England Premier League
Wednesday 27th December 2023
Kick off at 8:15pm GMT
Venue: Goodison Park
Match Preview:
Everton have been brilliant in the past month and yet the threat of being sucked back into the bottom three is ever present. The club have won 4 of their last 5 games with those victories all coming in a row but at the weekend they lost 2-1 away to Tottenham despite playing very well. The problem is that Luton and Burnley, the clubs behind Everton won at the weekend and all of a sudden there is a situation where Everton are just 4 points from the bottom three and now have to face the best club side in the world. We say the world because Manchester City have been crowned World Club Champions after smashing Fluminense 4-0 in the final last Friday, and the club will be on quite a high coming into this game. As for Everton they are in 17th place but home form has improved from their dreadful start at the beginning of the season and they have won their last two in a row here after beating Newcastle and Chelsea and on both occasions they were able to keep a clean sheet.
Manchester City will be buzzing as they won the World Club Cup, a cup where just two games are needed to win it and this will be the final time in this format as FIFA will increase the competition to 32 teams in 2025. So this is positive news for City and it was needed to have that taste of victory because in the past four weeks the champions have really suffered in the league. They have been so dominant in recent years that it feels plain bizarre to see them come into this game in 5th place but some results did work in their favour even though they were not able to play at the weekend. With Arsenal, Liverpool and Aston Villa drawing it has bunched up the sides and it means that despite poor form for City they are only six points from the top but with a game in hand. It’s just one win for Pep Guardiola’s side from their last five which was away to Luton and even then they only squeezed through 2-1. In City’s last game the alarms bells had to be ringing after they drew 2-2 at home even though they were leading 2-0. Granted Erling Haaland has been missing and he will be welcomed back with open arms and there is the return of a certain Kevin De Bruyne soon too, so going forward there are positives to take.
Team News:
Everton: Abdoulaye Doucoure remains a major doubt with his hamstring injury and is sure to miss out here. Seamus Coleman is only 50/50 to return due to a knock; it is the same situation for Idrissa Gueye. Ashley Young is struggling with a muscle injury and Dele Alli remains out with a hip injury.
Manchester City: Kevin De Bruyne will be assessed for fitness issues but could play some part. Jeremy Doku is only 50/50 to return due to a muscle injury, Erling Haaland remains a doubt with a foot injury but is recovering well. Rodri had a knee scare but is expected to be fine.
Everton vs Man City Head to Head:
Last season Manchester City won this fixture 3-0.
It’s been 14 games since Everton beat Manchester City.
There is a 60% chance to see over 2.5 goals.
Everton vs Man City Prediction:
This has been a fixture that Manchester City have been able to dominate over the past six years. Everton will be the underdogs but they have played good football and were unlucky to see their unbeaten streak of 4 games come to an end against Tottenham. The team has self belief and works hard and other teams that have done the same to City recently have been able to take points from them. Of course one advantage Everton has is that they did not travel to Saudi Arabia to play two games during the last week and this could mean a sluggish start from City but we do expect Guardiola’s team to come good and get the win. They may well be missing some key players but Everton could be missing the heart of their midfield which has carried them through important moments. For Everton this game will be about making life as difficult as they can do for the champions and putting in another good performance but the players will understand how hard these 90 minutes will be.
Everton vs Man City Betting Tips:
Manchester City to beat Everton at 1.57
Under 2.5 goals at 2.00
Anytime goalscorer: Bernardo Silva at 3.00
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