Barcelona’s fearsome front three of Lionel Messi, Luis Suarez and Neymar could join forces for the first time in four months against Alaves, while Cristiano Ronaldo will make his Real Madrdid return on Saturday. Neymar has missed Barca’s 100 percent start to the season due to his efforts in leading Brazil to Olympic gold on home soil, but returned to Spain for the first time since May after more international duty in World Cup qualifying this week and is expected to start at the Camp Nou. Messi is a much bigger doubt after missing Argentina’s clash with Venezuela in midweek…
Author: David Folami
Portuguese wonderkid Renato Sanches is in line to make his Bayern Munich debut as the Bundesliga champions go to Schalke 04 on Friday evening. Bayern head to Gelsenkirchen fresh from starting the season in ominous fashion a fortnight ago by thrashing Werder Bremen 6-0 at the Allianz Arena. Now they will look to maintain their excellent recent record at the Veltins Arena, where Bayern have not lost since December 2010. And as Germany warms to the cozy man management of Italian coach Carlo Ancelotti, fans will also get their first view this weekend of 19-year-old prodigy Sanches, who has now…
Arsenal’s meeting with Southampton on Saturday marks the start of an important run of six games in 18 days as Arsene Wenger’s side plays catch-up in the Premier League. The new league campaign is only three games old but Arsenal already lie five points behind Manchester City, Chelsea and Manchester United, who have all made perfect starts to the campaign. And while Gunners boss Wenger is far too experienced to be overly concerned by the early league table, he knows the value of developing momentum in the title race before turning his attention to the club’s opening Champions League game…
The eyes of the world will be on Manchester this weekend as Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola bring their bitter feud to the Premier League for the first time. Any derby between Manchester United and Manchester City is guaranteed to be an explosive affair, but the presence of sworn enemies Mourinho and Guardiola should ensure the animosity levels are higher than usual on Saturday. With City top of the table and United just behind them in third after both won their first three league games, there was already more than local bragging rights at stake in a showdown between two…
Manager Arsene Wenger has backed midfielder Jack Wilshere to return to Arsenal after his loan spell at Bournemouth and see out the rest of his career at the London club. The England international was loaned to Bournemouth on deadline day after an injury-disrupted season in which he made three Arsenal appearances, leading to speculation his career at the Emirates could be nearing the end. But Wenger insisted the 24-year-old’s move was designed to ensure he will get adequate playing time this season so he could regain his competitive edge. “He is a world-class player, he doesn’t have to show me…
Gary Cahill concedes Chelsea lost their way tactically under Jose Mourinho, but believes the team is making great strides under Antonio Conte to overcome last season’s “disaster”. Mourinho led the Blues to a Premier League and League Cup double in the 2014-15 season, but his second spell in charge at Stamford Bridge came to an end in December last year after Chelsea lost nine of their opening 16 Premier League games and they eventually slumped to a 10th-place finish. The Portuguese’s relationship with key players came under scrutiny, while key players such as Eden Hazard suffered a dramatic dip in…
Ekiti State Governor, Ayo Fayose has claimed that former president Olusegun Obasanjo forced current president, Muhammadu Buhari on Nigerians. Fayose also accused Obasanjo of working tirelessly to destroy the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). “The result of Obasanjo’s imposition of President Muhammadu Buhari on the country is the hunger and sufferings that Nigerians are facing now,” the governor said in a statement issued by his media aide, Lere Olayinka. Fayose made the comments in reaction to the recent meeting between Obasanjo and factional PDP leader, Ali Modu Sheriff. “The meeting was a coming together of collaborators in the total annihilation of…
Former Gombe State governor, Danjuma Goje has said that a bad governor-member of the ruling All Progressives Congress (APC) party is better than the best of the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP). Goje made the comment over the weekend after the inauguration of the Gombe state APC Caretaker Committee, Vanguard reports. “I want to urge the new caretaker committee members, in the presence of the party leadership and all of you that came from Gombe, to be neutral, to be objective, to be committed in trying to unite this party,” he said. “I am sure whether you belong to any other…
Former President, Olusegun Obasanjo has denied reports that he warned President Muhammadu Buhari against seeking a second term in office. Obasanjo’s warning was said to have come through his former Chief Press Secretary, Alex Nwokedi. The former president however described the report as “completely false and destructive by those behind it” adding that he hadn’t communicated with Mr Nwokedi in three years. “My belief is that democracy allows for anybody including President Buhari for that matter to contest any election and it is the prerogative rights of Nigerians to vote or not to vote for them,” Obasanjo said via a…
The All Progressives Congress (APC) has urged President Muhammadu Buhari to ignore attempts by the Peoples Democratic Party (PDP) to distract him by making insensitive comments about the economy. The APC also said that the hardship being faced by Nigerians is a “direct consequence of the mismanagement of the economy” by the PDP. The ruling party’s comments were contained in a statement released by National Secretary, Alhaji Mai Mala Buni on Monday, September 5, 2016. The statement reads in part: “In reacting to the orchestrated and insensitive comments by the PDP on the economy, the APC urges the President Muhammadu…
Former aide to ex-president, Goodluck Jonathan, Dr Doyin Okupe has said that All Progressives Congress (APC) National Leader, Bola Tinubu is losing his political power. Okupe made the comment in reaction to the defeat of Tinubu’s candidate, Olusegun Abraham at the APC’s recent primary elections in Ondo State. The former presidential aide’s remarks were expressed via a post on his Facebook wall. Okupe said: “Yes indeed Akeredolu has won a deserved victory in the apc primaries in Ondo state. I salute the SAN’s courage and sagacity and I actually wish him well.” “However, media wise, the juicy news seems to be…
The Commandant-General of the Nigeria Security and Civil Defence Corps (NSCDC), Mr Abdullahi Muhammadu, on Wednesday directed the deployment of 10,000 personnel to Edo for Saturday’s governorship election. Muhammadu also directed the acting Deputy Commandant-General in charge of Operations, Mr Hillary Madu, to relocate to Edo for the exercise. The directive is contained in a statement by Muhammadu in Abuja. Muhammadu further directed the Assistant Commandants-General in charge of Zone G, Benin and Zone E, Owerri, to move to the state to assist the deputy commandant-general. He said that the deployment was to ensure a free and fair election devoid…
The federal government has declared Monday 12 and Tuesday 13, September, 2016 as public holidays to mark the Eid-el-Kabir Sallah celebration. Abdulrahman Dambazau, the minister of interior, made the declaration in a statement signed by the acting permanent secretary in the ministry, Muhammadu Maccido. The minister said that government was aware of the current economic challenges the nation was facing. He assured that appropriate steps were being taken to address the challenges. The minister expressed optimism that the current economic difficulties would soon be over, urging all to continue to support the government in building a new formidable Nigeria. He…
The Inspector-General of Police(I-G), Mr Ibrahim Idris said the police would collaborate with the National Council for Women Societies (NCWS) to fight crimes and other anti-social vices in the country. Idris said this when a delegation of the council led by its President, Mrs Gloria Shoda paid him a courtesy visit on Wednesday in Abuja. “I will like to seek the cooperation of your organisation and the Nigerian citizenry at large in the fight against crime. “The force has taken cognizance of the vulnerability of Women in our present society. “Societal ills against Women such as sexual violence, domestic violence,…
Mr Babatunde Fashola, Minister of Power, Works and Housing, says the challenge in the electricity sector is not technical but artificial. Fashola made the assertion when received the management of the Abuja Electricity Distribution Company in Abuja on Wednesday. According to him, the challenge can be surmounted with stakeholders collaboration. The minister, however, charged the company to be more customers’ friendly and to keep the public abreast of its operations in order to win their confidence. He said that the purchase of electricity transformers by private individuals should stop henceforth; stressing that it was the responsibility of electricity distribution companies…
President Muhammadu Buhari has condoled with the family of Chief Michael Ibru, who passed on Tuesday, at age of 85. A statement in Abuja on Wednesday by the president’s Special Adviser on Media and Publicity, Mr Femi Adesina, said that Buhari also commiserated with the Government and people of Delta, and the Urhobos. He said that he had joined the bereaved in mourning an accomplished businessman “whose edifying role in the corporate world and private sector in Nigeria would continue to inspire generations to come’’. Buhari stated that the late Ibru would be long remembered for his hardwork and dedication…
Over the past year, Lil Wayne‘s public feud with Birdman and Cash Money Records has dramatically impacted his career and ability to put out music. The issues originally stem from Wayne’s frustrations over money reportedly owed to him and the label not releasing his long-awaited album, Carter V. Since then however, Wayne has only become more vocal about his displeasure with the label and has yelled ‘Fuck Cash Money’ at a number of concerts recently. Lil Wayne has let his frustration out on social media, telling fans that he’s now ‘defenseless’, ‘mentally defeated’ and wants to leave rap gracefully. Later…
Kim Kardashian has shown us she is part of the Beyhive by taking to her favourite app to share birthday wishes to Beyonce. Beyonce turned 35 on Sunday, September 4 and Kim who continues to show her admiration for the singer delivered a bee-inspired birthday song in honour of Queen Bey on Snapchat. Using one of her favorite filters, Kim transformed into a beautiful bumble bee with big eyes and yellow stripes as she sang. “Happy birthday Beyonce! #kim #kimkardashian #kimkardashianwest #kimksnapchat #kimksnapchats #kimkardashiansnapchat #kkw #fashion #style #swag #london #paris #milan #newyork #la #miami #atlanta #snapchat #kimye #kuwtk #yonce #kingbey…
Nigerian pop star, D’banj, who has had a pretty impressive run in 2016, is hoping to wrap up the year in style by returning to the UK for the first time in four years for a three-city tour. His last trip to the UK was in the summer of 2012, when his hit tune ‘Oliver Twist’ was a global phenomenon topping the African charts in 2011 and was a top 10 hit in the UK singles chart in 2012, reaching number two on the UK R&B charts. But later in November, D’banj will be performing in Manchester, Birmingham and London…
26-year-old singer, Taylor Swift, has reportedly broken up with her boyfriend of less than three months, Tom Hiddleston. Sources close to the couple told E! News that ‘Tom wanted the relationship to be more public than she was comfortable with. Taylor knew the backlash that comes with public displays of affection but Tom didn’t listen to her concerns when she brought them up.’ Now that they’ve split, the source says, Hiddleston is ’embarrassed that the relationship fizzled out.’ Taylor and Tom first made news when they were spotted kissing on a beach back in June, barely two weeks after she…