Manchester City captain Vincent Kompany faces an anxious wait to see if he will be picked for Sunday’s Premier League derby at Old Trafford, but manager Manuel Pellegrini has played down any rift with the Belgian defender.
Kompany has not started either of City’s last two games, since the international break, and could find himself on the bench again against Manchester United in the 170th derby.
“I need to choose a starting XI every week that I think best for that game. Other players must wait. It’s exactly the same for all the players,” Pellegrini said.
Kompany injured his calf in September but returned to action this month for Belgium – a situation that reportedly upset Pellegrini who felt he was taking a risk.
Since then Kompany was an unused substitute against Bournemouth and came on in the final minutes in the Champions League win over Sevilla on Wednesday.
“I’m not punishing Vincent. I have no problems in my relations with Vincent,” Pellegrini, whose side have a two-point lead over United at the top of the table, said.
“It’s crucial to play with the best players for the moment. Football is moments, now, (Eliaquim) Mangala and (Nicolas)Otamendi are doing well.”
After scoring 11 goals in their last two Premier League games, City are buoyant and victory at Old Trafford on Sunday would be a statement of intent.
Although Pellegrini tried to play down the hype on Friday.
“The Premier League is difficult, every one of the 38 games you must play as a final,” he said.
“It’s a match of six points because you are playing the team that is behind you, but it will not be a game to decide the title. I think for the city it is always a special game.”
Pellegrini will be without striker Sergio Aguero who was fit enough to take photos with British Prime Minister David Cameron and China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday, but will not be in the picture on Sunday because of a hamstring injury.
David Silva and Samir Nasri are also out but with the likes of baby-faced Kevin de Bruyne and Raheem Sterling in form, Pellegrini is confident.
“I think that our team, if you remember last season, we had a lot of different ways to play,” Pellegrini said.
“Last season we had the four strikers injured and we played with (James) Milner and he scored two goals I think in two or three games and our team scored 15 goals without strikers.
“We have players with characteristics that can play different ways, and every one of them can score.”
Pellegrini defended the club’s fans after UEFA opened disciplinary action after some of them booed the Champions League anthem before Wednesday’s defeat of Sevilla.
“For me, the fans pay for their ticket and they are free to express themselves with how they feel with order and respect.”
COMPANY PROFILE
Founders: Alhaan Ahmed, Alyina Ahmed and Maximo Tettamanzi
Total funding: Self funded
How will Gen Alpha invest?
Mark Chahwan, co-founder and chief executive of robo-advisory firm Sarwa, forecasts that Generation Alpha (born between 2010 and 2024) will start investing in their teenage years and therefore benefit from compound interest.
“Technology and education should be the main drivers to make this happen, whether it’s investing in a few clicks or their schools/parents stepping up their personal finance education skills,” he adds.
Mr Chahwan says younger generations have a higher capacity to take on risk, but for some their appetite can be more cautious because they are investing for the first time. “Schools still do not teach personal finance and stock market investing, so a lot of the learning journey can feel daunting and intimidating,” he says.
He advises millennials to not always start with an aggressive portfolio even if they can afford to take risks. “We always advise to work your way up to your risk capacity, that way you experience volatility and get used to it. Given the higher risk capacity for the younger generations, stocks are a favourite,” says Mr Chahwan.
Highlighting the role technology has played in encouraging millennials and Gen Z to invest, he says: “They were often excluded, but with lower account minimums ... a customer with $1,000 [Dh3,672] in their account has their money working for them just as hard as the portfolio of a high get-worth individual.”
TEST SQUADS
Bangladesh: Mushfiqur Rahim (captain), Tamim Iqbal, Soumya Sarkar, Imrul Kayes, Liton Das, Shakib Al Hasan, Mominul Haque, Nasir Hossain, Sabbir Rahman, Mehedi Hasan, Shafiul Islam, Taijul Islam, Mustafizur Rahman and Taskin Ahmed.
Australia: Steve Smith (captain), David Warner, Ashton Agar, Hilton Cartwright, Pat Cummins, Peter Handscomb, Matthew Wade, Josh Hazlewood, Usman Khawaja, Nathan Lyon, Glenn Maxwell, Matt Renshaw, Mitchell Swepson and Jackson Bird.
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UPI facts
More than 2.2 million Indian tourists arrived in UAE in 2023
More than 3.5 million Indians reside in UAE
Indian tourists can make purchases in UAE using rupee accounts in India through QR-code-based UPI real-time payment systems
Indian residents in UAE can use their non-resident NRO and NRE accounts held in Indian banks linked to a UAE mobile number for UPI transactions
Jigra
Starring: Alia Bhatt, Vedang Raina, Manoj Pahwa, Harsh Singh
PROFILE OF SWVL
Started: April 2017
Founders: Mostafa Kandil, Ahmed Sabbah and Mahmoud Nouh
Based: Cairo, Egypt
Sector: transport
Size: 450 employees
Investment: approximately $80 million
Investors include: Dubai’s Beco Capital, US’s Endeavor Catalyst, China’s MSA, Egypt’s Sawari Ventures, Sweden’s Vostok New Ventures, Property Finder CEO Michael Lahyani
The biog
Name: Younis Al Balooshi
Nationality: Emirati
Education: Doctorate degree in forensic medicine at the University of Bonn
Hobbies: Drawing and reading books about graphic design
Singham Again
Director: Rohit Shetty
Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
Rating: 3/5
