Unbeaten runaway leaders Paris Saint-Germain return to Ligue 1 duty against struggling Reims on Saturday, four days after earning a narrow first-leg advantage over Chelsea in the Champions League last 16.
Edinson Cavani made an immediate impact as a substitute on Tuesday by netting a 78th-minute winner at the Parc des Princes after John Obi Mikel had cancelled out Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s deflected free-kick to hand Laurent Blanc’s side a 2-1 edge.
The Uruguayan has started just twice in the league in 2016 after losing his place as a regular starter, but Cavani could well return to the line-up with Blanc preparing to rotate his side this weekend.
Reims are one of the few teams to frustrate PSG this season, with the capital club needing another late goal from Cavani to rescue a point in a 1-1 draw back in September.
“Even if it’s PSG, a big European team, we’re not going there as victims. We always want to show what we’re capable of doing against the big teams,” said Reims defender Abdelhamid El Kaoutari.
“I think it will depend on what Paris have to offer. If it’s the PSG from Tuesday, there are few teams who can stand up to them,” added Reims coach Olivier Guegan, whose side enter the weekend two points above the drop zone.
Paris on the other hand are unbeaten in 35 league games and cruising towards a fourth straight French title, with a mammoth 24-point gap separating themselves and nearest challengers AS Monaco, who are at home to bottom side Troyes this weekend.
Read more: Diego Forlan on how total domination, whether of the PSG or Bayern Munich variety, is bad for football
Also see: Are Paris Saint-Germain actually impressing with their domestic domination? – The National's European Top 20 Power Table
Lyon were in crisis mode less than a month ago, but three convincing wins in a row have propelled Bruno Genesio's side right back into contention for a top-three finish.
They travel to Lille on Sunday with the visitors trailing third-place Nice and bitter rivals Saint-Etienne by just a point in the race for France’s final Champions League berth.
“It’s the start of a run we have to continue with a couple of difficult matches coming up. We have to keep on working with the same spirit,” said Genesio in the wake of last weekend’s 4-1 demolition of Caen.
Lyon will be without influential midfielder Corentin Tolisso for several weeks after he hurt his hamstring in training, but there was a welcome sight as Nabil Fekir, out since September with a knee injury, stepped up his road to recovery in midweek.
Saint-Etienne secured a 3-2 victory at home to FC Basel in the last 32 of the Europa League on Thursday having thrown away a two-goal lead, with Christophe Galtier's men facing a quick turnaround as they head to Marseille this weekend.
Early-season surprise packages Angers and Caen will bid to turn around their fading fortunes at home to Montpellier and Rennes respectively, with both sides losers of their last three matches.
Toulouse, currently eight points from safety, can ill-afford another defeat as they risk being cut further adrift when they take on 18th-placed Gazelec Ajaccio.
Meanwhile, Bastia’s match at home to in-form Nantes, planned for Saturday, has been postponed following violent clashes between fans and police in Corsica.
Fixtures (UAE times)
Friday
Bordeaux v Nice (11.30pm)
Saturday
Paris Saint-Germain v Reims (8pm), Monaco v Troyes (11pm), Lorient v Guingamp (11pm), Angers v Montpellier (11pm), Toulouse v Gazelec Ajaccio (11pm)
Sunday
Marseille v Saint-Etienne (5pm), Caen v Rennes (8pm), Lille v Lyon (Midnight)
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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.”
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
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Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
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if you go
The flights
Etihad and Emirates fly direct from the UAE to Seoul from Dh3,775 return, including taxes
The package
Ski Safari offers a seven-night ski package to Korea, including five nights at the Dragon Valley Hotel in Yongpyong and two nights at Seoul CenterMark hotel, from £720 (Dh3,488) per person, including transfers, based on two travelling in January
The info
Visit www.gokorea.co.uk
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Swiss fly direct from the UAE to Zurich from Dh2,855 return, including taxes.
The chalet
Chalet N is currently open in winter only, between now and April 21. During the ski season, starting on December 11, a week’s rental costs from €210,000 (Dh898,431) per week for the whole property, which has 22 beds in total, across six suites, three double rooms and a children’s suite. The price includes all scheduled meals, a week’s ski pass, Wi-Fi, parking, transfers between Munich, Innsbruck or Zurich airports and one 50-minute massage per person. Private ski lessons cost from €360 (Dh1,541) per day. Halal food is available on request.
The Sand Castle
Director: Matty Brown
Stars: Nadine Labaki, Ziad Bakri, Zain Al Rafeea, Riman Al Rafeea
Rating: 2.5/5
Greatest of All Time
Starring: Vijay, Sneha, Prashanth, Prabhu Deva, Mohan