Liverpool midfield signing Thiago Alcantara is in contention to make his first start for his new club against Arsenal in the Premier League on Monday, manager Jurgen Klopp said.
Thiago joined Liverpool from Bundesliga and Champions League winners Bayern Munich earlier this month and looked every bit the class act in a 45-minute cameo during Sunday's win over Chelsea following an injury to skipper Jordan Henderson.
He certainly looked ready when taking part in Liverpool training ahead of the match, along side Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, and fellow new signing Diego Jota.
The Spaniard's first involvement after coming off the bench against Chelsea was to concede a penalty that Alisson saved, but he soon slotted in seamlessly, pulling the strings in midfield and starting the move that led to Liverpool's second goal in the 2-0 win.
"We will see," Klopp said when asked if he would start the 29-year-old. "I have an idea but why should I make the decision today when we have time until Monday? He is in contention for sure."
Arsenal beat Liverpool on penalties in this season's Community Shield and though they have not won a league game at Anfield since 2012, both teams are looking to preserve their perfect starts to the season.
Klopp said Arsenal had improved dramatically under Spanish coach Mikel Arteta and were set up to defend in numbers and hit opponents on the break.
"Mikel Arteta has showed in a very short period of time that he's an exceptional football manager," the German added. "The structure of the team he sets up is absolutely exceptional. You can see the balance between defence and offence is really good.
"I don't know what the mood was before he arrived but I don't think a lot of people thought he'd win a competition by the end of the season. He did that by winning the FA Cup and the (Community Shield) so... it's a tough, tough, tough opponent 100%."
Fixtures
50-over match
UAE v Lancashire, starts at 10am
Champion County match
MCC v Surrey, four-day match, starting on Sunday, March 24, play starts at 10am
Both matches are at ICC Academy, Dubai Sports City. Admission is free.
What are NFTs?
Are non-fungible tokens a currency, asset, or a licensing instrument? Arnab Das, global market strategist EMEA at Invesco, says they are mix of all of three.
You can buy, hold and use NFTs just like US dollars and Bitcoins. “They can appreciate in value and even produce cash flows.”
However, while money is fungible, NFTs are not. “One Bitcoin, dollar, euro or dirham is largely indistinguishable from the next. Nothing ties a dollar bill to a particular owner, for example. Nor does it tie you to to any goods, services or assets you bought with that currency. In contrast, NFTs confer specific ownership,” Mr Das says.
This makes NFTs closer to a piece of intellectual property such as a work of art or licence, as you can claim royalties or profit by exchanging it at a higher value later, Mr Das says. “They could provide a sustainable income stream.”
This income will depend on future demand and use, which makes NFTs difficult to value. “However, there is a credible use case for many forms of intellectual property, notably art, songs, videos,” Mr Das says.
The White Lotus: Season three
Creator: Mike White
Starring: Walton Goggins, Jason Isaacs, Natasha Rothwell
Rating: 4.5/5
Game Changer
Director: Shankar
Stars: Ram Charan, Kiara Advani, Anjali, S J Suryah, Jayaram
Rating: 2/5
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Global state-owned investor ranking by size
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United States
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China
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UAE
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Japan
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Norway
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Canada
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Singapore
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Australia
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Saudi Arabia
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South Korea
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How green is the expo nursery?
Some 400,000 shrubs and 13,000 trees in the on-site nursery
An additional 450,000 shrubs and 4,000 trees to be delivered in the months leading up to the expo
Ghaf, date palm, acacia arabica, acacia tortilis, vitex or sage, techoma and the salvadora are just some heat tolerant native plants in the nursery
Approximately 340 species of shrubs and trees selected for diverse landscape
The nursery team works exclusively with organic fertilisers and pesticides
All shrubs and trees supplied by Dubai Municipality
Most sourced from farms, nurseries across the country
Plants and trees are re-potted when they arrive at nursery to give them room to grow
Some mature trees are in open areas or planted within the expo site
Green waste is recycled as compost
Treated sewage effluent supplied by Dubai Municipality is used to meet the majority of the nursery’s irrigation needs
Construction workforce peaked at 40,000 workers
About 65,000 people have signed up to volunteer
Main themes of expo is ‘Connecting Minds, Creating the Future’ and three subthemes of opportunity, mobility and sustainability.
Expo 2020 Dubai to open in October 2020 and run for six months
The Details
Article 15
Produced by: Carnival Cinemas, Zee Studios
Directed by: Anubhav Sinha
Starring: Ayushmann Khurrana, Kumud Mishra, Manoj Pahwa, Sayani Gupta, Zeeshan Ayyub
Our rating: 4/5
White hydrogen: Naturally occurring hydrogen
Chromite: Hard, metallic mineral containing iron oxide and chromium oxide
Ultramafic rocks: Dark-coloured rocks rich in magnesium or iron with very low silica content
Ophiolite: A section of the earth’s crust, which is oceanic in nature that has since been uplifted and exposed on land
Olivine: A commonly occurring magnesium iron silicate mineral that derives its name for its olive-green yellow-green colour
