Manchester City thrashed West Ham United 4-1 in the Premier League on Saturday to claim their first back-to-back wins since October.
Promoted Sunderland, who have defied expectations to stay in the top half of the Premier League table, could be the worst affected with six players going to the tournament, while the likes of Fulham, Manchester United, Burnley and Crystal Palace will also have to make do without some key personnel.
NDA partners engage in intense lobbying to finalize cabinet berths ahead of the swearing-in ceremony of the new Bihar government led by Nitish Kumar. The new cabinet is expected to include fresh faces from BJP and JD(U), along with representation from smaller alliance partners.
The Egypt forward has been left out of the club's Champions League match against Inter Milan.
IMAGES from League Cup matches played on Wednesday.
The home portfolio of Bihar, which Chief Minister Nitish Kumar kept with himself all through his nearly 20-year-long tenure, has been given to his deputy, BJP leader Samrat Chowdhury, this time, according to an official notification issued on Friday.
Less than 10 days are left for filing of nomination papers for the first phase of the Bihar polls.
"2005 se lekar aaj tak... logon ne dekha hai kaun sarkar chalata hai aur kaun sirf hawa banata hai, (From 2005 till today, people know who actually governs and who just makes noise)," said Ramesh Yadav, a booth worker from Nalanda who claimed he had attended every JD-U celebration since Nitish's debut win.
Premier League leaders Arsenal needed two own goals, the second deep in stoppage time, to scrape a 2-1 home win over bottom club Wolverhampton Wanderers and open a five-point gap, while earlier on Saturday Mohamed Salah put aside a tumultuous week to help Liverpool beat Brighton and Hove Albion 2-0.
He also wished his estranged brother, Tejashwi Yadav, on his 36th birthday, wishing him the best and a bright future.
Bihar Congress chief Rajesh Ram raised doubts over the integrity of the counting process as Election Commission trends placed the NDA ahead. He alleged serious anomalies and accused the administration of attempting to steal votes, while other Congress leaders urged patience until final results.
Jan Suraaj Party spokesperson Pavan K Varma said the party would undertake a "serious review" of its performance in the Bihar Assembly elections after early trends showed Prashant Kishor's outfit making little impact despite a grassroots campaign.
Arsenal exacted sweet revenge on West Ham United with a 6-0 away thrashing to stay right in the thick of the Premier League title race.
Cracks appear within Bihar's ruling NDA alliance as partners bicker over seat sharing ahead of the upcoming assembly elections. Jitan Ram Manjhi's HAM demands a respectable number of seats, while Chirag Paswan's LJP seeks more than initially agreed upon.
Everton enjoyed their first Premier League win at Manchester United for 12 years despite playing virtually the entire game with 10 men.
Arsenal marked Mikel Arteta's 300th game in charge with a convincing 2-0 home victory over West Ham United in the Premier League on Saturday.
The government is planning to set up an integrated transport planning authority for faster and comprehensive planning among multiple transport ministries such as highways, railways, and shipping & ports.
The Congress on Friday posted its second worst performance in Bihar's electoral history, managing to win only six of the over 50 seats it contested and losing deposits in most seats as its 'vote chori' pitch failed to make any impact on the ground.
Kuswaha told reporters at the airport that "Everything will be fine. With this hope and belief, we are going to Delhi."
Following their landslide victory in the Bihar assembly polls, NDA leaders have begun discussions on forming a new government. Key coalition partners visited Chief Minister Nitish Kumar's residence, expressing support for his continued leadership. The article also touches on political developments within the RJD and reactions to the election results.
Tejashwi who is meeting senior Conngress leader Ashok Gehlot on Wednesday is expected to be announced as the CM face of the Mahabgathbandhan on Thursday.
'The seats which we would be contesting have been identified. Respective candidates have also been finalised. Four non-performing sitting MLAs will be replaced with fresh faces.'
A summary of Saturday's action in the English Premier League.
Electoral fortunes of 1,302 candidates, including over half a dozen ministers in the Nitish Kumar government, will be sealed on Tuesday with 3.70 crore voters eligible to exercise their franchise across 122 assembly segments in the second and final phase of the Bihar polls.
Senior BJP leaders, including Amit Shah and J P Nadda, met with party leaders and allies to discuss the upcoming Bihar polls. Seat-sharing arrangements with NDA partners are expected to be announced soon.
Bihar's upcoming elections are marked by the significant presence of candidates from political families, raising questions about ideological commitments and democratic principles.
Villa remain fourth on 56 points, three points above Spurs in fifth, having played a game more. West Ham are seventh on 44, three points behind sixth-placed Manchester United who have a game in hand.
Having struck a seat-sharing deal, leaders of the Janata Dal-United and the Bharatiya Janata Party sat across the table in Patna on Monday to thrash out, among other things, constituencies they planned to swap or give up in favour of smaller allies in Bihar.
'Rahul Gandhi has promised me to give a Congress ticket to contest the polls.'
The interaction is planned via a telebridge set up at the U R Rao Satellite Centre in Bengaluru, said the Amateur Radio on International Space Station (ARISS), which facilitates interaction of school students with astronauts on the orbital laboratory.
The BJP and JD(U) will each contest on 101 seats in the Bihar assembly elections, while the LJP will field candidates on 29 seats. Other NDA partners will contest on fewer seats.
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
'Every party want to contest more seats, nothing wrong in it. We have to compromise to take all together as the NDA.'
Amidst speculation over the NDA seat-sharing deal in Bihar, Chief Minister Nitish Kumar distributed JD(U) tickets, while the BJP announced its first list of candidates. The INDIA bloc also faces internal challenges as parties prepare for the upcoming elections.
Liverpool's slim Premier League title hopes faded further on Saturday when Michail Antonio's late header earned West Ham United a deserved point with a 2-2 draw.
Images from the Premier League matches played on Thursday
A summary of Saturday's action in the Premier League.
Arsenal had more than twice as many chances but failed to take any as the visitors defended gamely.
Liverpool overcame an early scare and came from a goal down to claim a 3-1 win at Austria's LASK Linz.
Each leader will look after six assembly constituencies.
Most of these leaders are known for their organisational skills and successful management of elections in their respective states.
