The Manchester City manager Mark Hughes believes Stephen Ireland is taking the right steps in his bid to emulate some of English football's great names. Ireland has spoken of his wish, ahead of the derby against Manchester United tomorrow, to aspire to the level of the Old Trafford evergreen stars Ryan Giggs and Paul Scholes. With 13 goals and a string of impressive performances to his credit, the City midfielder has been arguably the club's best player this season. And Hughes is delighted with Ireland's progress over the last nine months.
"He has the opportunity to be a player here for many years," said the City boss. "If he can replicate the guys mentioned he will have had an outstanding career. "The level of Stephen's performance is what has struck everyone. He has consistently hit a point which has seen him make an impact in nearly every game he has played. "He is trying to improve and become one of the best players in the Premier League. That is credit to him. We have to make sure he has the means and the tools to do so in the coming years." It was a summer of change for Ireland, according to Hughes, who added: "Stephen had to make decisions about where he wanted his career to go. "He came back with a real focus to his work and is reaping the benefits. We also like to think the environment we created at the training ground has helped him. He has a real empathy with the club and that is showing in his play." Hughes insists his players will stand up and be counted against a United side that secured their place in the Champions League final in midweek. He has taken comfort from his own team's run of four successive wins that has kept them in sight of a Europa League place.
"You have to work very hard if you want to beat United and your goalkeeper usually has to play very well," he said. "I recall Brad Friedel putting in an outstanding performance when I was at Blackburn. "It is about having belief in your own ability, going there, sticking your chest out and saying 'come on test us, let's see what you have got'. "I sense from the atmosphere in and around the group our belief is growing. We now understand we are a good side." Shaun Wright-Phillips is doubtful for the game after a five-match absence with an ankle problem, but Pablo Zabaleta could be available after resuming training following a hamstring injury. *PA Sport
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Cricket World Cup League 2
UAE squad
Rahul Chopra (captain), Aayan Afzal Khan, Ali Naseer, Aryansh Sharma, Basil Hameed, Dhruv Parashar, Junaid Siddique, Muhammad Farooq, Muhammad Jawadullah, Muhammad Waseem, Omid Rahman, Rahul Bhatia, Tanish Suri, Vishnu Sukumaran, Vriitya Aravind
Fixtures
Friday, November 1 – Oman v UAE
Sunday, November 3 – UAE v Netherlands
Thursday, November 7 – UAE v Oman
Saturday, November 9 – Netherlands v UAE
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Fireball
Moscow claimed it hit the largest military fuel storage facility in Ukraine, triggering a huge fireball at the site.
A plume of black smoke rose from a fuel storage facility in the village of Kalynivka outside Kyiv on Friday after Russia said it had destroyed the military site with Kalibr cruise missiles.
"On the evening of March 24, Kalibr high-precision sea-based cruise missiles attacked a fuel base in the village of Kalynivka near Kyiv," the Russian defence ministry said in a statement.
Ukraine confirmed the strike, saying the village some 40 kilometres south-west of Kyiv was targeted.
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Stars: Ajay Devgn, Kareena Kapoor Khan, Ranveer Singh, Akshay Kumar, Tiger Shroff, Deepika Padukone
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COMPANY PROFILE
● Company: Bidzi
● Started: 2024
● Founders: Akshay Dosaj and Asif Rashid
● Based: Dubai, UAE
● Industry: M&A
● Funding size: Bootstrapped
● No of employees: Nine
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- Always check the weather forecast before setting off
- Make sure you have plenty of water
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TRAP
Starring: Josh Hartnett, Saleka Shyamalan, Ariel Donaghue
Director: M Night Shyamalan
Rating: 3/5
THE DEALS
Hamilton $60m x 2 = $120m
Vettel $45m x 2 = $90m
Ricciardo $35m x 2 = $70m
Verstappen $55m x 3 = $165m
Leclerc $20m x 2 = $40m
TOTAL $485m
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Starfield
APPLE IPAD MINI (A17 PRO)
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Health Valley
Founded in 2002 and set up as a foundation in 2006, Health Valley has been an innovation in healthcare for more than 10 years in Nijmegen, the Netherlands.
It serves as a place where companies, businesses, universities, healthcare providers and government agencies can collaborate, offering a platform where they can connect and work together on healthcare innovation.
Its partners work on technological innovation, new forms of diagnostics and other methods to make a difference in healthcare.
Its agency consists of eight people, four innovation managers and office managers, two communication advisers and one director. It gives innovation support to businesses and other parties in its network like a broker, connecting people with the right organisation to help them further
Brief scores:
Day 1
Toss: India, chose to bat
India (1st innings): 215-2 (89 ov)
Agarwal 76, Pujara 68 not out; Cummins 2-40
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
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
Results
2.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Mezmar, Adam McLean (jockey), Ernst Oertel (trainer).
3pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 2,000m; Winner: AF Ajwad, Tadhg O’Shea, Ernst Oertel.
3.30pm: Handicap (PA) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Gold Silver, Sam Hitchcott, Ibrahim Aseel.
4pm: Maiden (PA) Dh40,000 1,000m; Winner: Atrash, Richard Mullen, Ana Mendez.
4.30pm: Gulf Cup Prestige (PA) Dh150,000 1,700m; Winner: AF Momtaz, Saif Al Balushi, Musabah Al Muhairi.
5pm: Handicap (TB) Dh40,000 1,200m; Winner: Al Mushtashar, Richard Mullen, Satish Seemar.
Thank You for Banking with Us
Director: Laila Abbas
Starring: Yasmine Al Massri, Clara Khoury, Kamel El Basha, Ashraf Barhoum
Rating: 4/5