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African stars to watch this weekend in Europe

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This weekend, several African stars will be in action for their various clubs in Europe as football returns to the centre stage.

The star match in the English Premier League on Sunday between Arsenal and Liverpool will have Ghanaian midfielde maestro, Thomas Partey squaring up against Egyptian captain, Mohamed Salah.

Other African players will also be involved in leagues other parts of Europe from the Bundesliga to the Serie A, La Liga, French Ligue 1, Dutch Eredivisie, Belgian Jupiler and other leagues seen by many as less fancied.

Africannewswatch brings you a preview of top African soccer stars to watch this weekend.

Thomas Partey – Arsenal

Thomas Partey was voted as Arsenal’s Man of the Match in the North London derby when he scored a superb goal in the 3-1 demolition of Tottenham last Saturday.

Thomas Partey celebrates his wonder goal against Spurs (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Thomas Partey celebrates his wonder goal against Spurs (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Barring any last minute injury, the Ghanaian star will be on from the start when the red-hot Gunners take out out of sort Liverpool at the Emirates Stadium.

Partey was left on the bench on Thursday as the league leaders steamrolled Bodo/Glimt 3-0 in the Europa League tie Mikel Arteta wanted to keep him fresh given how injury-prone the midfield enforcerhas become of late. But a fit Partey will be crucial to Arsenal as they hope to make it eight wins in nine games maintain their top spot on the table.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang – Chelsea

The ex-Gabon striker is gradually settling into the Chelsea set up and opened his Premier League and Champions League goal accounts for the Blues in their last two games.

The former Arsenal captain surprised many when he moved back to the EPL to join Chelsea after a not so rosy spell at Barcelona.

Aubameyang is back to his element (Photo Credit: Chelsea FC)

Aubameyang is back to his element (Photo Credit: Chelsea FC)

If Aubameyang is to be judged on the back of his performances against Crystal Palace and AC Milan, then it will be safe to say he is back to his old self where he painted the league with goals while with Arsenal.

As the Blues host Wolverhampton Wanderers who are still without a manager after Bruno Lage was fired last week, Aubameyang should have plenty of joy by getting his groove back.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa – Napoli

Napoli’s Cameroonian midfielder, Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa, is unarguably the most inform player in the Italian Serie A, posting class performances every match day.

Despite being a deep lying defensive shield, Anguissa has taken his game to another level this season both in the league and in the Champions League with his stand out performances against Liverpool and Ajax showing just how good he is going forward.

Zambo Anguissa is doing great things at Napoli (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Zambo Anguissa is doing great things at Napoli (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

The defensive midfielder has added another dimension to his game in 2022-23 by not just sitting in front of the defence but makes driving runs forward which have yielded three goals and five assists in all competitions, his best ever tally in a season.

As second-from-bottom Cremonese comes visiting on Sunday, all eyes will be on the Cameroonian to once again be the star attraction as Napoli seek to maintain their unbeaten start to the season and stay top of the Seria A table.

Inaki Williams – Athletic Club Bilboa

New Ghana international forward, Inaki Williams is in incredible form at the moment and scored his third La Liga goal last weekend when Athletic Bilbao hammered Almeria 4-0.

Williams also set a record as he made his 230 consecutive league matches for Bilbao in a game where his brother, Nico, also scored, the second time the two would be on the score sheet in the same match.

Inaki Williams continues to shine for Bilbao (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Inaki Williams continues to shine for Bilbao (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

As Athletic takes on struggling Sevilla on Saturday, the high flying Williams will be expected to put in another great shift as the Basque side have a chance to go level on points with Barcelona and Real Madrid with a win.

Sadio Mane – Bayern Munich

After going six matches without a goal, Senegal forward Sadio Mane put up a nan of the match display against Viktoria Plzen in the Champions League with a goal and assist on Wednesday.

He also broke his goal drought in the Bundesliga when he scored against Bayer Leverkusen last weekend and having gotten his groove back, the Afcon winner should be on song as Bayern München welcome rivals Borussia Dortmund on Saturday in what is unarguably the biggest tie in Germany.

Mane who has a reputation as a big-game player, will have his first taste of Der Klassiker and will be expected to rise to the occasion as he always does in big games.

Alex Iwobi – Everton

This season, Nigerian star Alex Iwobi had rediscovered his form and is one of the sure starters in Frank Lampard’s Everton team list.

Last weekend, Iwobi put up another Man of the Match display, drawing rave reviews after he set up Dwight McNeil’s winner in the 2-1 win against Southampton.

Alex Iwobi is now Everton's main man (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Alex Iwobi is now Everton’s main man (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Everton has Manchester United to deal with on Sunday and with the Red Devils still smarting from last weekend’s 6-3 humiliation they suffered at the hands of neighbours Manchester City, Iwobi and company will have to be at their best to come out unstuck.

But with United being out of sorts in recent times, Iwobi should find joy running things in midfield.

Ademola Lookman – Atalanta

Nigerian winger, Ademola Lookman was the hero last time out when he scored the only goal as second-placed Atalanta defeated Fiorentina to keep pace with Napoli.

Ademola Lookman of Atalanta (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

Ademola Lookman of Atalanta (Photo Credit: Getty Images)

As Atalanta take on red-hot Udinese on Saturday, the Nigeria international and his Atalanta teammates would do themselves a whole lot of good by churning out a good result as a win could see them topping the league, albeit for a few hours, while a loss will see them plummet to the fifth position.

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Sports

Nigeria’s 4x400m mixed relay, 4×400 teams qualify for Olympics

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Team Nigeria on Sunday morning booked two places at the upcoming Paris Olympics Games in the Mixed 4x400m relay and 4X400m men’s events with automatic qualification spots at the ongoing World Relays in the Bahamas.

The mixed 4x400m relay team which had the quartet of Samuel Ogazi, Ella Onojuvwevwo, Chidi Okezie, and Esther Elo Joseph, picked the slot after finishing second behind the USA in their heat with a time of 3:13.79, to ensured Nigeria’s presence on the Olympic stage.

Both Nigeria and the US were a distance ahead of other in the heat and it was obvious as at the third leg that the race was between the two countries.

According to reports on the race, Okezie ran an impressive third leg in 44.78 to handover his baton first, but a US Olympics gold-medalist, Kendall Ellis, was too much for Esther Elo Joseph in the anchor leg as she led the United States to the finish line first.

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Kenyan footballer arrested over brutal robbery, murder case

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A Kenyan footballer, Byron Billy Owuor, has been arrested in connection with a violent robbery that led to the murder of a businesswoman in the Kondele area of Kisumu County of the country.

Owuor, a former Kisumu All-Stars player, was arrested after an AK47 rifle linked to violent robbery and murder was recovered and linked to him.

According to media reports, the 26-year-old midfielder was arrested along with another suspect for their alleged roles in a crime that has shocked the local community.

Police authorities confirmed that they seized the AK47 and 36 rounds of live ammunition linked to the robbery which took place on January 27th.

In a statement by the country’s Directorate of Criminal Investigations (DCI), the weapon was used to fatally shoot the business woman, Grace Awino Adero, who operated an M-Pesa shop with her husband.

“The assailants attacked the couple, making off with the day’s earnings and killing Mrs. Adero, while her husband narrowly survived the encounter,” the DCI said.

“The cold-blooded killers, believed to be part of a larger gang, fled the scene on an unmarked motorcycle, retreating to a hideout in Kasagam.

“Hours later, a suspicious saloon car was located by the Kasagam police during a routine patrol. Upon searching the vehicle, officers discovered a homemade pistol and four mobile phones, alongside an AK47 rifle without its magazine.

“The investigation revealed that the rifle had been obtained illegally from Uganda,” the DCI noted.

A media report stated that the case took a significant turn when detectives identified Robert Wakolo Okoth, also known as Michael Osama, as the alleged mastermind behind the syndicate’s criminal activities.

“Following this lead, a coordinated sting operation was conducted at Osama’s residence near Rai Primary School in Kasagam. During the raid, Osama’s 17-year-old brother, also believed to be a gang member, was arrested.

“The items recovered from the house include an AK47 magazine loaded with ammunition, six rounds of .38 special ammunition typically used in pistols, and five ID cards from different individuals.

“A green camouflage bag and a Kenya Armed Forces Comrades Association card were also found, pointing to the serious nature of the gang’s operations.

“With the arraignment at the Winam Senior Principal Magistrate’s Court, detectives have been granted an additional 14 days to wrap up their investigation.

“The focus now turns to capturing the remaining gang members whose identities have been uncovered but remain at large,” the statement said.

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