Kenny Dalglish will manage Liverpool in Europe for the first time at Sparta Prague on Thursday in the Europa League.
The 59-year-old Scot's first six-year reign in charge of the Merseysiders started after the 1985 European Cup final, when a deadly riot led to them being banned from continental competitions for six years.
Dalglish returned to the club a month ago and the Europa League is his team's last realistic chance of winning of a trophy this season.
"It's his first game in Europe as manager of Liverpool and he's certainly had to wait a long time for it," said Ian Rush, a former teammate of Dalglish. "As a player he achieved so much in Europe. To win the European Cup three times is a remarkable achievement and he was a key part of Liverpool's domination.
"He was just very unlucky that when he was manager the first time around we were banned from Europe."
Dalglish will have to get used to Europe's second-tier knockout competition, with Liverpool unlikely to return to the Champions League next season.
Liverpool travelled to the Czech Republic for the last-32 first-leg match without captain Steven Gerrard and defender Daniel Agger, who have groin injuries. Midfielder Christian Poulsen will also be missing after his wife went into labour, but Joe Cole returns after overcoming a knee problem.
"There's no point being irresponsible with any of the players at this moment," Dalglish said. "If it causes them a bit of a problem we are as well nursing them through."
A 1-1 draw at Wigan at the weekend halted Liverpool's run of four straight Premier League wins, but the Reds revival under Dalglish has lifted the team to sixth in the standings away from the relegation zone.
"Kenny believes in the players, he believes we've got a good team and a good squad," defender Glen Johnson said. "He just wants you to go out and express yourself within the boundaries he sets. He almost says, 'Once you've crossed that white line it's up to you.'"
While forward Luis Suarez is ineligible after playing for Ajax in the Champions League group phase, Raheem Sterling could become Liverpool's youngest player if the striker, who scored five on Monday in Liverpool's 9-0 rout of Southend in the FA Youth Cup, plays at 16 years and 71 days.
Liverpool's match in Prague is one of 15 Europa League matches on Thursday since Manchester City played on Tuesday, drawing 0-0 at Aris.
Villarreal, who are fourth in the Spanish league, travel to Napoli looking for their first win in Italy.
Walter Mazzarri's side are second in Serie A, just three points behind leaders AC Milan thanks largely to Uruguay striker Edinson Cavani's 20 goals.
He has also scored five in the Europa League - a haul matched by Villarreal forward Giuseppe Rossi.
But they were both surpassed by Radamel Falcao's seven goals for FC Porto in the group stage. The Colombia striker has been out with a left-knee injury since January 16 but is set to return on Thursday at Sevilla.
While Sevilla are eighth in La Liga, Porto are performing strongly in Portugal, enjoying an 11-point lead while still unbeaten.
Three of Porto's rivals are also in action, with Benfica hosting German side Stuttgart, Braga at Lech Poznan in Poland and Sporting Lisbon in Glasgow at Rangers.
Ajax, who dropped out of the Champions League like Rangers, makes the short trip to Belgium to face Anderlecht, whose biggest threat comes from forward Romelu Lukaku.
"I will have to play smart not physically against him because he's very strong," Ajax defender Toby Alderweireld said. "We know he's strong and quick when he plays deep so we will have to hold him up."
Lille, who top the French standings, host PSV Eindhoven, while second-placed Paris St-Germain go to Belarus to face BATE Borisov.
Bayer Leverkusen will leave their German title ambitions to one side – they are second in the Bundesliga behind Borussia Dortmund – when they face to Metalist Kharkiv, whose Ukrainian rivals Dynamo Kiev are at Besiktas of Turkey.
Russia has four teams remaining in the competition, with two travelling to Switzerland: Spartak Moscow play Basle and Zenit St Petersburg, who are the only team to win all six group stage matches, face Young Boys.
CSKA Moscow are at PAOK Thessaloniki and Rubin Kazan host Dutch champion FC Twente.
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.”
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
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Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
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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
The specs: 2019 Subaru Forester
Price, base: Dh105,900 (Premium); Dh115,900 (Sport)
Engine: 2.5-litre four-cylinder
Transmission: Continuously variable transmission
Power: 182hp @ 5,800rpm
Torque: 239Nm @ 4,400rpm
Fuel economy, combined: 8.1L / 100km (estimated)
LA LIGA FIXTURES
Friday
Granada v Real Betis (9.30pm)
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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)
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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