Sports45 FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 12, 2016 Leicester and Tottenham face huge title tests LONDON: Leicester City will be wary of a points behind Leicester, with a narrow vic- two league defeats this season on Leicester would give Arsene Wenger’s reality check when the Premier League tory over Watford last weekend. While Leicester. side momentum with which to attack the front-runners visit Arsenal on Sunday Arsenal and Manchester City, third and That was a 5-2 hammering at the King final months of the season. Manchester before Tottenham Hotspur’s burgeoning fourth respectively, are familiar with the Power Stadium in September-a result City, six points adrift of Leicester, plun- title ambitions come under scrutiny at home stretch of a title chase, once many expected would precipitate a return dered 10 goals in Tottenham’s last two Manchester City. A quirk of the fixture list described by former Manchester United to the lower regions of the table. league visits to the Etihad Stadium with has pitted the top four against each other manager Alex Ferguson as “squeaky bum Instead, it sparked a 10-match unbeat- Sergio Aguero scoring six of them. They and although there are still 13 matches to time”, Leicester and Tottenham are enter- en run that was halted by Liverpool in also won 5-1 at Tottenham in 2014, but go, this weekend could prove pivotal. ing unfamiliar territory. December, since when Leicester have have already experienced Tottenham’s Against all the odds, Leicester have Leicester spent most of the past scaled the summit on the back of another rapid improvement this season, going sustained their push for a first-ever English decade outside the Premier League, while seven-game stretch without defeat. down 4-1 at White Hart lane in top-flight title, and their magnificent 3-1 Tottenham’s target is usually a top-four Arsenal are chasing a first title since 2005 September. While it looks likely the title win at Manchester City last time out finally finish, something they have achieved only but have stuttered since the turn of the will be contested by the current top four, convinced bookmakers to install them as twice since 1992. With the pressure year and victory at Bournemouth last Manchester United are lurking in fifth favourites. Tottenham’s odds for a first mounting, Arsenal, who are also five week was their first in five games. place, six behind City, and are still eyeing a English title since 1961 also shortened points behind the leaders, will probe for With a huge Champions League tie Champions League spot. They visit strug- after they eased into second spot, five mental cracks having inflicted one of only looming against Barcelona, beating gling Sunderland tomorrow. — Reuters FIFA candidate Ali queries Salman’s role in Bahrain protests GENEVA: FIFA presidential candidate Prince Ali has ques- tioned the role of election rival Sheikh Salman in not protect- ing Bahrain players who alleged abuses after pro-democracy protests in 2011. In the strongest statement yet on human rights ahead of the Feb. 26 election, the Jordanian prince dismissed the sheikh’s consistent defense that national security issues are beyond the control of sports leaders. “How are you then going to earn the respect of the entire world and players across the world, as well as FAs (football associations), if you couldn’t even take care of your own?” Prince Ali told reporters yesterday after a news conference near the United Nations office in Geneva. Sheikh Salman has become front-runner in a FIFA campaign he began by strongly denying any part in helping to identify ath- letes who took part in Arab Spring protests five years ago. Some Bahrain team PARIS: Paris Saint-Germain’s Swedish forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic (C) scores during the French Cup round of 16 football players alleged they match between Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) vs Lyon (OL) yesterday at the Parc des Princes stadium in Paris. — AFP were tortured by gov- ernment forces while detained for attending Ibrahimovic sends PSG pro-democracy events. Sheikh Salman was Prince Ali then president of the into French Cup quarters Bahrain Football Association, and has often said government issues are not the duty of sports leaders. PARIS: Zlatan Ibrahimovic scored twice as game against Chelsea. The game against Lucas burst down the left-hand side before “Whatever is related to the political side and government holders Paris Saint-Germain eased past Lille, with all respect to Lille, is badly crossing for Ibrahimovic to chest home. side is not a concern of mine,” the sheikh told the Associated Lyon 3-0 to reach the quarter-finals of the timed,” said the coach. “The calendar can’t The Swede struck again just four minutes Press in an interview in Paris on Tuesday. “We are people of French Cup on Wednesday, extending the get any tighter. If you talk to me about the later when Serge Aurier slid in a low cross football. They can ask me anything that is related to the capital club’s winning run to 16 matches. fixture list, I get heated, so it’s better to from the right for Ibrahimovic, who was game.” Ibrahimovic bundled in the opening goal avoid it.” marginally offside, to poke beyond Prince Ali rejected that argument Thursday, two weeks just past the hour at the Parc des Princes, Blanc handed Edinson Cavani, relegated Anthony Lopes. ahead of the five-man election. “If a candidate was in a posi- and the Swede added a second soon after to several substitute appearances in Ligue Alexandre Lacazette blazed over as tion before and simply says that, ‘Those issues are to do with as PSG began to turn the screw. Adrien 1 since the turn of the year, a start in place Bruno Genesio’s men sought to reduce the politics and therefore I cannot interfere?’ No,” the prince told Rabiot then netted a third on 75 minutes, of Angel Di Maria, while midfielder Blaise deficit, and the visitors were understand- a small group of reporters. “If you are not with Laurent Blanc’s men staying firmly on Matuidi made way for Benjamin Stambouli. ably aggrieved when Rabiot, clearly behind going to take care of your own players and if you are not course to repeat last year’s domestic treble. A quiet first half saw Paris fail to register a the last defender, converted Maxwell’s left- going to stick up for them, that in itself is a problem.” In the PSG will travel to six-time winners Saint- single shot on target, with Cavani wasting wing cross to seal a fourth win in as many earlier news conference, the prince replied to a question Etienne in the last eight having already the home side’s best opportunity when he attempts over Lyon this season. about human rights in Bahrain by saying the protection of knocked Christophe Galtier’s side out of steered wide after Lucas picked out the Earlier, Nantes came from behind in players was a “simple, basic fact of the matter.” the French League Cup in December. Uruguayan just inside the area. Maxwell extra time to claim a thrilling 4-3 victory at Still, Prince Ali acknowledged that a candidate’s record on “We didn’t start too well, we were a bit Cornet went close to giving Lyon the lead Bordeaux, with US international Alejandro human rights was for the FIFA election committee to decide. better towards the end of the first half. But five minutes before the break, but Bedoya netting a 118th-minute winner. The three-member FIFA election panel approved Sheikh we were much better in the second peri- Salvatore Sirigu flung himself to his left to Saint-Etienne also needed extra time to Salman’s candidacy in November after weighing an analysis od,” Rabiot told France 3. Blanc’s side host brilliantly turn behind the teenager’s curl- see off Ligue 1’s bottom side Troyes as by the governing body’s ethics committee. Chelsea in the first leg of their Champions ing effort. France Under-21 forward Neal Maupay “I give the benefit of the doubt to everyone,” said Prince League last-16 tie next Tuesday, but first Ibrahimovic drilled narrowly wide early struck the decisive blow in the 107th Ali, whose home nation Jordan also saw pro-democracy they are at home to Lille on Saturday. “As in the second period, but PSG’s mounting minute, while Lorient thumped fourth-tier protests in 2011 on a lower level than Bahrain. — AP of Sunday, we’ll start preparing for the pressure eventually told on 63 minutes as Sarre-Union 4-0. — AFP.