England Premier League
Monday 28th December 2020
Kick off at 8pm GMT
Venue: Goodison Park
Match Preview:
It’s 4 wins in a row for Everton and they head into the new batch of games in 2nd place. It’s been a brilliant run for the club who have beaten the likes of Leicester, Arsenal and Chelsea. No mean feat, and at the weekend, they beat Sheffield United 1-0.
One could argue beating the Blades was one of the most important recent results, it’s those type of games playing the team in bottom place that if you fail to pick up the points players can start questioning themselves. So Everton will head into this very difficult fixture with a lot of confidence.
Of course despite pulling off some brilliant results in the league there has been disappointment for Everton. They were knocked out of the Carabao Cup by Manchester United. Like in the league game earlier this season Everton were in this one until the final few minutes where they conceded 2 late goals. In truth it was not a great performance by Everton and considering they were at home and had some fans present the club would have been disappointed by the result. As irony would have had it Everton would have played Manchester City in the semi-finals, instead they get them in the league.
At home it’s 4 wins from seven games and you get the feeling that Everton could just do that bit better, however they have won their last 2 games here and have the 4th best home record in the league.
Manchester City have not been their explosive selves this season but they are starting to gel and get the wins under their belt. City are creeping up the table and at the weekend they beat Newcastle 2-0. This game followed their crucial 1-0 victory over Southampton and City have remained undefeated for the past 5 weeks.
Pep Guardiola’s side are in 5th place and with the same number of games played there is just a 5 point gap to Liverpool. City have earned 11 points from their last 15 on offer and away from home they have lost just once. However 3 draws from seven games has anchored the club slightly and they have scored just seven goals on the road, that needs to be addressed.
Team News:
Everton: Allan’s hamstring injury looks long term and the midfielder will certainly miss the next batch of games. Richarlison has concussion and has been ruled out until the New Year. James Rodriguez has also been ruled out with his on going calf injury. Fabian Delph and Lucas Digne are long term and not expected back for between 2-4 four weeks.
Manchester City: Ilkay Gundogan has a knock but is expected to be fine for this game. Gabriel Jesus has Coronavirus and will miss this game. Kyle Walker is ruled out with the same problem.
Everton vs Man City Head to Head:
Last season Manchester City won this game 3-1.
Manchester City have won the last 5 league meetings against Everton in a row, scoring 13 goals.
The last time Everton won at home against Manchester City was in 2017.
There is a 70% chance to see both teams to score.
Everton vs Man City Prediction:
Everton are missing some key players in Richarlison and James Rodriguez. When Richarlison was suspended in October Everton went through a terrible run without him and that may not be a coincidence. However they have put some good results in recently too.
If Everton play City like they did their rivals Manchester United in the Carabao Cup then this could be a nightmare showing at home, and City should have few problems. But if we see a fighting and passionate display from the home side who must dictate the pace of the game then they have every chance to win. No Evertonian will forget when they beat City with Pep Guardiola as manager 4-0 at home almost 4 years ago.
At the same time City are looking confident and slick and will be the favourites with most people to win this game. If City score first there might be no way back for Everton. On paper this is an away victory, especially with Richarlison out, and that is what we will back.
Everton vs Man City Betting Tips:
Asian handicap (-1 Man City) at 1.75
Anytime goalscorer: Raheem Sterling at 2.25
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