Barcelona have little time to rest on their laurels after a stunning victory over Paris Saint-Germain in midweek as the Catalan club's quest for a treble continues when Valencia visit the Camp Nou on Saturday.
Luis Enrique’s men all but secured their place in the semi-finals of the Champions League with a 3-1 dismantling of the French champions thanks to two goals from Luis Suarez.
However, a 2-2 draw away to Sevilla last weekend means should Barca suffer one more slip-up between now and the end of the league campaign, the destiny of the title will be in Real Madrid’s hands.
“We learned our lesson from the game against Sevilla. In Paris we played a more complete game and that shows in the scoreline,” said defender Gerard Pique, who made his 300th appearance for the club at the Parc des Princes on Wednesday.
"We are very confident. The dressing room is very happy, but we have our feet on the ground. We know the most difficult part is yet to come being leaders of La Liga, in the final of the Copa del Rey and with a result in our favour to qualify for the semi-finals of the Champions League.
“From now on every game is like a final and we don’t have time to rest. First we have Valencia, then PSG in the Camp Nou. The schedule is very difficult, but if we want to win as many titles as possible we have to accept it and move on.”
Barca midfielder Andres Iniesta is a doubt after suffering heavy bruising on his lower back against PSG, but Dani Alves will return from suspension to take his place at right-back.
Valencia are in need of the points themselves as they battle with Atletico Madrid and Sevilla for the final two Champions League places for next season.
They stunned the Camp Nou last February with a 3-2 win and striker Alvaro Negredo sees no reason why they can’t repeat that feat this weekend.
“We know it will be very difficult to win at Camp Nou but my teammates managed it last season,” said the Spanish international.
“Why not this year as well? It’s very demanding, you have to be fully focused for 90 minutes and we are going to try and take all three points.”
Valencia will be boosted by the return of full-back Jose Luis Gaya from injury despite continuing speculation about a move to Real Madrid next season for the 19-year-old.
Madrid host Malaga later on Saturday and could move back to the top of the table should Barca fail to win.
The European champions were frustrated by Atletico Madrid in a 0-0 Champions League quarter-final, first leg draw on Tuesday and can’t afford to let their minds wander ahead of next week’s decisive return against Atletico at the Santiago Bernabeu.
Malaga have already shown their ability to upset the odds this season by beating Barcelona at the Camp Nou in February and by holding the league leaders and Atletico to draws at La Rosaleda.
Gareth Bale and Karim Benzema missed training due to minor injuries on Thursday, but both are expected to be fit to take their place alongside Cristiano Ronaldo in the Madrid attack.
Atletico, meanwhile, will face a hostile atmosphere when they travel to meet Deportivo la Coruna.
The champions’ 2-0 win over the Galician club in November was overshadowed by the death of a Deportivo fan in fighting between rival supporters groups in Madrid.
However, Atletico midfielder Koke said his side’s focus will be purely on the three points.
“Our objective is to qualify for the Champions League, to be third and not have to play a qualifying round.
“The rivals are a concern for us, they are forcing us to battle, to continue winning and we have to go there on Saturday with a lot of desire to take the three points.”
La Liga fixtures (in UAE time)
Friday: Levante v Espanyol (10.45pm)
Saturday: Barcelona v Valencia (6pm), Deportivo la Coruna v Atletico Madrid (8pm), Real Madrid v Malaga (10pm), Athletic Bilbao v Getafe (Midnight)
Sunday: Rayo Vallecano v Almeria (2pm,), Granada v Sevilla (7pm), Villarreal v Cordoba (9pm), Eibar v Celta Vigo (11pm)
Monday: Elche v Real Sociedad (10.45pm)
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Election pledges on migration
CDU: "Now is the time to control the German borders and enforce strict border rejections"
SPD: "Border closures and blanket rejections at internal borders contradict the spirit of a common area of freedom"
A MINECRAFT MOVIE
Director: Jared Hess
Starring: Jack Black, Jennifer Coolidge, Jason Momoa
Rating: 3/5
Fixtures
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The%20specs
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The%20specs
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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
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.”
The biog
Name: Sari Al Zubaidi
Occupation: co-founder of Cafe di Rosati
Age: 42
Marital status: single
Favourite drink: drip coffee V60
Favourite destination: Bali, Indonesia
Favourite book: 100 Years of Solitude
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
Indoor cricket in a nutshell
Indoor Cricket World Cup – Sep 16-20, Insportz, Dubai
16 Indoor cricket matches are 16 overs per side
8 There are eight players per team
9 There have been nine Indoor Cricket World Cups for men. Australia have won every one.
5 Five runs are deducted from the score when a wickets falls
4 Batsmen bat in pairs, facing four overs per partnership
Scoring In indoor cricket, runs are scored by way of both physical and bonus runs. Physical runs are scored by both batsmen completing a run from one crease to the other. Bonus runs are scored when the ball hits a net in different zones, but only when at least one physical run is score.
Zones
A Front net, behind the striker and wicketkeeper: 0 runs
B Side nets, between the striker and halfway down the pitch: 1 run
C Side nets between halfway and the bowlers end: 2 runs
D Back net: 4 runs on the bounce, 6 runs on the full
The specs
Engine: Four electric motors, one at each wheel
Power: 579hp
Torque: 859Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Price: From Dh825,900
On sale: Now
MATCH INFO
Manchester City 0
Wolves 2 (Traore 80', 90 4')
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
