Richards welcomes back Kompany

Manchester City defender Micah Richards expects the team to be given a huge lift by the return of captain Vincent Kompany on Tuesday.

Kompany has missed City's last four matches after serving a suspension for his controversial sending off in the FA Cup third-round loss to Manchester United. Without him, City had to dig deep to claim narrow Barclays Premier League wins over Wigan and Tottenham while they were beaten by Liverpool over two legs in the Carling Cup semi-finals.

The Belgian defender had been in commanding form before his ban and Richards believes his return, for the league leaders' trip to Everton, is timely. Richards said: "He has been an unbelievable miss. He is our captain and he and Joleon (Lescott) have been our best central defensive partnership this season."

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