■ Manchester City v Stoke City: Thursday morning at midnight in UAE
Eight weeks after Pep Guardiola ruled Manchester City out of the Premier League title race, others have ruled them back in. It is not because Chelsea have floundered — quite the opposite — but City’s renaissance in a run of seven wins in eight games has prompted thoughts of a dramatic end to the season.
Not from the manager himself, aware there are plenty of variables in the equation and concentrating his attention on the visit of Stoke City.
“We are focused on the next game,” he said. “The gap is so big and it depends what happens.”
Win and it is down to eight points, a deficit City overturned to pip Manchester United to the crown in 2012.
“We have to play all the [top] teams,” Guardiola said. A meeting with the side at the foot of the table has convinced him Stoke will be difficult opponents. “Sunderland was so complicated,” he said, though City won 2-0.
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Read more
■ Greg Lea: On 'flat track bullies' Chelsea marching towards title
■ Team of the week: Find out who joins Harry Kane in this week's XI
■ Antonio Conte: Chelsea must make Champions League 'every year'
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While he is abiding by the mantra of taking each game at a time, Guardiola is looking further ahead in one respect. He has admitted City’s summer transfer activity is occupying some of his time.
“I am planning, [director of football] Txiki [Begiristain] is planning, the staff is planning. We have to have one eye on the short, the medium and the long term.”
He has accepted he may not be able to get everyone he wants.
“I would like to have English players but they are so expensive,” he said. “They feel something special but sometimes it’s not possible.”
City were forced to pay premium prices for their last two major English arrivals, Raheem Sterling and John Stones, but the winger, in particular, is excelling now.
So is the youngster on the other flank. As Guardiola himself has noted, there are fewer mentions of Leroy Sane’s cost now the German has scored in three successive games. The ominous element for opponents is that his manager believes he can get better.
“Sane is playing good but also we show him a lot of clips, of many not-good things he is doing and he can improve,” he said.
Sane fits into Guardiola’s philosophy of recruitment.
“We are buying for the long term,” he said. “That’s why Leroy is here, why Raz [Sterling] is here and why Gabriel [Jesus] is here. As young as possible is much better.”
In the short term, Kevin de Bruyne should return to the starting XI tonight after he was a substitute at Sunderland. With three more games before the international break, including a last-16, second-leg Uefa Champions League clash with Monaco and a potentially pivotal clash with Liverpool, Guardiola may be tempted to rotate, especially as tiredness is an issue.
It could be a fine time to face Stoke. Mark Hughes’s side are yet to record a win against anyone in the top half of the table and their task is rendered tougher because Bruno Martins Indi, Glen Johnson and Marko Arnautovic are all injury doubts.
Critics of Guardiola’s Barcelona used to wonder if they could prosper on a wintry night in Stoke. The Catalan’s City side proved they could do it on an August afternoon in the Potteries. City surged to a 4-1 win, Sergio Aguero and Nolito each scoring twice in Guardiola’s first away Premier League game.
A repeat might bring title talk, though not from the manager himself.
sports@thenational.ae
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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: HyperSpace
Started: 2020
Founders: Alexander Heller, Rama Allen and Desi Gonzalez
Based: Dubai, UAE
Sector: Entertainment
Number of staff: 210
Investment raised: $75 million from investors including Galaxy Interactive, Riyadh Season, Sega Ventures and Apis Venture Partners
The specs
Engine: 3.9-litre twin-turbo V8
Power: 620hp from 5,750-7,500rpm
Torque: 760Nm from 3,000-5,750rpm
Transmission: Eight-speed dual-clutch auto
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh1.05 million ($286,000)
If you go
The flights
Emirates flies from Dubai to Seattle from Dh5,555 return, including taxes.
The car
Hertz offers compact car rental from about $300 (Dh1,100) per week, including taxes. Emirates Skywards members can earn points on their car hire through Hertz.
The national park
Entry to Mount Rainier National Park costs $30 for one vehicle and passengers for up to seven days. Accommodation can be booked through mtrainierguestservices.com. Prices vary according to season. Rooms at the Holiday Inn Yakima cost from $125 per night, excluding breakfast.
Why it pays to compare
A comparison of sending Dh20,000 from the UAE using two different routes at the same time - the first direct from a UAE bank to a bank in Germany, and the second from the same UAE bank via an online platform to Germany - found key differences in cost and speed. The transfers were both initiated on January 30.
Route 1: bank transfer
The UAE bank charged Dh152.25 for the Dh20,000 transfer. On top of that, their exchange rate margin added a difference of around Dh415, compared with the mid-market rate.
Total cost: Dh567.25 - around 2.9 per cent of the total amount
Total received: €4,670.30
Route 2: online platform
The UAE bank’s charge for sending Dh20,000 to a UK dirham-denominated account was Dh2.10. The exchange rate margin cost was Dh60, plus a Dh12 fee.
Total cost: Dh74.10, around 0.4 per cent of the transaction
Total received: €4,756
The UAE bank transfer was far quicker – around two to three working days, while the online platform took around four to five days, but was considerably cheaper. In the online platform transfer, the funds were also exposed to currency risk during the period it took for them to arrive.
LOS ANGELES GALAXY 2 MANCHESTER UNITED 5
Galaxy: Dos Santos (79', 88')
United: Rashford (2', 20'), Fellaini (26'), Mkhitaryan (67'), Martial (72')
MATCH INFO
Uefa Champions League quarter-final, second leg (first-leg score):
Manchester City (0) v Tottenham Hotspur (1), Wednesday, 11pm UAE
Match is on BeIN Sports
Getting%20there%20and%20where%20to%20stay
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Company%20profile
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List of alleged parties
May 15 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'work meeting' with at
least 17 staff members
May 20 2020: PM and Carrie attend 'bring your own booze'
party
Nov 27 2020: PM gives speech at leaving do for his staff
Dec 10 2020: Staff party held by then-education secretary
Gavin Williamson
Dec 13 2020: PM and Carrie throw a flat party
Dec 14 2020: London mayor candidate Shaun Bailey holds staff party at Conservative
Party headquarters
Dec 15 2020: PM takes part in a staff quiz
Dec 18 2020: Downing Street Christmas party
MATCH INFO
Tottenham 4 (Alli 51', Kane 50', 77'. Aurier 73')
Olympiakos 2 (El-Arabi 06', Semedo')
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
Calls
Directed by: Fede Alvarez
Starring: Pedro Pascal, Karen Gillian, Aaron Taylor-Johnson
4/5
The specs
Engine: 3.0-litre twin-turbo flat-six
Power: 480hp at 6,500rpm
Torque: 570Nm from 2,300-5,000rpm
Transmission: 8-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 10.4L/100km
Price: from Dh547,600
On sale: now
Company%20Profile
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CREW
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Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
The%20specs
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Read more about the coronavirus
Company%20Profile
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
Napoleon
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Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5
The distance learning plan
Spring break will be from March 8 - 19
Public school pupils will undergo distance learning from March 22 - April 2. School hours will be 8.30am to 1.30pm
Staff will be trained in distance learning programmes from March 15 - 19
Teaching hours will be 8am to 2pm during distance learning
Pupils will return to school for normal lessons from April 5
COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
How to protect yourself when air quality drops
Install an air filter in your home.
Close your windows and turn on the AC.
Shower or bath after being outside.
Wear a face mask.
Stay indoors when conditions are particularly poor.
If driving, turn your engine off when stationary.
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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Joker: Folie a Deux
Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Lady Gaga, Brendan Gleeson
Director: Todd Phillips
Rating: 2/5
COMPANY%20PROFILE
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UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
It's Monty Python's Crashing Rocket Circus
To the theme tune of the famous zany British comedy TV show, SpaceX has shown exactly what can go wrong when you try to land a rocket.
The two minute video posted on YouTube is a compilation of crashes and explosion as the company, created by billionaire Elon Musk, refined the technique of reusable space flight.
SpaceX is able to land its rockets on land once they have completed the first stage of their mission, and is able to resuse them multiple times - a first for space flight.
But as the video, How Not to Land an Orbital Rocket Booster, demonstrates, it was a case if you fail, try and try again.