Barcelona's hopes of beating Paris Saint-Germain and leapfrogging them to finish top of their Champions League group rests on troubling the French champions' defence more than they did in the 3-2 defeat in Paris, claimed coach Luis Enrique.
PSG – who came from behind to beat Nantes 2-1 on Saturday, ensuring they remained the only unbeaten team in the major European leagues – top the table by a point and a draw will suffice to see them win their Champions League group for the third successive season.
Barcelona, who prevailed in a tightly-fought quarter-final between the teams in the 2012/13 campaign, progressing on away goals, will be compelled to go for goals but enter the game on the back of a crushing 5-1 derby win over Espanyol, in which Lionel Messi scored a hat-trick.
However, Enrique, who played with PSG coach Laurent Blanc at Barcelona, said that his forward line would have to be more clinical than they were in the entertaining defeat in Paris.
“I hope that their defence will suffer a little more at the Camp Nou than was the case in the first game,” said the 44-year-old, who took over after Gerardo Martino was sacked following a trophyless season last term.
“I hope that we will deserve the victory, and the only way to do that is by showing our superiority on the pitch.”
For Enrique, who played for both great Spanish clubs Real Madrid and Barca in his career, the match with PSG is the type of challenge he relishes and gives his players a test of their ability to beat the best.
“For us, the match against Paris Saint-Germain is a marvellous match, indeed it is perfect for us,” he said.
“It presents us with an opportunity to beat the team that is the leader in the group, and who beat us in the first meeting. We know whatever the score is, a win is enough for us and we are going to rise to the occasion as we have done since the beginning of the season.”
Enrique, who began his coaching career with the Barcelona B team before spells with Serie A side AS Roma and then Spaniards Celta Vigo, warned that his team would not be able to throw caution to the wind, though, especially with former Barca striker Zlatan Ibrahimovic facing them and in sparkling form.
“They have got Ibrahimovic back (he was injured for the game in Paris) and several other important players were rested ahead of this game.
“I am expecting a side not unlike the the one we played in Paris and with lots of attacking possibilities.”
Enrique is likely to keep faith in Dutch goalkeeper Marc-Andre ter Stegen, as he has done throughout the Champions League campaign, but will hope he is more on his game than he was in Paris.
Blanc will have virtually a full pack of cards to choose from in terms of personnel but the former France national coach is praying his players are not as dopey as they have been at times in Ligue 1 this season, and was the case against Nantes.
“We will have to be much more aggressive and determined in Barcelona,” said Blanc.
“I managed this match (against Nantes) with one eye on the next game. It’s ok because we won but sometimes we are playing with fire.”
The good news for Blanc is that despite his long lay-off Ibrahimovic has not lost his sharpness in front of goal, as illustrated by his double against Nantes.
“Even an Ibra at 90 per cent is a handful for most teams,” said the club’s Brazilian captain Thiago Silva.
PSG will certainly hope that is the case on Wednesday.
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2025 Fifa Club World Cup groups
Group A: Palmeiras, Porto, Al Ahly, Inter Miami.
Group B: Paris Saint-Germain, Atletico Madrid, Botafogo, Seattle.
Group C: Bayern Munich, Auckland City, Boca Juniors, Benfica.
Group D: Flamengo, ES Tunis, Chelsea, (Leon banned).
Group E: River Plate, Urawa, Monterrey, Inter Milan.
Group F: Fluminense, Borussia Dortmund, Ulsan, Mamelodi Sundowns.
Group G: Manchester City, Wydad, Al Ain, Juventus.
Group H: Real Madrid, Al Hilal, Pachuca, Salzburg.
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.”
Read more from Aya Iskandarani
Living in...
This article is part of a guide on where to live in the UAE. Our reporters will profile some of the country’s most desirable districts, provide an estimate of rental prices and introduce you to some of the residents who call each area home.
SERIE A FIXTURES
Friday Sassuolo v Benevento (Kick-off 11.45pm)
Saturday Crotone v Spezia (6pm), Torino v Udinese (9pm), Lazio v Verona (11.45pm)
Sunday Cagliari v Inter Milan (3.30pm), Atalanta v Fiorentina (6pm), Napoli v Sampdoria (6pm), Bologna v Roma (6pm), Genoa v Juventus (9pm), AC Milan v Parma (11.45pm)
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Straightforward ways to reduce sugar in your family's diet
- Ban fruit juice and sodas
- Eat a hearty breakfast that contains fats and wholegrains, such as peanut butter on multigrain toast or full-fat plain yoghurt with whole fruit and nuts, to avoid the need for a 10am snack
- Give young children plain yoghurt with whole fruits mashed into it
- Reduce the number of cakes, biscuits and sweets. Reserve them for a treat
- Don’t eat dessert every day
- Make your own smoothies. Always use the whole fruit to maintain the benefit of its fibre content and don’t add any sweeteners
- Always go for natural whole foods over processed, packaged foods. Ask yourself would your grandmother have eaten it?
- Read food labels if you really do feel the need to buy processed food
- Eat everything in moderation
Analysis
Members of Syria's Alawite minority community face threat in their heartland after one of the deadliest days in country’s recent history. Read more
French business
France has organised a delegation of leading businesses to travel to Syria. The group was led by French shipping giant CMA CGM, which struck a 30-year contract in May with the Syrian government to develop and run Latakia port. Also present were water and waste management company Suez, defence multinational Thales, and Ellipse Group, which is currently looking into rehabilitating Syrian hospitals.
The specs: 2017 GMC Sierra 1500 Denali
Price, base / as tested Dh207,846 / Dh220,000
Engine 6.2L V8
Transmission Eight-speed automatic
Power 420hp @ 5,600rpm
Torque 624Nm @ 4,100rpm
Fuel economy, combined 13.5L / 100km
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