Having qualified for the last 32 of the Uefa Europa League, Liverpool return to the Premier League on Sunday with an ideal opportunity to continue their revival under Jurgen Klopp when struggling Swansea visit Anfield.
Liverpool have lost just once since the former Borussia Dortmund manager took over nine games ago — a defeat to Crystal Palace in their last home league game.
Since then, Klopp’s side have won 4-1 at Manchester City and on Thursday beat Bordeaux 2-1 at Anfield to secure their progress to the knock-out stages of Europe’s second tier competition.
Next, Liverpool are at home to Swansea, who have won just one of their last 10 matches to slide down to 14th in the Premier League.
Liverpool are ninth, eight points behind leaders Leicester, who play second-placed Manchester United on Saturday.
[Predictions: Liverpool edge Swansea to continue Klopp revival; Spurs inflict more misery on Chelsea]
Klopp is refusing to focus on the top of the table but wants to get closer to the leading pack, who remain in touching distance thanks to Liverpool’s resurgence since the German replaced the sacked Brendan Rodgers.
“I don’t know in this moment who will win the league and I don’t care,” Klopp said.
“At this moment it’s only important to be concentrated on your own situation and your progress.
“If it would help to think about the end of the season I would do it.
“But it’s always important how far you are away from the position you dream off. It’s better to be eight than 20 but two would be better than eight, so we have to try and close this gap if possible and that’s what we try.”
Liverpool are likely to be without joint leading scorer Philippe Coutinho due to a hamstring injury, while Daniel Sturridge is also expected to continue his injury absence after pulling out of a planned midweek comeback with a foot problem.
Klopp has told Sturridge he may have to play through the pain to improve his appearance record after a catalogue of injuries.
[Podcast: Breaking down Tottenham v Chelsea and why Leicester need to beat Man United]
But provided Christian Benteke is able to play a second game in four days following his own recent injury problems, Klopp — who is also without long-term absentee Danny Ings and suspended midfielder Lucas Leiva — insists he is not concerned about his attacking resources.
“It’s not the most difficult situation with the strikers because we have Christian Benteke, Divock Origi and Roberto (Firmino),” he said.
“But of course we need all of them because of the big number of games.”
Swansea’s recent problems have placed pressure on manager Garry Monk.
But Monk, who guided the club to their best ever Premier League finish of eighth place last season, insists he retains the backing of club chairman Huw Jenkins and has been charged with leading an upturn in fortunes.
“I know Huw and the board very well. We all want to get through this period, we want points on the board,” he said.
“We discuss that. He is supportive. He wants improvement, but he knows how things are. He’s given me his full backing. He’s been extraordinary and he knows how it works.
“The way he has talked to me is about how successful we have been. He knows the way I work. He’s shown nothing but support.”
Swansea will be without suspended former Liverpool midfielder Jonjo Shelvey as they look for their second away win of the season and first ever league victory at Anfield.
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Sunday's games
Liverpool v West Ham United, 4.30pm (UAE)
Southampton v Burnley, 4.30pm
Arsenal v Manchester City, 7pm
Where to buy art books in the UAE
There are a number of speciality art bookshops in the UAE.
In Dubai, The Lighthouse at Dubai Design District has a wonderfully curated selection of art and design books. Alserkal Avenue runs a pop-up shop at their A4 space, and host the art-book fair Fully Booked during Art Week in March. The Third Line, also in Alserkal Avenue, has a strong book-publishing arm and sells copies at its gallery. Kinokuniya, at Dubai Mall, has some good offerings within its broad selection, and you never know what you will find at the House of Prose in Jumeirah. Finally, all of Gulf Photo Plus’s photo books are available for sale at their show.
In Abu Dhabi, Louvre Abu Dhabi has a beautiful selection of catalogues and art books, and Magrudy’s – across the Emirates, but particularly at their NYU Abu Dhabi site – has a great selection in art, fiction and cultural theory.
In Sharjah, the Sharjah Art Museum sells catalogues and art books at its museum shop, and the Sharjah Art Foundation has a bookshop that offers reads on art, theory and cultural history.
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The smuggler
Eldarir had arrived at JFK in January 2020 with three suitcases, containing goods he valued at $300, when he was directed to a search area.
Officers found 41 gold artefacts among the bags, including amulets from a funerary set which prepared the deceased for the afterlife.
Also found was a cartouche of a Ptolemaic king on a relief that was originally part of a royal building or temple.
The largest single group of items found in Eldarir’s cases were 400 shabtis, or figurines.
Khouli conviction
Khouli smuggled items into the US by making false declarations to customs about the country of origin and value of the items.
According to Immigration and Customs Enforcement, he provided “false provenances which stated that [two] Egyptian antiquities were part of a collection assembled by Khouli's father in Israel in the 1960s” when in fact “Khouli acquired the Egyptian antiquities from other dealers”.
He was sentenced to one year of probation, six months of home confinement and 200 hours of community service in 2012 after admitting buying and smuggling Egyptian antiquities, including coffins, funerary boats and limestone figures.
For sale
A number of other items said to come from the collection of Ezeldeen Taha Eldarir are currently or recently for sale.
Their provenance is described in near identical terms as the British Museum shabti: bought from Salahaddin Sirmali, "authenticated and appraised" by Hossen Rashed, then imported to the US in 1948.
- An Egyptian Mummy mask dating from 700BC-30BC, is on offer for £11,807 ($15,275) online by a seller in Mexico
- A coffin lid dating back to 664BC-332BC was offered for sale by a Colorado-based art dealer, with a starting price of $65,000
- A shabti that was on sale through a Chicago-based coin dealer, dating from 1567BC-1085BC, is up for $1,950
In numbers: PKK’s money network in Europe
Germany: PKK collectors typically bring in $18 million in cash a year – amount has trebled since 2010
Revolutionary tax: Investigators say about $2 million a year raised from ‘tax collection’ around Marseille
Extortion: Gunman convicted in 2023 of demanding $10,000 from Kurdish businessman in Stockholm
Drug trade: PKK income claimed by Turkish anti-drugs force in 2024 to be as high as $500 million a year
Denmark: PKK one of two terrorist groups along with Iranian separatists ASMLA to raise “two-digit million amounts”
Contributions: Hundreds of euros expected from typical Kurdish families and thousands from business owners
TV channel: Kurdish Roj TV accounts frozen and went bankrupt after Denmark fined it more than $1 million over PKK links in 2013
THE SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Power: 110 horsepower
Torque: 147Nm
Price: From Dh59,700
On sale: now
UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
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Race card
6.30pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (Dirt) 1.600m
7.05pm: Maiden (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 2,000m
7.50pm: Handicap (TB) Dh 82,500 (D) 1,600m
8.15pm: The Garhoud Sprint Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 1,200m
8.50pm: The Entisar Listed (TB) Dh 132,500 (D) 2,000m
9.25pm: Conditions (TB) Dh 120,000 (D) 1,400m
