Source: SKY_Sports
Blackburn v Man City preview
// A bit of a hack but it works// The article snippet is wrapped onto a second line, even when #article-sub is emptyif( $("div#article-sub").children().length == 0 ) {$("div#article-sub").remove();} Big spending Manchester City boss Mark Hughes will be without £17million striker Roque Santa Cruz as his side travel to Blackburn for their Premier League opener.[LNB] The Paraguay international is recovering from a knee operation and is expected to be out until September as City's big money signings struggle for fitness ahead of Saturday's game.[LNB]Hughes has spent almost £100million on big-name signings during the summer and his team will be under intense pressure to deliver when they travel to his former club.[LNB]DebutsOf the major new signings, Kolo Toure, Gareth Barry and Carlos Tevez could all make their debuts at Ewood Park.[LNB]Emmanuel Adebayor, a £25million signing from Arsenal, faces a race against time to make his debut after returning from international duty for Togo with a slight groin injury.[LNB]Fellow £25million man Carlos Tevez is in contention to make his debut after overcoming a minor heel problem while Craig Bellamy has overcome the knee injury which kept him out of the Wales squad in midweek.[LNB]Meanwhile, Belgian international Vincent Kompany is still sidelined with a toe injury while midfielder Michael Johnson will need another two weeks to recover from an abdomen injury.[LNB]BlackburnBlackburn boss Sam Allardyce's main concern heading into the match is the availability of captain Ryan Nelson who is struggling with a knee injury sustained in the 2-0 defeat to Dundee United last Saturday.[LNB]Australian midfielder Vince Grella and defender Chris Samba are both fit and are expected to start as Rovers look to dent City's title credentials early on.[LNB]New signing Nikola Kalinic is still waiting for a work permit therefore South African striker Benni McCarthy looks likely to start in attack.[LNB]Possible starting XIsBlackburn: Robinson, Jacobsen, Warnock, Nelsen, Samba, Pedersen, Emerton, Andrews, Grella, Diouf, McCarthy[LNB]Man City: Given, Richards, Dunne, Toure, Bridge; Wright-Phillips, Barry, Ireland, Bellamy; Robinho, Tevez[LNB]
