Andy Carroll, right, impressed on his England debut against France on Wednesday.
Andy Carroll, right, impressed on his England debut against France on Wednesday.

Premier League: Liverpool to Wolves



Liverpool

Christian Poulsen is expected to be afforded a rare start against basement side West Ham United tomorrow at Anfield after Steven Gerrard limped out of England's friendly defeat to France on Wednesday night. Fabio Capello, the England manager, has been widely criticised for fielding Gerrard after Liverpool proposed he only feature for an hour. "If it's possible, the players will play the time we agreed with the club," the Italian said. "But [Gareth] Barry was really injured, so we needed someone senior on the pitch because it was a really young team. I understand why [Liverpool] are upset and I am also upset."

Manchester City

Jerome Boateng is confident that his difficult early days at Manchester City are behind him. The German missed the start of the season due to a knee injury, and he believes it has taken him a month to get up to his best form. "For every player it is disappointing when you come to a new club and are injured for six or seven games," said Boateng. "You look forward but you can't play and other people are coming in.

"It was frustrating. But now I am happy to be in my normal rhythm of playing every three days. I hope I can play a few more games but I don't feel there is any particular pressure on me to perform."

Manchester United

Manchester United are reportedly in negotiations to sign Anders Lindegaard, the Danish international goalkeeper. Lindegaard, who plays for Aaleslund, has attracted the attentions of the Old Trafford club according to Bjarne Haagensen, the Aaleslund chairman. He told TV2 in Denmark that he and Lindegaard's agent, Henrik Hoff, were in Manchester to talk to United. "Henrik and I are in place in Manchester," he said. "We are in the middle of it. I can't say more right now." United, who are third in the table, will be looking to maintain their unbeaten start to the season tomorrow when they play host to Wigan Athletic.

Newcastle United

Andy Carroll made the headlines for the right reasons on Wednesday night as he enjoyed a good start to his international career. The striker impressed for England in their 2-1 loss to France in a friendly at Wembley and drew praise from Fabio Capello, the England coach. "I'm really happy for the performance of Andy because he played very well. He'll be a player who'll be important for the future," the Italian said. "When he received the ball he played quickly and his movement every time was dangerous." Carroll had been an injury doubt due to a groin injury but is expected to feature in Newcastle's trip to Bolton tomorrow.

Stoke City

Ricardo Fuller has been playing through the pain barrier for Stoke, but is confident of being fully fit soon. The Jamaican striker is having to play with a shoulder brace after suffering a dislocation. It did not stop him scoring against Birmingham earlier this month, but he is looking forward to playing uninhibited again soon. He told the Stoke Sentinel: "The shoulder is getting stronger every day because I've been resting it and getting physiotherapy," he said. "I have to strap it up in a shoulder brace which the club had bought for me. I can't play or train without it. It is a precautionary measure so that the shoulder does not slip out."

Sunderland

Steve Bruce has backed Jordan Henderson to learn from his first appearance in an England shirt. The midfielder struggled as France outclassed England in a 2-1 friendly win on Wednesday, but the Sunderland manager said: "It was fantastic to see him in an England shirt and I'm sure he enjoyed it. "It was a tough one for him. We've got to be honest, the French were far, far better on the night. He could have done with a little bit more experience around him. Maybe we had a little bit too much inexperience and that showed a little bit." Henderson will be back in the Sunderland team to face Everton on Monday.

Tottenham Hotspur

Gareth Bale believes he has become the victim of his own success this season. The Welshman's two stunning displays against Inter Milan in the Champions League has lifted his profile across Europe, but at a cost. More teams are putting more men on him to mark him out of the game he believes. "It has been difficult for me recently when teams have had two players marking me," Bale told The Sun. "In a way I've got to try to find another way to get past them." Bale is bullish of Tottenham's chances of winning at Arsenal tomorrow, adding: "We're good enough to beat anybody and we've shown that in the past."

West Bromwich Albion

Chris Brunt is a major doubt for tomorrow's clash with Stoke after picking up a groin problem while playing for Northern Ireland in midweek. The midfielder limped out of the friendly with Morocco at half-time, and left Roberto Di Matteo frustrated at potentially losing the player. The Italian told West Brom's club website: "We've just had four games in 12 days - and one of those games was with nine men and put a lot of demands on him. The last thing we needed was for him to go to a midweek international game because the risk of injury increases. Friendlies at this stage of the season don't make sense to me."

West Ham United

Despite being rock bottom of the Premier League table, Pablo Barrera believes West Ham are more than capable of picking up only their second win of the season at Liverpool tomorrow. The Hammers have only lost two of their last nine games, but four of those ended in draws. But Barrera told West Ham's official website: "It will be a very difficult match, but we need to start winning," the 23-year-old Mexican said. "The team is playing well despite being frustrated by the results in the recent matches. We have a great chance to get something from Liverpool."

Wigan Athletic

James McCarthy's recovery from his ankle injury is giving Roberto Martinez, the Wigan boss, optimism that he will have the midfielder back in January. The Irishman suffered the injury against Bolton last month and had been expected to be ruled out until as last as March. But Martinez told Wigan's club website: "James has progressed a lot over the last few days in his post-surgery phase. The ankle has reacted very well to the treatment, which we're delighted with. It's too difficult to say exactly when he'll return, but I'm looking at around the third week in January as a guide."

Wolves

Fabio Capello was the latest recipient of a blast from Mick McCarthy, the Wolves manager, this week. McCarthy was angry at the England coach for what he believed was his poor treatment of Matt Jarvis, the Wolves winger. Jarvis had been named in England's provisional squad to France but then received no official notification he was in the full squad. McCarthy said: "A text saying 'sorry, you are doing brilliant keep going, a pat and the head' would do no harm."

* Compiled by Gary Meenaghan and Graham Caygill

Moon Music

Artist: Coldplay

Label: Parlophone/Atlantic

Number of tracks: 10

Rating: 3/5

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
Essentials

The flights
Emirates, Etihad and Malaysia Airlines all fly direct from the UAE to Kuala Lumpur and on to Penang from about Dh2,300 return, including taxes. 
 

Where to stay
In Kuala Lumpur, Element is a recently opened, futuristic hotel high up in a Norman Foster-designed skyscraper. Rooms cost from Dh400 per night, including taxes. Hotel Stripes, also in KL, is a great value design hotel, with an infinity rooftop pool. Rooms cost from Dh310, including taxes. 


In Penang, Ren i Tang is a boutique b&b in what was once an ancient Chinese Medicine Hall in the centre of Little India. Rooms cost from Dh220, including taxes.
23 Love Lane in Penang is a luxury boutique heritage hotel in a converted mansion, with private tropical gardens. Rooms cost from Dh400, including taxes. 
In Langkawi, Temple Tree is a unique architectural villa hotel consisting of antique houses from all across Malaysia. Rooms cost from Dh350, including taxes.

Three tips from La Perle's performers

1 The kind of water athletes drink is important. Gwilym Hooson, a 28-year-old British performer who is currently recovering from knee surgery, found that out when the company was still in Studio City, training for 12 hours a day. “The physio team was like: ‘Why is everyone getting cramps?’ And then they realised we had to add salt and sugar to the water,” he says.

2 A little chocolate is a good thing. “It’s emergency energy,” says Craig Paul Smith, La Perle’s head coach and former Cirque du Soleil performer, gesturing to an almost-empty open box of mini chocolate bars on his desk backstage.

3 Take chances, says Young, who has worked all over the world, including most recently at Dragone’s show in China. “Every time we go out of our comfort zone, we learn a lot about ourselves,” she says.

The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Power: 268bhp / 536bhp
Torque: 343Nm / 686Nm
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
On sale: Later this year
Buy farm-fresh food

The UAE is stepping up its game when it comes to platforms for local farms to show off and sell their produce.

In Dubai, visit Emirati Farmers Souq at The Pointe every Saturday from 8am to 2pm, which has produce from Al Ammar Farm, Omar Al Katri Farm, Hikarivege Vegetables, Rashed Farms and Al Khaleej Honey Trading, among others. 

In Sharjah, the Aljada residential community will launch a new outdoor farmers’ market every Friday starting this weekend. Manbat will be held from 3pm to 8pm, and will host 30 farmers, local home-grown entrepreneurs and food stalls from the teams behind Badia Farms; Emirates Hydroponics Farms; Modern Organic Farm; Revolution Real; Astraea Farms; and Al Khaleej Food. 

In Abu Dhabi, order farm produce from Food Crowd, an online grocery platform that supplies fresh and organic ingredients directly from farms such as Emirates Bio Farm, TFC, Armela Farms and mother company Al Dahra. 

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Fasset%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3E2019%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Mohammad%20Raafi%20Hossain%2C%20Daniel%20Ahmed%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ESector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFinTech%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInitial%20investment%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%242.45%20million%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ECurrent%20number%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2086%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Pre-series%20B%0D%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Investcorp%2C%20Liberty%20City%20Ventures%2C%20Fatima%20Gobi%20Ventures%2C%20Primal%20Capital%2C%20Wealthwell%20Ventures%2C%20FHS%20Capital%2C%20VN2%20Capital%2C%20local%20family%20offices%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
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

COMPANY PROFILE

Name: Xpanceo

Started: 2018

Founders: Roman Axelrod, Valentyn Volkov

Based: Dubai, UAE

Industry: Smart contact lenses, augmented/virtual reality

Funding: $40 million

Investor: Opportunity Venture (Asia)

Company%20Profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Cargoz%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EDate%20started%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202022%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Premlal%20Pullisserry%20and%20Lijo%20Antony%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ENumber%20of%20staff%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%2030%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestment%20stage%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
HOW TO WATCH

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COMPANY PROFILE
Name: Almnssa
Started: August 2020
Founder: Areej Selmi
Based: Gaza
Sectors: Internet, e-commerce
Investments: Grants/private funding
Scoreline

Al Wasl 1 (Caio Canedo 90 1')

Al Ain 2 (Ismail Ahmed 3', Marcus Berg 50')

Red cards: Ismail Ahmed (Al Ain) 77'

Haircare resolutions 2021

From Beirut and Amman to London and now Dubai, hairstylist George Massoud has seen the same mistakes made by customers all over the world. In the chair or at-home hair care, here are the resolutions he wishes his customers would make for the year ahead.

1. 'I will seek consultation from professionals'

You may know what you want, but are you sure it’s going to suit you? Haircare professionals can tell you what will work best with your skin tone, hair texture and lifestyle.

2. 'I will tell my hairdresser when I’m not happy'

Massoud says it’s better to offer constructive criticism to work on in the future. Your hairdresser will learn, and you may discover how to communicate exactly what you want more effectively the next time.

3. ‘I will treat my hair better out of the chair’

Damage control is a big part of most hairstylists’ work right now, but it can be avoided. Steer clear of over-colouring at home, try and pursue one hair brand at a time and never, ever use a straightener on still drying hair, pleads Massoud.

Our legal consultants

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.

Graduated from the American University of Sharjah

She is the eldest of three brothers and two sisters

Has helped solve 15 cases of electric shocks

Enjoys travelling, reading and horse riding

 

Our legal consultant

Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais

Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants


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