On Saturday, 10th February, within the 24th round of the Premier League, Manchester City will host Everton. On the previous Monday, the Citizens took a hard-fought victory over Brentford 1:3, while two days earlier, Everton secured a draw against Tottenham (2:2).
Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Ake, Gvardiol; Rodri; Bernardo, De Bruyne, Alvarez, Foden; Haaland.
Everton: Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Harrison, Garner, Gueye, Onana, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.
The match will take place in Manchester at the Etihad Stadium.
Currently, Manchester City sits in the 2nd spot of the Premier League table, trailing the leading Liverpool by only 2 points but with a game in hand. The fate of the Citizens is thus in their own hands, making a fourth Premier League title more than possible. The hosts have been in fantastic form lately, as highlighted by their ongoing five-game winning streak in the league. On the previous Monday, Manchester City overcame Brentford away with a score of 1:3. Neal Maupay's goal in the first half put the Bees ahead and the home team's goalkeeper, Mark Flekken, delivered an outstanding performance between the sticks.
However, Phil Foden equalised the scoreboard at the 45-minute mark, completed a brace eight minutes after halftime, and accomplished a hat-trick at the 70th minute. A remarkable record: the Citizens have not lost any of their last 23 home games against the relegation-zone dwellers. The coaching staff can count on the optimal line-up once again, as prodigious Erling Haaland (14 goals and 5 assists) is expected to be in the starting line-up.
Everton was docked 10 points foul of Financial Fair Play rules, and the club is now embattled to avoid this season's relegation. The Toffees currently occupy the 18th position in the Premier League table, trailing the safety zone by just one point, yet with a game in hand. After a run of decent results, Everton's performances have been less than impressive in recent weeks. They haven't managed to win any of their last six league matches, ending with three draws and three defeats. Over the previous weekend, Everton showed resilience and held Tottenham to a draw at home (2:2), with Jack Harrison and Jarrad Branthwaite scoring.
It's worth noting that Sean Dyche's men have performed brilliantly on the road, scalping 17 points in 11 away fixtures (sixth-best record in the league), with 13 goals for and 16 against. Everton's line-up will be without defender Doucouré (6 goals), Portuguese holding midfielder André Gomes, who was on loan to Lille the previous season, and Dele Alli.
The Toffees haven't won any of their last 12 visits to the Etihad, losing seven times. In the first leg of this season, Everton was defeated by the Mancunians at home (1:3).
Both Guardiola and Dyche have high stakes in this clash, even though their tournament objectives starkly differ: City is vying for the championship title, and winning on the Etihad would allow Everton to break clear from the relegation zone. Nonetheless, it's challenging to envisage such an outcome: the hosts have a near-flawless home record and are expected to triumph comfortably, with a handicap of -1.5.
Man City has slammed in 27 goals in 10 home fixtures, and the rejuvenated De Bruyne and Haaland can add more grunt to the Citizens' attack. I predict Individual Total Over 2.5 goals for the favourites.
Considering Man City's edge over their opponent in terms of class and their likely pressure on Pickford's goal, I foresee at least seven corner kicks to be awarded to the Citizens.
Everton may infringe often to keep pace with the opponent's swift attack. I bet on the Toffees to amass more yellow cards.
I predict a precise score of 3:0 in favor of Manchester City.
# | Team | P | W | D | L | GD | G | PTS | |
1 | Manchester City | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 9:2 | 9 | |
2 | Liverpool | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 7 | 7:0 | 9 | |
3 | Brighton | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 6:2 | 7 | |
4 | Arsenal | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 4 | 5:1 | 7 | |
5 | Newcastle | 3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4:2 | 7 | |
6 | Brentford | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 5:4 | 6 | |
7 | Aston Villa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 4:4 | 6 | |
8 | Bournemouth | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 5:4 | 5 | |
9 | Nottingham | 3 | 1 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3:2 | 5 | |
10 | Tottenham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 6:3 | 4 | |
11 | Chelsea | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 7:5 | 4 | |
12 | Fulham | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 3:3 | 4 | |
13 | West Ham | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -1 | 4:5 | 3 | |
14 | Manchester Utd | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 3 | |
15 | Leicester | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -2 | 3:5 | 1 | |
16 | Crystal Palace | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -3 | 2:5 | 1 | |
17 | Ipswich | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -5 | 2:7 | 1 | |
18 | Wolves | 3 | 0 | 1 | 2 | -6 | 3:9 | 1 | |
19 | Southampton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -4 | 1:5 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -8 | 2:10 | 0 | |
1 | Newcastle | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 6 | |
2 | Brentford | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:2 | 6 | |
3 | Arsenal | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 3:1 | 4 | |
4 | Manchester City | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 3 | |
5 | Liverpool | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
6 | Brighton | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
7 | Tottenham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:0 | 3 | |
8 | Fulham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:1 | 3 | |
9 | Manchester Utd | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 3 | |
10 | Nottingham | 2 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2:2 | 2 | |
11 | Bournemouth | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
12 | Chelsea | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
13 | Leicester | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Ipswich | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Aston Villa | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | West Ham | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:5 | 0 | |
17 | Crystal Palace | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
18 | Wolves | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:1 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 2:6 | 0 | |
1 | Manchester City | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:1 | 6 | |
2 | Liverpool | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 5:0 | 6 | |
3 | Aston Villa | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 4:2 | 6 | |
4 | Brighton | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:1 | 4 | |
5 | Bournemouth | 2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 4:3 | 4 | |
6 | Arsenal | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
7 | Nottingham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1:0 | 3 | |
8 | Chelsea | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 6:2 | 3 | |
9 | West Ham | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 2:0 | 3 | |
10 | Newcastle | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1:1 | 1 | |
11 | Tottenham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
12 | Fulham | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 1 | |
13 | Crystal Palace | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2:3 | 1 | |
14 | Wolves | 2 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1:3 | 1 | |
15 | Brentford | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:2 | 0 | |
16 | Manchester Utd | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
17 | Leicester | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:2 | 0 | |
18 | Ipswich | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
19 | Southampton | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | 0 | 1:4 | 0 | |
20 | Everton | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0:4 | 0 |
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