Chelsea’s looming Champions League semi-final with Atletico Madrid will be put to one side as Jose Mourinho’s side attempt to strengthen their Premier League title challenge at Swansea.
The Stamford Bridge club will head to South Wales on Sunday having been boosted by this week’s memorable victory over Paris Saint-Germain that took them one step closer towards clinching European football’s top prize for the second time in three years.
And they could receive a further lift immediately before kick-off when the outcome of Manchester City’s trip to Liverpool is known.
Chelsea head into the latest round of matches in second place, two points behind leaders Liverpool and two points ahead of third-placed Manchester City, who have two games in hand.
With Liverpool playing Manchester City earlier on Sunday, a situation that could lead to at least one of Chelsea’s title rivals dropping points, Jose Mourinho’s side will look to take advantage at the Liberty Stadium.
Confidence is high after the way they overturned a two-goal deficit against PSG. But Chelsea’s recent problems away from home ensure three points certainly cannot be taken for granted by the London club.
Chelsea have lost their last three away matches, against Premier League strugglers Aston Villa and Crystal Palace before the 3-1 first leg defeat in the Parc des Princes. A return of one goal in those three games underlined why Mourinho remains concerned about his side’s lack of forward power, despite following last weekend’s 3-0 home win against Stoke with the 2-0 victory over PSG.
Once again the manager must decide which of his three forwards will get the nod to lead the line with Samuel Eto’o the favourite to start.
Demba Ba – scorer of the 87th minute goal that settled Tuesday’s tie – and Fernando Torres will most likely again be on the bench.
Nemanja Matic and Mohamed Salah are expected to be restored to the starting line-up after being ineligible to face PSG while Ramires also returns following a three-game domestic ban.
Angel Rangel is confident Swansea’s home form will ensure they quickly confirm their Premier League status for another season.
The Welsh club are six points above the relegation zone before facing Chelsea on Sunday. After taking on the Blues, Swansea, who beat Norwich in their last home fixture, also have Aston Villa and Southampton to play at the Liberty before the end of the campaign.
And Spanish right-back Rangel feels those matches will determine which direction their struggling season will go.
“We know we are not safe,” he said. “We have five games left, three at home and two away. We have 15 points left to play for and we don’t want to rely on other teams losing, we want to win.
“We can win games, especially down the Liberty, where we’ve got three left against Aston Villa and Southampton. I know we have Chelsea next, which is going to be a tough one, but we’ve got a chance.
“When teams around us play each other we know someone is going to get points – that’s obvious. We have a gap above the relegation zone, it’s not a lot, and we have to work hard until the end of the season.
“It’s going to be vital to get some points at the Liberty. Those games are going to be very important.”
Follow us on Twitter @SprtNationalUAE
ASIAN%20RUGBY%20CHAMPIONSHIP%202024
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EResults%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EHong%20Kong%2052-5%20UAE%3Cbr%3ESouth%20Korea%2055-5%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EMalaysia%206-70%20Hong%20Kong%3Cbr%3EUAE%2036-32%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFixtures%3C%2Fstrong%3E%3Cbr%3EFriday%2C%20June%2021%2C%207.30pm%20kick-off%3A%20UAE%20v%20Malaysia%3Cbr%3EAt%20The%20Sevens%2C%20Dubai%20(admission%20is%20free).%3Cbr%3ESaturday%3A%20Hong%20Kong%20v%20South%20Korea%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The specs: 2017 Dodge Viper SRT
Price, base / as tested Dh460,000
Engine 8.4L V10
Transmission Six-speed manual
Power 645hp @ 6,200rpm
Torque 813Nm @ 5,000rpm
Fuel economy, combined 16.8L / 100km
COMPANY%20PROFILE
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Vault%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EJune%202023%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECo-founders%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBilal%20Abou-Diab%20and%20Sami%20Abdul%20Hadi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EAbu%20Dhabi%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ELicensed%20by%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Abu%20Dhabi%20Global%20Market%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EInvestment%20and%20wealth%20advisory%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E%241%20million%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EOutliers%20VC%20and%20angel%20investors%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20employees%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E14%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
Starring: Jamie Foxx, Angela Bassett, Tina Fey
Directed by: Pete Doctor
Rating: 4 stars
Ms Yang's top tips for parents new to the UAE
- Join parent networks
- Look beyond school fees
- Keep an open mind
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
The biog:
Languages: Arabic, Farsi, Hindi, basic Russian
Favourite food: Pizza
Best food on the road: rice
Favourite colour: silver
Favourite bike: Gold Wing, Honda
Favourite biking destination: Canada
MATCH INFO
CAF Champions League semi-finals first-leg fixtures
Tuesday:
Primeiro Agosto (ANG) v Esperance (TUN) (8pm UAE)
Al Ahly (EGY) v Entente Setif (ALG) (11PM)
Second legs:
October 23
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
In The Heights
Directed by: Jon M. Chu
Stars: Anthony Ramos, Lin-Manual Miranda
Rating: ****
NO OTHER LAND
Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal
Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham
Rating: 3.5/5
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
