KAKA – and the Preview of Man City ‘v’ Wigan

High-flying Wigan are the visitors to the City of Manchester Stadium on Saturday to face a Man City side chomping at the bit after a surprise loss to Notts Forest in the FA Cup and the postponement of their previous Premier League encounter against Portsmouth.

Kaká

However, all the build up to the match has been dominated by talk of new arrivals for City. The names of Scott Parker, Craig Bellamy and Roque Santa Cruz have been readily banded about, but it is the name of a certain world superstar that has been grabbing all the headlines. Ricardo Izecson dos Santos Leite, more commonly known as Kaká, is apparently on the verge of joining the Blues, in what would certainly be the most surprising and controversial transfer in football’s history. The fee being talked about is rising daily, starting off at a meagre £91 million, but now being raised, according to some sources, to a mind-boggling £150 million!!!! This fee would demolish the previous transfer record, a paltry £47 million, paid by Real Madrid to acquire the mercurial talents of Zinédine Zidane. AC Milan have reportedly accepted the bid and have given the Brazilian superstar permission to join City. Kaká’s main advisor, his father, is flying over to Manchester on Monday to have a look at City’s facilities and to talk over the staggering deal with members of City’s hierarchy. If the deal goes through, which in my humble opinion is unlikely, then the midfield maestro is expected to be available for City’s match with Newcastle on 28th January. If a prospective partnership of Kaká and Robinho fails to get your juices flowing, then I don’t know what will!!!!

I think it suits him well

Team News

Anyway, moving onto team-news, and it becomes clear that Blues boss Mark Hughes has a battle on his hands to name a side that is able to beat Wigan. Sparky is missing umpteen first team regulars, including Martin Petrov, Michael Johnson and Valeri Bojinov. In addition to this, many first-teamers have minor injuries, whilst Hughes is unlikely to call upon the out-of-favour Israeli international Tal Ben-Haim. Stephen ‘Superman’ Ireland is ruled out thanks to a suspension carried over from the Portsmouth game. On the bright side, Brazilian star Robinho is expected to recover from an injury in time to face Wigan, whilst Shaun Wright-Phillips will face a latw fitness test, as he aims to recover from the injury that forced him off midway through the first-half against Notts Forest. England defender Wayne Bridge will make his debut for the club, possibly in an unusual left-wing position. The injury crisis means that Pablo Zabaleta is likely to start on the right-wing, forcing a move across the back for Micah Richards, and a rare opportunity for Nedum Onuoha in the centre of defence.

For the visitors, the impressive Wilson Palacios will play despite being on the verge of joining Tottenham, while striker Emile Heskey has been linked with City. Luis Antonio Valencia will cause problems on the wing, while Egyptian powerhouse Amr Zaki is back on form.

Palacios will still play despite his impending transfer

My Team

                                       Hart

Richards         Onuoha              Dunne            Bridge

Zabaleta        Kompany             Elano             Garrido

                                    Robinho

                                   Sturridge

Subs: Schmeichel, Ball, Ben-Haim, Weiss, Jo(ke), Caicedo, Evans

Key Battles

Wayne Bridge ‘v’ Luis Antonio Valencia

Left-back Bridge will be making his debut for City, but he will be up against tricky, Eduadorian winger Valencia, who is sure to give the England defender a tough battle. This will be a fiercely contested battle that may decide the outcome.

Pablo Zabaleta ‘v’ Maynor Figueroa

A rare appearance in the key battles feature sees Argentinean hard-man Zabaleta come face to face with Honduran left-back Figueroa. The Wigan defender scored his first goal for the Latics last week against Tottenham, whilst Zabaleta will be pushed forward into a midfield role.

Richard Dunne and Nedum Onuoha ‘v’ Emile Heeskey and Amr Zaki

A revelation for this section!! The first ever battle between two pairs. There will be more muscle on show in this contest than there is on the whole of ‘The World’s Strongest Man’ competition. This battle between these four powerhouses will be brutal, and the team which wins this contest will win the game.

Me

Verdict

Man City 2 -2 Wigan

An action-packed, thoroughly entertaining affair between the two North-West sides. A close fought scoring draw to be the outcome, with goals scored by Robinho, Sturridge, Valencia and Zaki.