French winger Gabriel Obertan, Senegal forward Papiss Cisse and defensive pair Chancel Mbemba and Massadio Haidara remain sidelined with longer-term injuries.
English Premier League fixtures (in UAE time)
Saturday
Sunderland v Manchester United, 4.45pm
Bournemouth v Stoke, 7pm
Crystal Palace v Watford, 7pm
Everton v West Brom, 7pm
Norwich v West Ham, 7pm
Swansea v Southampton, 7pm
Chelsea v Newcastle, 9.30pm
Sunday
Arsenal v Leiceste, 4pm
Aston Villa v Liverpool, 6.05pm
Manchester City v Tottenham, 8.15pm
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China’s investment in the MIddle East in 2016 was... $29.5bn
The world’s most valuable start-up in 2018, TikTok, is valued at... $75bn
Boost to the UAE economy of 5G connectivity will be... $269bn
MATCH INFO
Rugby World Cup (all times UAE)
Final: England v South Africa, Saturday, 1pm
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Name: Salvador Toriano Jr
Age: 59
From: Laguna, The Philippines
Favourite dish: Seabass or Fish and Chips
Hobbies: When he’s not in the restaurant, he still likes to cook, along with walking and meeting up with friends.
The specs
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Power: 299hp at 5,500rpm
Torque: 420Nm at 2,750rpm
Transmission: 10-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 12.4L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh157,395 (XLS); Dh199,395 (Limited)
DUBAI BLING: EPISODE 1
Creator: Netflix
Stars: Kris Fade, Ebraheem Al Samadi, Zeina Khoury
Rating: 2/5
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Produced: Vidhu Vinod Chopra, Rajkumar Hirani
Director: Rajkumar Hirani
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Sweet Tooth
Creator: Jim Mickle
Starring: Christian Convery, Nonso Anozie, Adeel Akhtar, Stefania LaVie Owen
Rating: 2.5/5
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Jaguar F-Pace SVR
Engine: 5-litre supercharged V8
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 542bhp
Torque: 680Nm
Price: Dh465,071
Wenger's Arsenal reign in numbers
1,228 - games at the helm, ahead of Sunday's Premier League fixture against West Ham United.
704 - wins to date as Arsenal manager.
3 - Premier League title wins, the last during an unbeaten Invincibles campaign of 2003/04.
1,549 - goals scored in Premier League matches by Wenger's teams.
10 - major trophies won.
473 - Premier League victories.
7 - FA Cup triumphs, with three of those having come the last four seasons.
151 - Premier League losses.
21 - full seasons in charge.
49 - games unbeaten in the Premier League from May 2003 to October 2004.
COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Sav
Started: 2021
Founder: Purvi Munot
Based: Dubai
Industry: FinTech
Funding: $750,000 as of March 2023
Investors: Angel investors
Specs: 2024 McLaren Artura Spider
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo V6 and electric motor
Max power: 700hp at 7,500rpm
Max torque: 720Nm at 2,250rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
0-100km/h: 3.0sec
Top speed: 330kph
Price: From Dh1.14 million ($311,000)
On sale: Now
PROFILE OF INVYGO
Started: 2018
Founders: Eslam Hussein and Pulkit Ganjoo
Based: Dubai
Sector: Transport
Size: 9 employees
Investment: $1,275,000
Investors: Class 5 Global, Equitrust, Gulf Islamic Investments, Kairos K50 and William Zeqiri
The pillars of the Dubai Metaverse Strategy
Encourage innovation in the metaverse field and boost economic contribution
Develop outstanding talents through education and training
Develop applications and the way they are used in Dubai's government institutions
Adopt, expand and promote secure platforms globally
Develop the infrastructure and regulations
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Set-jetting on the Emerald Isle
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COMPANY PROFILE
Company name: Klipit
Started: 2022
Founders: Venkat Reddy, Mohammed Al Bulooki, Bilal Merchant, Asif Ahmed, Ovais Merchant
Based: Dubai, UAE
Industry: Digital receipts, finance, blockchain
Funding: $4 million
Investors: Privately/self-funded
UK - UAE Trade
Total trade in goods and services (exports plus imports) between the UK and the UAE in 2022 was £21.6 billion (Dh98 billion).
This is an increase of 63.0 per cent or £8.3 billion in current prices from the four quarters to the end of 2021.
The UAE was the UK’s 19th largest trading partner in the four quarters to the end of Q4 2022 accounting for 1.3 per cent of total UK trade.
The specs: 2018 Alfa Romeo Stelvio
Price, base: Dh198,300
Engine: 2.0L in-line four-cylinder
Transmission: Eight-speed automatic
Power: 280hp @ 5,250rpm
Torque: 400Nm @ 2,250rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 7L / 100km
Our legal consultant
Name: Dr Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Company Profile
Name: Direct Debit System
Started: Sept 2017
Based: UAE with a subsidiary in the UK
Industry: FinTech
Funding: Undisclosed
Investors: Elaine Jones
Number of employees: 8
The five pillars of Islam
The Birkin bag is made by Hermès.
It is named after actress and singer Jane Birkin
Noone from Hermès will go on record to say how much a new Birkin costs, how long one would have to wait to get one, and how many bags are actually made each year.
Teaching your child to save
Pre-school (three - five years)
You can’t yet talk about investing or borrowing, but introduce a “classic” money bank and start putting gifts and allowances away. When the child wants a specific toy, have them save for it and help them track their progress.
Early childhood (six - eight years)
Replace the money bank with three jars labelled ‘saving’, ‘spending’ and ‘sharing’. Have the child divide their allowance into the three jars each week and explain their choices in splitting their pocket money. A guide could be 25 per cent saving, 50 per cent spending, 25 per cent for charity and gift-giving.
Middle childhood (nine - 11 years)
Open a bank savings account and help your child establish a budget and set a savings goal. Introduce the notion of ‘paying yourself first’ by putting away savings as soon as your allowance is paid.
Young teens (12 - 14 years)
Change your child’s allowance from weekly to monthly and help them pinpoint long-range goals such as a trip, so they can start longer-term saving and find new ways to increase their saving.
Teenage (15 - 18 years)
Discuss mutual expectations about university costs and identify what they can help fund and set goals. Don’t pay for everything, so they can experience the pride of contributing.
Young adulthood (19 - 22 years)
Discuss post-graduation plans and future life goals, quantify expenses such as first apartment, work wardrobe, holidays and help them continue to save towards these goals.
* JP Morgan Private Bank
