Manchester City v Wigan Athletic
Saturday, 5 March 2011
City of Manchester Stadium
There’s never a dull moment at Manchester City and the club’s latest fiasco revolves around former captain Kolo Toure’s positive test for a ‘specified substance’ and subsequent suspension pending a full enquiry.
The former Arsenal centre half claims that the substace found in his sample comes from one of his wife’s dieting pills which he took to control his weight.
According to the BBC, Toure has until 9 March to decide whether he wants a B sample tested, and if that returns positive he could be banned for up to two years.
One man who may feature on Saturday against Wigan Athletic is Player of the Season contender Vincent Kompany who looks to have shaken off a hip injury sustained against Aris in the Europa League recently. If he does return to the starting lineup, the Belgian should start alongside Joleon Lescott who is finally starting to show some consistent form in recent weeks following his big money move from Everton in 2009.
Dutch midfielder Nigel De Jong could also be involved following his recent ankle injury.
City are currently in the middle of a hectic schedule as they compete on three fronts, but goalkeeper Joe Hart isn’t fazed by the congestion.
“I’m not really interested in having a break,” he says.
“I love playing. It’s great to play in all these games, and I’m happy to do it.”
Hart’s main competition for the number 1 shirt, Shay Given, has been ruled out for the season due to a shoulder injury leaving Stuart Taylor to provide cover for the first team.
Wigan’s 4-0 defeat to Manchester United last weekend was clouded in controversy after referee Mark Clattenburg failed to dismiss Wayne Rooney for a blatant elbow on James McCarthy. However the young midfielder says that it’s time to move on and concentrate on keeping the club in the Premier League.
“The manager Roberto Martinez told me not to worry, keep working hard and hopefully we can stay in the league,” he said.
“It looks a lot worse on the telly but these things happen in football. You just have to dust yourself down and get on with it.”
The clash at Eastlands represents a difficult prospect for the Latics who failed to register a shot on target in the corresponding fixture last season as they went down by three Carlos Tevez goals to nil.
However on loan winger Tom Cleverely believes that they have every chance of getting a result.
“It’s an old cliché but every game in this league is tough no matter who you’re playing or where it is,” he said.
“Man City away looks a stand-out fixture but if we go there with the same mentality as we had at Tottenham earlier in the season, and Liverpool at Anfield recently there’s no reason we can’t get a result.”
Despite sitting bottom of the table at the moment, a win combined with some other results in their favour could see Wigan move out of the relegation zone.
The club this week released its annual financial report, and despite some very poor attendances recorded one of the lowest losses in the Premier League.
They made a net loss of £4m, compared to £6m in the previous year despite a reduction in turnover from £46m in 2009 to £43m in 2010.
“The figures reflect the fact the club is financially stable at present and that we are continuing to control our costs to ensure that the future of Wigan Athletic remains secure,” said Chief Executive Jonathan Jackson.
Key Men:
Manchester City – David Silva
City fans are slowly but surely running out of superlatives to bestow on the little Spaniard. Silva has been very influential all year and his absence from the 1-1 draw with Fulham last week was very noticeable. Expect the ex-Valencia man to be pulling the strings while drifting in from an initial wide position.
Wigan Athletic – Charles N’Zogbia
Former Newcastle United winger Charles N’Zogbia is regularly Wigan’s most potent threat. Micah Richards has been in superb form at right back for City lately but he will face a stern test on Saturday. N’Zogbia has shown flashes of brilliance this season, most notably when he scored a brace in Wigan’s 2-2 draw with Newcastle in October.
Previous Meeting:
Wigan Athletic 0-2 Manchester City, 19 September 2010
Goals from Carlos Tevez, his sixth in seven games against Wigan, and Yaya Toure gave City all three points at the DW Stadium in September.
Prediction:
Manchester City 3 (Tevez, Dzeko, Silva)
Wigan Athletic 1 (N’Zogbia)
Ahuge thanks to Xavi6 of www.mancityfans.net for this great match preview