LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
Week by week, Spain moves towards its new normal. Barcelona and Madrid, its two biggest cities, entered phase two in the easing of their hard lockdowns this week.
While residents still can’t travel outside their cities and schools remain closed, they can eat at restaurants if they sit outside.
A further step begins this week with the resumption of the top two tiers of Spanish football. With 11 league games to play in five weeks, Barcelona lead Real Madrid by two points.
Neither have been at their best. Sevilla are nine points behind in third, with a young and thrilling Real Sociedad and hard-working Getafe a further point behind in the race for the top four. Cup finalists La Real were the in-form team before the break, thanks in no small part to Norwegian Martin Odegaard, 21, on loan from Real Madrid.
Atletico Madrid, the team who eliminated holders Liverpool from the Champions League, find themselves in sixth, but only two points behind Sevilla. Valencia are seventh, three points behind Atletico.
The champions will almost certainly come from the biggest two, with Barca chasing a ninth title in 12 years, Madrid a first since 2017 – the only league title they have won in the last seven.
Barca's first game is at promoted Mallorca on Saturday. Madrid, who will play home games at the 6,000 capacity Alfredo di Stefano Stadium normally used by their reserve team because the Bernabeu is being extensively redeveloped, have every player available aside from Luka Jovic who is recovering from a broken foot.
Zinedine Zidane has to decide who he will play up front with Karim Benzema and Eden Hazard, the latter now back from injury after a frustrating first season in Spain.
Gareth Bale or Marco Asesnio will join them. James Rodriguez, 28, is almost certain to leave at the end of the season. The Colombian has suffered injuries this season but he’s been available to play since January and hasn't played a single minute in La Liga, failing to even make the squad for the huge games against Barca or Manchester City.
Madrid's 2-0 win against Barca on March 1 put them top of the table, but they lost league games either side of el clasico to Levante and Betis. With only 19 goals conceded in 27 league games compared to Barca's 31, Madrid have the league's best defence and Thibaut Courtois is favourite to win the Zamora award for best goalkeeper.
Madrid will host 16th-place Eibar, the league’s smallest club, on Sunday before another game at home to Valencia next Thursday and then visit Real Sociedad for a crucial match. Aside from that, they have an easier run in than Barcelona and play five of the bottom seven teams.
There will be games almost every day in Spain until July 19 and several clubs are unhappy they are being asked to play four games in the first 10 days of football since its return.
We know when the next four games will be, with weather forecasts taken into account when deciding kick-off times to prevent them being playing in the mid afternoon heat. Temperatures have been cooler than usual this week in Spain though it’s still hot in Seville, the hottest major city in Europe. Seville will host the first game, Thursday’s derby between Sevilla, managed by former Spain boss Julen Lopetegui, and 12th place Betis.
At Barcelona, Lionel Messi has trained separately from his teammates as he recovers from a knock, but should be fine for the Catalans’ opening game on Saturday.
The Argentine turns 33 this month and has been La Liga’s best player and the top scorer. With a small squad, Barca can at least enjoy all their players being fit and Messi, Luis Suarez and Antoine Griezmann being able to play together up front.
Messi did not activate his clause to leave the club this summer, though tension remains between the club and players, with several departures at director level amid accusations of undermining players and overspending. Barca’s players agreed to a pay cut, but not before criticising club president Josep Maria Bartomeu.
Barcelona are beset by financial problems and need to sell. They will try to bring funds in for Junior Firpo, Philippe Coutinho and maybe Ousmane Dembele and Ivan Rakitic.
Quique Setien’s side then travel to Sevilla, Celta Vigo and Villarreal in a challenging run in, while entertaining Atletico Madrid, Athletic Bilbao and their bottom-of-the-league neighbours Espanyol.
The second club of Barcelona are six points from safety and facing their first relegation since 1994. Espanyol finished seventh last season and qualified for Europe this season – before losing their coach and best player.
Remarkably, Espanyol’s home attendances have increased to over 22,000 pre-shutdown, making them the ninth best-supported team in the league. No team has beaten them by more than a single goal this year, but it will be hard to stay up, especially without their vocal fans.
The Spanish government has so far said that fans are not yet allowed back into stadiums, but the situation could change even before the end of the season, with some fans being allowed to attend.
The league are looking at a virtual public for the benefit of television viewers who will be able to see virtual crowds. La Liga was ahead of the rest in pitchside advertising which could be changed for the benefit of whichever market was watching the game.
And with La Liga being the second major league to return, millions will be eagerly awaiting the restart and watching around the world.
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The long read: how player power and politics made for a perfect storm at Barcelona
Origin
Dan Brown
Doubleday
FIXTURES (all times UAE)
Sunday
Brescia v Lazio (3.30pm)
SPAL v Verona (6pm)
Genoa v Sassuolo (9pm)
AS Roma v Torino (11.45pm)
Monday
Bologna v Fiorentina (3.30pm)
AC Milan v Sampdoria (6pm)
Juventus v Cagliari (6pm)
Atalanta v Parma (6pm)
Lecce v Udinese (9pm)
Napoli v Inter Milan (11.45pm)
Directed by Sam Mendes
Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Daniel Mays
4.5/5
Results
5pm: Warsan Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m; Winner: Dhaw Al Reef, Sam Hitchcott (jockey), Abdallah Al Hammadi (trainer)
5.30pm: Al Quadra Lake – Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Mrouwah Al Gharbia, Sando Paiva, Abubakar Daud
6pm: Hatta Lake – Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: AF Yatroq, George Buckell, Ernst Oertel
6.30pm: Wathba Stallions Cup – Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Ashton Tourettes, Adries de Vries, Ibrahim Aseel
7pm: Abu Dhabi Championship – Listed (PA) Dh180,000 (T) 1,600m; Winner: Bahar Muscat, Antonio Fresu, Ibrahim Al Hadhrami
7.30pm: Zakher Lake – Rated Conditions (TB) Dh80,000 (T) 1,400m; Winner: Alfareeq, Dane O’Neill, Musabah Al Muhairi.
Prop idols
Girls full-contact rugby may be in its infancy in the Middle East, but there are already a number of role models for players to look up to.
Sophie Shams (Dubai Exiles mini, England sevens international)
An Emirati student who is blazing a trail in rugby. She first learnt the game at Dubai Exiles and captained her JESS Primary school team. After going to study geophysics at university in the UK, she scored a sensational try in a cup final at Twickenham. She has played for England sevens, and is now contracted to top Premiership club Saracens.
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Seren Gough-Walters (Sharjah Wanderers mini, Wales rugby league international)
Few players anywhere will have taken a more circuitous route to playing rugby on Sky Sports. Gough-Walters was born in Al Wasl Hospital in Dubai, raised in Sharjah, did not take up rugby seriously till she was 15, has a master’s in global governance and ethics, and once worked as an immigration officer at the British Embassy in Abu Dhabi. In the summer of 2021 she played for Wales against England in rugby league, in a match that was broadcast live on TV.
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Erin King (Dubai Hurricanes mini, Ireland sevens international)
Aged five, Australia-born King went to Dubai Hurricanes training at The Sevens with her brothers. She immediately struck up a deep affection for rugby. She returned to the city at the end of last year to play at the Dubai Rugby Sevens in the colours of Ireland in the Women’s World Series tournament on Pitch 1.
SPECS
Toyota land Cruiser 2020 5.7L VXR
Engine: 5.7-litre V8
Transmission: eight-speed automatic
Power: 362hp
Torque: 530Nm
Price: Dh329,000 (base model 4.0L EXR Dh215,900)
The Little Things
Directed by: John Lee Hancock
Starring: Denzel Washington, Rami Malek, Jared Leto
Four stars
Results
Catchweight 60kg: Mohammed Al Katheeri (UAE) beat Mostafa El Hamy (EGY) TKO round 3
Light Heavyweight: Ibrahim El Sawi (EGY) no contest Kevin Oumar (COM) Unintentional knee by Oumer
Catchweight 73kg: Yazid Chouchane (ALG) beat Ahmad Al Boussairy (KUW) Unanimous decision
Featherweight: Faris Khaleel Asha (JOR) beat Yousef Al Housani (UAE) TKO in round 2 through foot injury
Welterweight: Omar Hussein (JOR) beat Yassin Najid (MAR); Split decision
Middleweight: Yousri Belgaroui (TUN) beat Sallah Eddine Dekhissi (MAR); Round-1 TKO
Lightweight: Abdullah Mohammed Ali Musalim (UAE) beat Medhat Hussein (EGY); Triangle choke submission
Welterweight: Abdulla Al Bousheiri (KUW) beat Sofiane Oudina (ALG); Triangle choke Round-1
Lightweight: Mohammad Yahya (UAE) beat Saleem Al Bakri (JOR); Unanimous decision
Bantamweight: Ali Taleb (IRQ) beat Nawras Abzakh (JOR); TKO round-2
Catchweight 63kg: Rany Saadeh (PAL) beat Abdel Ali Hariri (MAR); Unanimous decision
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.
Poacher
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LA LIGA FIXTURES
Thursday (All UAE kick-off times)
Sevilla v Real Betis (midnight)
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
Valencia v Levante (midnight)
Saturday
Espanyol v Alaves (4pm)
Celta Vigo v Villarreal (7pm)
Leganes v Real Valladolid (9.30pm)
Mallorca v Barcelona (midnight)
Sunday
Atletic Bilbao v Atletico Madrid (4pm)
Real Madrid v Eibar (9.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Osasuna (midnight)
