Louis van Gaal says Manchester City will face a very different Manchester United side to the one who wilted in their last derby clash at the Etihad Stadium.
Van Gaal experienced one of the most disappointing results of his reign in November when United lost 1-0 at City thanks to Sergio Aguero’s goal.
Without a win in three matches going into the derby, City seemed vulnerable but United managed only two shots on target.
Chris Smalling was sent off inside 39 minutes for two needless yellow cards, and United ended the match with Michael Carrick and Paddy McNair at centre-back after Marcos Rojo suffered a dislocated shoulder following a rash tackle.
Five months on, things have improved immensely for Van Gaal. United play with much more confidence and they have rediscovered the killer touch that allowed them to register their fifth successive league victory on Saturday against Aston Villa.
“It was another Manchester United, I believe,” Van Gaal said when asked to reflect on the 1-0 defeat against Manuel Pellegrini’s side.
“That was more in the start of the process and now we are in the end of the process. Now we have developed the team.
“I think also the confidence of our players is very high at the moment but also our performances show that so it’s not the same Manchester United.”
That win proved vital for City. They dropped just four points in the following 10 league matches and were level with leaders Chelsea on New Year’s Day.
Now they are below United and nine points behind leaders Chelsea, although they have a chance to make up ground when they face Crystal Palace on Monday.
United are third in the table, having enjoyed a run of five successive wins.
Van Gaal believes United’s recent good form could be playing on the minds of the City players when they come to Old Trafford on Sunday.
“Of course, it plays a part in the spirit of our opponents and also our players,” he said. “We have more confidence now and when they lose a point then it’s also sitting in the minds, so maybe it plays a role but that is dependable of the individual player and I don’t know the individual players of Manchester City so well so I cannot judge, but we have a lot of confidence and we haven’t lost so many times at home.”
Although the victory against Aston Villa – which came courtesy of a Wayne Rooney volley and an Ander Herrera double – was important, Van Gaal knows the derby will be United’s big chance to cement their place in the top four.
“This is the decisive game,” he said. “It’s like the game against Liverpool and the game against Chelsea – you have to win these kinds of matches.”
If United play anything like they did against Villa, they will stand a good chance of ending their run of four successive derby defeats.
The hosts kept the ball well, enjoying 77 per cent of the possession, and produced three quality goals.
Herrera swept in a low half-volley to put United ahead and rounded off the win in injury time with a well-taken strike on the break.
The goal of the game undoubtedly belonged to Rooney, though. The England captain cushioned Angel Di Maria’s cross with his back to goal and then swept the ball past Brad Guzan on the turn.
“That’s Rooney,” Van Gaal said with a smile.
The Dutchman praised Di Maria for his impact off the bench, but that does not mean the Argentinian will walk into the team next weekend.
“Now we are winning five games in a row so everybody has to wait for the right moment,” Van Gaal said.
Other than Christian Benteke’s consolation goal, Villa offered little on the attack and they are in danger of being sucked back into the relegation zone.
Tim Sherwood is looking for an immediate response when his team host relegation-rivals QPR, who hammered West Bromwich Albion 4-1 on Saturday.
“It’s a massive game for us,” the Villa manager said. “They got a good win. It was a great result for them.
“But we’re aiming to put six points between us and them by the end of that game.”
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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
A State of Passion
Directors: Carol Mansour and Muna Khalidi
Stars: Dr Ghassan Abu-Sittah
Rating: 4/5
MATCH INFO
World Cup qualifier
Thailand 2 (Dangda 26', Panya 51')
UAE 1 (Mabkhout 45 2')
Specs
Engine: Duel electric motors
Power: 659hp
Torque: 1075Nm
On sale: Available for pre-order now
Price: On request
Book%20Details
%3Cp%3E%3Cem%3EThree%20Centuries%20of%20Travel%20Writing%20by%20Muslim%20Women%3C%2Fem%3E%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EEditors%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3ESiobhan%20Lambert-Hurley%2C%20Daniel%20Majchrowicz%2C%20Sunil%20Sharma%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPublisher%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EIndiana%20University%20Press%3B%20532%20pages%3Cbr%3E%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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Tuesday's fixtures
Kyrgyzstan v Qatar, 5.45pm
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"
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
The%C2%A0specs%20
%3Cp%3E%0D%3Cstrong%3EEngine%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E6-cylinder%2C%204.8-litre%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETransmission%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E5-speed%20automatic%20and%20manual%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPower%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E280%20brake%20horsepower%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ETorque%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E451Nm%20%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EPrice%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Efrom%20Dh153%2C00%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EOn%20sale%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3Enow%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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
Killing of Qassem Suleimani
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre six-cylinder turbo
Power: 398hp from 5,250rpm
Torque: 580Nm at 1,900-4,800rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed auto
Fuel economy, combined: 6.5L/100km
On sale: December
Price: From Dh330,000 (estimate)
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.”
RESULT
Everton 2 Huddersfield Town 0
Everton: Sigurdsson (47'), Calvert-Lewin (73')
Man of the Match: Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Everton)
THE SPECS
Touareg Highline
Engine: 3.0-litre, V6
Transmission: 8-speed automatic
Power: 340hp
Torque: 450Nm
Price: Dh239,312
What is the FNC?
The Federal National Council is one of five federal authorities established by the UAE constitution. It held its first session on December 2, 1972, a year to the day after Federation.
It has 40 members, eight of whom are women. The members represent the UAE population through each of the emirates. Abu Dhabi and Dubai have eight members each, Sharjah and Ras al Khaimah six, and Ajman, Fujairah and Umm Al Quwain have four.
They bring Emirati issues to the council for debate and put those concerns to ministers summoned for questioning.
The FNC’s main functions include passing, amending or rejecting federal draft laws, discussing international treaties and agreements, and offering recommendations on general subjects raised during sessions.
Federal draft laws must first pass through the FNC for recommendations when members can amend the laws to suit the needs of citizens. The draft laws are then forwarded to the Cabinet for consideration and approval.
Since 2006, half of the members have been elected by UAE citizens to serve four-year terms and the other half are appointed by the Ruler’s Courts of the seven emirates.
In the 2015 elections, 78 of the 252 candidates were women. Women also represented 48 per cent of all voters and 67 per cent of the voters were under the age of 40.
