BERLIN // Runaway Bundesliga leaders Bayern Munich need to adjust to life without captain Philipp Lahm when they host Hoffenheim on Saturday ahead of next week’s Champions League match at Manchester City.
The 31-year-old Lahm has been ruled out for the next three months after fracturing his ankle in training, depriving coach Pep Guardiola of one of his key assets, either at right-back or in the defensive midfield.
“I was shocked when I heard the news and we wish Philipp all the best, but there is no place for mourning or sentimentality,” insisted Bayern’s director of sport Matthias Sammer.
“We need to shake it off and keep looking forward, some of the players in the wings now have the chance to prove themselves.”
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Bayern are unbeaten in their last 15 league matches and are four points clear at the top of the table, and Hoffenheim will serve as a dress rehearsal for Tuesday’s European clash in Manchester.
The Bavarians are already through to the Champions League knock-out stage and are confirmed group winners with two matches to spare.
Guardiola will need to reshuffle his defensive midfield alongside Xabi Alonso, but there are rumours Germany star Bastian Schweinsteiger could make his return from the knee injury which has kept him out since the World Cup final.
Bayern will have goalkeeper Manuel Neuer available after he missed Germany’s 1-0 friendly win over Spain on Tuesday with a knee strain.
Hoffenheim forced a 3-3 draw on their last league visit to the Allianz Arena in March and are fifth in the table.
But coach Markus Gisdol reads little into Bayern’s lengthy injury list with Javi Martinez, Thiago Alcantara, Holger Badstuber, plus both wing backs Lahm and David Alaba all injured.
“Bayern have the sort of squad where it doesn’t matter who plays,” said Gisdol.
“If you lose 4-0, 5-0 or even 6-0 in Munich, that is completely normal.”
Hoffenheim are looking to bounce back after losing their last two games, but have Brazil’s latest star in their ranks, forward Roberto Firmino, who scored the winner in a 2-1 friendly victory over Austria on Tuesday.
Bayern’s nearest rivals, second-placed Wolfsburg, are chasing a sixth consecutive victory at Schalke 04 on Saturday.
Belgium winger Kevin de Bruyne is in outstanding form, creating four goals in their last two matches.
Schalke are down to 11th in the table after some erratic form this season, but Wolfsburg coach Dieter Hecking, who has seen all of their last three games live, is taking nothing for granted.
“I measure Schalke not on their 14 points and 11th ranking in the table, but on what they can achieve,” he said.
At the other end of the table, 15th-placed Borussia Dortmund are set to welcome back Germany winger Marco Reus after an ankle injury as they attempt to pull clear of the relegation places against Paderborn.
Reus missed Germany’s recent internationals, but should return as Dortmund look to prove their 1-0 win over third-placed Borussia Moenchengladbach, which broke their five-match losing streak, was no fluke.
“We know about the difficulty of the game, but we also see the chances that it possesses for us,” said Dortmund coach Jurgen Klopp.
He is without injured midfielders Nuri Sahin, Jakub Blaszczykowski and Oliver Kirch in Paderborn, while Sokratis Papastathopoulos is suspended and fellow centre-back Mats Hummels is also on the injury list.
Werder Bremen’s caretaker coach Viktor Skripnik is looking for his third straight win in Sunday’s north German derby when his side are at Hamburg with both teams in the bottom three.
German Bundesliga fixtures
Saturday (in UAE time)
Bayern Munich v Hoffenheim, 6.30pm
Schalke v Wolfsburg, 6.30pm
Borussia Moenchengladbach v Eintracht Frankfurt, 6.30pm
Mainz v Freiburg, 6.30pm
Hanover 96 v Bayer Leverkusen, 6.30pm
Paderborn v Borussia Dortmund, 6.30pm
Cologne v Hertha Berlin, 9.30pm
Sunday
Hamburg v Werder Bremen,
VfB Stuttgart v Augsburg (1630)
Follow our sports coverage on twitter at @SprtNationalUAE
Formula Middle East Calendar (Formula Regional and Formula 4)
Round 1: January 17-19, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 2: January 22-23, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 3: February 7-9, Dubai Autodrome – Dubai
Round 4: February 14-16, Yas Marina Circuit – Abu Dhabi
Round 5: February 25-27, Jeddah Corniche Circuit – Saudi Arabia
Volvo ES90 Specs
Engine: Electric single motor (96kW), twin motor (106kW) and twin motor performance (106kW)
Power: 333hp, 449hp, 680hp
Torque: 480Nm, 670Nm, 870Nm
On sale: Later in 2025 or early 2026, depending on region
Price: Exact regional pricing TBA
Most match wins on clay
Guillermo Vilas - 659
Manuel Orantes - 501
Thomas Muster - 422
Rafael Nadal - 399 *
Jose Higueras - 378
Eddie Dibbs - 370
Ilie Nastase - 338
Carlos Moya - 337
Ivan Lendl - 329
Andres Gomez - 322
Asia Cup Qualifier
Final
UAE v Hong Kong
TV:
Live on OSN Cricket HD. Coverage starts at 5.30am
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
How to avoid crypto fraud
- Use unique usernames and passwords while enabling multi-factor authentication.
- Use an offline private key, a physical device that requires manual activation, whenever you access your wallet.
- Avoid suspicious social media ads promoting fraudulent schemes.
- Only invest in crypto projects that you fully understand.
- Critically assess whether a project’s promises or returns seem too good to be true.
- Only use reputable platforms that have a track record of strong regulatory compliance.
- Store funds in hardware wallets as opposed to online exchanges.
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Company name: baraka
Started: July 2020
Founders: Feras Jalbout and Kunal Taneja
Based: Dubai and Bahrain
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $150,000
Current staff: 12
Stage: Pre-seed capital raising of $1 million
Investors: Class 5 Global, FJ Labs, IMO Ventures, The Community Fund, VentureSouq, Fox Ventures, Dr Abdulla Elyas (private investment)
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
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.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Kumulus Water
Started: 2021
Founders: Iheb Triki and Mohamed Ali Abid
Based: Tunisia
Sector: Water technology
Number of staff: 22
Investment raised: $4 million
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Specs
Engine: Electric motor generating 54.2kWh (Cooper SE and Aceman SE), 64.6kW (Countryman All4 SE)
Power: 218hp (Cooper and Aceman), 313hp (Countryman)
Torque: 330Nm (Cooper and Aceman), 494Nm (Countryman)
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh158,000 (Cooper), Dh168,000 (Aceman), Dh132,000 (Countryman)
Chef Nobu's advice for eating sushi
“One mistake people always make is adding extra wasabi. There is no need for this, because it should already be there between the rice and the fish.
“When eating nigiri, you must dip the fish – not the rice – in soy sauce, otherwise the rice will collapse. Also, don’t use too much soy sauce or it will make you thirsty. For sushi rolls, dip a little of the rice-covered roll lightly in soy sauce and eat in one bite.
“Chopsticks are acceptable, but really, I recommend using your fingers for sushi. Do use chopsticks for sashimi, though.
“The ginger should be eaten separately as a palette cleanser and used to clear the mouth when switching between different pieces of fish.”
Women’s World T20, Asia Qualifier
UAE results
Beat China by 16 runs
Lost to Thailand by 10 wickets
Beat Nepal by five runs
Beat Hong Kong by eight wickets
Beat Malaysia by 34 runs
Standings (P, W, l, NR, points)
1. Thailand 5 4 0 1 9
2. UAE 5 4 1 0 8
3. Nepal 5 2 1 2 6
4. Hong Kong 5 2 2 1 5
5. Malaysia 5 1 4 0 2
6. China 5 0 5 0 0
Final
Thailand v UAE, Monday, 7am
Second Test, Day 2:
South Africa 335 & 75/1 (22.0 ov)
England 205
South Africa lead by 205 runs with 9 wickets remaining
Emergency
Director: Kangana Ranaut
Stars: Kangana Ranaut, Anupam Kher, Shreyas Talpade, Milind Soman, Mahima Chaudhry
Rating: 2/5
