Mauricio Pochettino has warned Tottenham Hotspur they must kick-start their Premier League campaign with a revenge mission against Stoke City on Saturday.
After a 1-0 defeat at Manchester United in their opening fixture last weekend, Pochettino’s side host Stoke looking to make amends for two of their more painful results from last season.
During a rollercoaster first season at White Hart Lane, one of the lowest points for Pochettino came in November’s home clash with Stoke.
That 2-1 home defeat was Spurs’ third loss in four league games and led to criticism of the former Southampton coach.
Stoke exposed Tottenham again in May with a comfortable 3-0 win, giving Pochettino even more motivation to triumph when the sides meet in North London on Saturday.
“It’s true the last two games that we played at White Hart Lane and the Britannia Stadium we lost, but it’s a good opportunity to take our revenge,” Pochettino said.
“It’s a different season, we’re happy with our performance – disappointed with the result – against Manchester United but I think the way we played, our performance was good.
“We need to show on Saturday that we deserved more.”
The weekend's action kicked off on Friday when Adnan Januzaj marked his Manchester United return with a goal as Louis van Gaal's side beat Aston Villa 1-0 to claim a second consecutive Premier League victory.
Making his first start since February, Januzaj converted a glorious pass from Juan Mata in the 29th minute as United extended an unbeaten record in league games at Villa Park that now stands at 20 years.
Premier League champions Chelsea travel to Manchester City, last season’s runners-up, on Sunday with manager Jose Mourinho on the defensive after he sidelined team doctor Eva Carneiro.
Mourinho reacted furiously to the sight of Carneiro and physio Jon Fearn running on to the pitch to treat Eden Hazard during the latter stages of last weekend’s opening 2-2 draw at home to Swansea City, which temporarily reduced Chelsea to nine players.
The outspoken Mourinho, who said that Carneiro and Fearn had been “impulsive and naive”, has received widespread criticism and threatened to walk out of a press conference on Friday when he was subjected to a prolonged grilling on the issue.
Chelsea will be without goalkeeper Thibaut Courtois, sent off against Swansea, but have a more than capable deputy in former Stoke No 1 Asmir Begovic.
Both last season’s league meetings between Chelsea and their title rivals ended in 1-1 draws but City will have hope of a win after starting this campaign with an impressive 3-0 victory away to West Bromwich Albion on Monday.
Sergio Aguero may not be in their starting side after the striker played just the final 27 minutes against West Brom following his return from international duty with Argentina.
“Whether I start or not remains to be seen,” Aguero told City’s website.
“I’m trying to get there and be in top condition, but arriving for pre-season later having taken part in the Copa America with Argentina means I need some additional time,” added the forward, who scored 32 goals in 41 appearances for City last term.
“With the whole season in mind, what matters the most is that I get in top form and don’t take any risks.”
Southampton are to set receive a double boost on Saturday when they face Everton at St Mary’s Stadium.
Dutch manager Ronald Koeman is in line to return after missing last weekend’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle United because of Achilles tendon surgery and the Everton game could see Southampton hand a club debut to former Chelsea midfielder Oriel Romeu.
West Ham United, whose 2-0 win away to Arsenal was arguably the shock result of the first weekend, are at home to Leicester City – themselves 4-2 winners over Sunderland.
Arsenal goalkeeper Petr Cech will hope for a better second league game with Arsenal than his first, where the Chelsea great was blamed for both goals, in another London derby with Crystal Palace on Sunday.
Fixtures (UAE times)
Saturday
Southampton v Everton (3.45pm), Sunderland v Norwich City (6pm), Swansea City v Newcastle United (6pm), Tottenham Hotspur v Stoke City (6pm), Watford v West Bromwich Albion (6pm), West Ham United v Leicester City (6pm)
Sunday
Crystal Palace v Arsenal (4.30pm), Manchester City v Chelsea (7pm)
Monday
Liverpool v Bournemouth (11pm)
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NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
Five expert hiking tips
Always check the weather forecast before setting off
Make sure you have plenty of water
Set off early to avoid sudden weather changes in the afternoon
Wear appropriate clothing and footwear
Take your litter home with you
Profile
Co-founders of the company: Vilhelm Hedberg and Ravi Bhusari
Launch year: In 2016 ekar launched and signed an agreement with Etihad Airways in Abu Dhabi. In January 2017 ekar launched in Dubai in a partnership with the RTA.
Number of employees: Over 50
Financing stage: Series B currently being finalised
Investors: Series A - Audacia Capital
Sector of operation: Transport
Skewed figures
In the village of Mevagissey in southwest England the housing stock has doubled in the last century while the number of residents is half the historic high. The village's Neighbourhood Development Plan states that 26% of homes are holiday retreats. Prices are high, averaging around £300,000, £50,000 more than the Cornish average of £250,000. The local average wage is £15,458.
MATCH INFO
Northern Warriors 92-1 (10 ovs)
Russell 37 no, Billings 35 no
Team Abu Dhabi 93-4 (8.3 ovs)
Wright 48, Moeen 30, Green 2-22
Team Abu Dhabi win by six wickets
The specs
Engine: Direct injection 4-cylinder 1.4-litre
Power: 150hp
Torque: 250Nm
Price: From Dh139,000
On sale: Now
Company%20Profile
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COMPANY%20PROFILE
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The%20specs
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Wicked
Director: Jon M Chu
Stars: Cynthia Erivo, Ariana Grande, Jonathan Bailey
Director: Laxman Utekar
Cast: Vicky Kaushal, Akshaye Khanna, Diana Penty, Vineet Kumar Singh, Rashmika Mandanna
Rating: 1/5
The specs
Engine: 4.0-litre flat-six
Torque: 450Nm at 6,100rpm
Transmission: 7-speed PDK auto or 6-speed manual
Fuel economy, combined: 13.8L/100km
On sale: Available to order now
T20 World Cup Qualifier fixtures
Tuesday, October 29
Qualifier one, 2.10pm – Netherlands v UAE
Qualifier two, 7.30pm – Namibia v Oman
Wednesday, October 30
Qualifier three, 2.10pm – Scotland v loser of qualifier one
Qualifier four, 7.30pm – Hong Kong v loser of qualifier two
Thursday, October 31
Fifth-place playoff, 2.10pm – winner of qualifier three v winner of qualifier four
Friday, November 1
Semi-final one, 2.10pm – Ireland v winner of qualifier one
Semi-final two, 7.30pm – PNG v winner of qualifier two
Saturday, November 2
Third-place playoff, 2.10pm
Final, 7.30pm
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
At a glance
Global events: Much of the UK’s economic woes were blamed on “increased global uncertainty”, which can be interpreted as the economic impact of the Ukraine war and the uncertainty over Donald Trump’s tariffs.
Growth forecasts: Cut for 2025 from 2 per cent to 1 per cent. The OBR watchdog also estimated inflation will average 3.2 per cent this year
Welfare: Universal credit health element cut by 50 per cent and frozen for new claimants, building on cuts to the disability and incapacity bill set out earlier this month
Spending cuts: Overall day-to day-spending across government cut by £6.1bn in 2029-30
Tax evasion: Steps to crack down on tax evasion to raise “£6.5bn per year” for the public purse
Defence: New high-tech weaponry, upgrading HM Naval Base in Portsmouth
Housing: Housebuilding to reach its highest in 40 years, with planning reforms helping generate an extra £3.4bn for public finances
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Qyubic
Started: October 2023
Founder: Namrata Raina
Based: Dubai
Sector: E-commerce
Current number of staff: 10
Investment stage: Pre-seed
Initial investment: Undisclosed
The rules on fostering in the UAE
A foster couple or family must:
- be Muslim, Emirati and be residing in the UAE
- not be younger than 25 years old
- not have been convicted of offences or crimes involving moral turpitude
- be free of infectious diseases or psychological and mental disorders
- have the ability to support its members and the foster child financially
- undertake to treat and raise the child in a proper manner and take care of his or her health and well-being
- A single, divorced or widowed Muslim Emirati female, residing in the UAE may apply to foster a child if she is at least 30 years old and able to support the child financially
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
Company profile
Name: Tharb
Started: December 2016
Founder: Eisa Alsubousi
Based: Abu Dhabi
Sector: Luxury leather goods
Initial investment: Dh150,000 from personal savings
THE SPECS
Engine: 6.75-litre twin-turbocharged V12 petrol engine
Power: 420kW
Torque: 780Nm
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Price: From Dh1,350,000
On sale: Available for preorder now
Essentials
The flights
Whether you trek after mountain gorillas in Rwanda, Uganda or the Congo, the most convenient international airport is in Rwanda’s capital city, Kigali. There are direct flights from Dubai a couple of days a week with RwandAir. Otherwise, an indirect route is available via Nairobi with Kenya Airways. Flydubai flies to Kinshasa in the Democratic Republic of Congo, via Entebbe in Uganda. Expect to pay from US$350 (Dh1,286) return, including taxes.
The tours
Superb ape-watching tours that take in all three gorilla countries mentioned above are run by Natural World Safaris. In September, the company will be operating a unique Ugandan ape safari guided by well-known primatologist Ben Garrod.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, local operator Kivu Travel can organise pretty much any kind of safari throughout the Virunga National Park and elsewhere in eastern Congo.
Real estate tokenisation project
Dubai launched the pilot phase of its real estate tokenisation project last month.
The initiative focuses on converting real estate assets into digital tokens recorded on blockchain technology and helps in streamlining the process of buying, selling and investing, the Dubai Land Department said.
Dubai’s real estate tokenisation market is projected to reach Dh60 billion ($16.33 billion) by 2033, representing 7 per cent of the emirate’s total property transactions, according to the DLD.
VEZEETA PROFILE
Date started: 2012
Founder: Amir Barsoum
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: HealthTech / MedTech
Size: 300 employees
Funding: $22.6 million (as of September 2018)
Investors: Technology Development Fund, Silicon Badia, Beco Capital, Vostok New Ventures, Endeavour Catalyst, Crescent Enterprises’ CE-Ventures, Saudi Technology Ventures and IFC
HIV on the rise in the region
A 2019 United Nations special analysis on Aids reveals 37 per cent of new HIV infections in the Mena region are from people injecting drugs.
New HIV infections have also risen by 29 per cent in western Europe and Asia, and by 7 per cent in Latin America, but declined elsewhere.
Egypt has shown the highest increase in recorded cases of HIV since 2010, up by 196 per cent.
Access to HIV testing, treatment and care in the region is well below the global average.
Few statistics have been published on the number of cases in the UAE, although a UNAIDS report said 1.5 per cent of the prison population has the virus.
THE%20SPECS
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THE LIGHT
Director: Tom Tykwer
Starring: Tala Al Deen, Nicolette Krebitz, Lars Eidinger
Rating: 3/5
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
The specs: 2018 Nissan 370Z Nismo
Price, base / as tested: Dh182,178
Engine: 3.7-litre V6
Power: 350hp @ 7,400rpm
Torque: 374Nm @ 5,200rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed automatic
Fuel consumption, combined: 10.5L / 100km
