Everton welcome Manchester City on Sunday as they continue their quest for a European qualification spot. Everton did well to extract seven points out of the possible nine during the festive period which saw Ronald Koeman’s side moving up to the 7th position in the league. A top four finish seems highly unlikely but the Merseysiders might still get a taste of European football this season if they manage to finish sixth. A win over Manchester City would bring Everton within six points of sixth placed Manchester United, who face Liverpool later on.


Manchester City responded well after the defeat at Anfield to put them back into the title race. They beat Burnley playing with 10 men and crushed West Ham 5-0 away from home to march into the FA Cup fourth round. Pep Guardiola’s men are currently seven points shy of league leaders Chelsea, a gap which they hope to overcome with 18 weeks of Premier League football still to come.

TEAM NEWS

Everton
Morgan Schneiderlin is an Everton player now but the game will come too soon for him.

Injuries: Maarten Stekelenburg(leg), Yannick Bolasie(knee), James McCarthy(hamstring), Bryan Oviedo(knock), Muhamed Besic(knee), Dominic Calvert Lewin(ankle)

Unavailable: Matthew Pennington(lack of match fitness), Idrissa Gueye(international duty)

Manchester City
Pep Guardiola waits for the outcome of Bacary Sagna’s misconduct charge. The defender has until 6pm, Friday(GMT) to respond to the charge. Vincent Kompany, Leroy Sane and Fernando are back in training but their fitness levels are yet to be assessed.

Injury: Ilkay Gundogan(knee)


Doubts: Vincent Kompany(knee), Leroy Sane(knock), Gabriel Jesus(lack of match fitness), Bacary Sagna(might face suspension)

Suspension: Fernandinho(3 more matches)

PREDICTION:


Everton had a productive festive period. A return of seven points in such a congested schedule is an impressive achievement indeed, but the problem with Everton is their lack of consistency. They were dominant in their wins against Southampton and Leicester but barely managed an escape against a reeling Hull City. Last weekend’s FA Cup defeat to Leicester is yet another example of their inconsistency.

Manchester City will be desperate not to fall any further behind in the title race and will go all out for a win at Goodison Park. Everton failed to win half of their home matches this season but the 1-0 loss to Liverpool was the only time they lost a Premier League game at Goodison Park in 2016/17. It should be a hard fought contest but we’re leaning towards a City win here.

RECENT FORM

Everton(7th in the league, last 5 matches in all competitions)
1-2(FA Cup, Home, Leicester)3-0(Home, Southampton)2-2(Away, Hull)2-0(Away, Leicester)0-1(Home, Liverpool)

Manchester City(4th in the league, last 5 matches in all competitions)
5-0(FA Cup, Away, West Ham)2-1(Home, Burnley)0-1(Away, Liverpool)3-0(Away, Hull)2-1(Home, Arsenal)

HEAD TO HEAD

Total Played Everton wins Man City wins Draws
181 67 68 46

LAST MEETING

15 October, 2016

Etihades Stadium

Premier League

Man City 1- Everton 1

INTERESTING FACTS

Manchester City last 20 away games against teams below them-11 wins, 4 draws, 5 losses, 1.9 goals scored/game, 1.2 goals conceded/game
Everton last 20 home games against teams above them-5 wins, 6 draws, 9 losses, 1.1 goals scored/game, 1.4 goals conceded/game
Everton are winless in their last seven Premier League games against Manchester City (D3 L4). Prior to this run, they had won six of the previous eight (D1 L1).
The Citizens have won two of their last three games at Goodison Park, having lost the previous four to David Moyes’ Everton between 2010 and 2013.
Three of Everton’s last five goals against Manchester City in the Premier League have been scored by Romelu Lukaku.
Since Lukaku’s debut for Everton in September 2013, only Sergio Aguero (77) and Harry Kane (59) have scored more Premier League goals than the Belgian (54).
Yaya Toure has been directly involved in six goals in nine previous Premier League appearances against the Toffees (three goals and three assists).
Manchester City missed two penalties against Everton in October, with both spot kicks conceded by Phil Jagielka and saved by Maarten Stekelenburg.
Raheem Sterling has been directly involved in nine Premier League goals for Man City this season (five goals, four assists), compared to eight in his first season at the club.
The Citizens have lost as many Premier League games in their last seven (3) as they did in their previous 24.
Sergio Aguero has had a hand in 139 goals in 164 Premier League appearances for Manchester City (113 goals, 26 assists).
Leighton Baines’ next assist will be his 50th in the Premier League. He’s currently on 49 assists, five more than any other defender in the competition’s history.
Idrissa Gueye will be missing for this game as he is away representing Senegal at AFCON 2017. Gueye has made the most tackles in the Premier League this season (93).