Saido Berahino scored twice in West Brom's season opener against Sunderland. Photo by Getty Images
Saido Berahino scored twice in West Brom's season opener against Sunderland. Photo by Getty Images
Saido Berahino scored twice in West Brom's season opener against Sunderland. Photo by Getty Images
Saido Berahino scored twice in West Brom's season opener against Sunderland. Photo by Getty Images

West Brom’s Saido Berahno ‘certainly can be that frontman’ says Irvine


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Head coach Alan Irvine has backed Saido Berahino to become West Bromwich Albion’s main man after recapturing his spark.

The striker will lead the West Brom line again against Everton on Saturday as Irvine hunts his first league win.

He scored twice in England Under-21s’ 3-0 win over Moldova on Monday and has four goals for club and country this season.

Berahino is the only player to score for Albion in the English Premier League this season, a double in their opening-day 2-2 draw with Sunderland.

They have drawn a blank at Southampton and in a wretched 3-0 defeat at Swansea, with new £10 million (Dh59.7m) man Brown Ideye yet to settle and Georgios Samaras lacking match fitness.

But Irvine believes Berahino, who scored just three times after Boxing Day last season, can shoulder the goalscoring burden.

He said: “I certainly think he can be that frontman. He finishes well with either foot and he is one of the players we have got in mind to be one of our strikers.

“He has come in as a young player to a team where, people keep telling me, there were problems last year but all I have seen is a very mature lad who is a good professional.

“I have been delighted with him and I’m excited about the future. He can be a top player.”

Berahino, 21, is yet to play as a central striker with Irvine using him out wide due to Sebastian Blanco and and Silvestre Varela’s lack of fitness.

The summer signings could make their debuts this weekend and Irvine is relishing the chance to let Berahino loose in his favoured position.

“I think his best position is through the middle, he has got good movement and receives the ball well,” said Irvine, who spent over eight years at Everton as assistant manager and head of youth.

“He understands, when we don’t have the ball, where he should be and he has a real desire to work and continue to learn.

“The shame is we have had to play him a bit wider because we haven’t had alternatives. That’s something we’re getting closer to having and hopefully means we can play our players in the places they want to be.

“Full credit to the lads. They have played where they have been asked to and done it to the best of their ability.”

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RESULTS

6.30pm Maiden (TB) Dh82.500 (Dirt) 1,400m

Winner Meshakel, Royston Ffrench (jockey), Salem bin Ghadayer (trainer)

7.05pm Handicap (TB) Dh87,500 (D) 1,400m

Winner Gervais, Connor Beasley, Ali Rashid Al Raihe.

7.40pm Handicap (TB) Dh92,500 (Turf) 2,410m

Winner Global Heat, Pat Cosgrave, Saeed bin Suroor.

8.15pm Handicap (TB) Dh105,000 (D) 1,900m

Winner Firnas, Royston Ffrench, Salem bin Ghadayer.

8.50pm UAE 2000 Guineas Trial (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (D) 1,600m

Winner Rebel’s Romance, William Buick, Charlie Appleby

9.25pm Dubai Trophy (TB) Conditions Dh183,650 (T) 1,200m

Winner Topper Bill, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar

10pm Handicap (TB) Dh102,500 (T) 1,400m

Winner Wasim, Mickael Barzalona, Ismail Mohammed.

If you go

 

  • The nearest international airport to the start of the Chuysky Trakt is in Novosibirsk. Emirates (www.emirates.com) offer codeshare flights with S7 Airlines (www.s7.ru) via Moscow for US$5,300 (Dh19,467) return including taxes. Cheaper flights are available on Flydubai and Air Astana or Aeroflot combination, flying via Astana in Kazakhstan or Moscow. Economy class tickets are available for US$650 (Dh2,400).
  • The Double Tree by Hilton in Novosibirsk ( 7 383 2230100,) has double rooms from US$60 (Dh220). You can rent cabins at camp grounds or rooms in guesthouses in the towns for around US$25 (Dh90).
  • The transport Minibuses run along the Chuysky Trakt but if you want to stop for sightseeing, hire a taxi from Gorno-Altaisk for about US$100 (Dh360) a day. Take a Russian phrasebook or download a translation app. Tour companies such as  Altair-Tour ( 7 383 2125115 ) offer hiking and adventure packages.
City's slump

L - Juventus, 2-0
D - C Palace, 2-2
W - N Forest, 3-0
L - Liverpool, 2-0
D - Feyenoord, 3-3
L - Tottenham, 4-0
L - Brighton, 2-1
L - Sporting, 4-1
L - Bournemouth, 2-1
L - Tottenham, 2-1

Director: Romany Saad
Starring: Mirfat Amin, Boumi Fouad and Tariq Al Ibyari

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
England v West Indies

England squad for the first Test Cook, Stoneman, Westley, Root (captain), Malan, Stokes, Bairstow, Moeen, Roland-Jones, Broad, Anderson, Woakes, Crane

Fixtures

1st Test Aug 17-21, Edgbaston

2nd Test Aug 25-29, Headingley

3rd Test Sep 7-11, Lord's

The specs: 2017 Lotus Evora Sport 410

Price, base / as tested Dh395,000 / Dh420,000

Engine 3.5L V6

Transmission Six-speed manual

Power 410hp @ 7,000rpm

Torque 420Nm @ 3,500rpm

Fuel economy, combined 9.7L / 100km

Bareilly Ki Barfi
Directed by: Ashwiny Iyer Tiwari
Starring: Kriti Sanon, Ayushmann Khurrana, Rajkummar Rao
Three and a half stars

Dubai Creek Open in numbers
  • The Dubai Creek Open is the 10th tournament on this year's Mena Tour
  • It is the first of five events before the season-concluding Mena Tour Championship
  • This week's field comprises 120 players, 21 of which are amateurs
  • 15 previous Mena Tour winners are competing at Dubai Creek Golf and Yacht Club  
ELIO

Starring: Yonas Kibreab, Zoe Saldana, Brad Garrett

Directors: Madeline Sharafian, Domee Shi, Adrian Molina

Rating: 4/5

PRIMERA LIGA FIXTURES

All times UAE ( 4 GMT)

Saturday
Atletico Madrid v Sevilla (3pm) 
Alaves v Real Madrid (6.15pm) 
Malaga v Athletic Bilbao (8.30pm) 
Girona v Barcelona (10.45pm)

Sunday
Espanyol v Deportivo la Coruna (2pm) 
Getafe v Villarreal (6.15pm) 
Eibar v Celta Vigo (8.30pm)
Las Palmas v Leganes (8.30pm)
Real Sociedad v Valencia (10.45pm)

Monday
Real Betis v Levante (11.pm)

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
RESULTS

5pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (Turf) 2,200m
Winner: Jawal Al Reef, Fernando Jara (jockey), Ahmed Al Mehairbi (trainer)

5.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,600m
Winner: AF Seven Skies, Bernardo Pinheiro, Qais Aboud

6pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: Almahroosa, Fabrice Veron, Eric Lemartinel

6.30pm: Maiden (PA) Dh80,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Sumoud, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7pm: Wathba Stallions Cup Handicap (PA) Dh70,000 (T) 1,200m
Winner: AF Majalis, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel

7.30pm: Handicap (TB) Dh90,000 (T) 1,400m
Winner: Adventurous, Sandro Paiva, Ali Rashid Al Raihe

UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
'HIJRAH%3A%20IN%20THE%20FOOTSTEPS%20OF%20THE%20PROPHET'
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EEdited%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Idries%20Trevathan%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPages%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20240%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Hirmer%20Publishers%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EAvailable%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Now%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
T20 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS

Qualifier A, Muscat

(All matches to be streamed live on icc.tv) 

Fixtures

Friday, February 18: 10am Oman v Nepal, Canada v Philippines; 2pm Ireland v UAE, Germany v Bahrain 

Saturday, February 19: 10am Oman v Canada, Nepal v Philippines; 2pm UAE v Germany, Ireland v Bahrain 

Monday, February 21: 10am Ireland v Germany, UAE v Bahrain; 2pm Nepal v Canada, Oman v Philippines 

Tuesday, February 22: 2pm Semi-finals 

Thursday, February 24: 2pm Final 

UAE squad:Ahmed Raza(captain), Muhammad Waseem, Chirag Suri, Vriitya Aravind, Rohan Mustafa, Kashif Daud, Zahoor Khan, Alishan Sharafu, Raja Akifullah, Karthik Meiyappan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Zafar Farid, Mohammed Boota, Mohammed Usman, Rahul Bhatia