Premier League: Manchester City vs. Everton Preview

Manchester City welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium on New Year’s Eve in a game with very different consequences for the two

Frank Lampard’s tenure at Everton is undoubtedly the most fragile of the entire top flight.

Arsenal’s excellence means Man City are five points clear of the summit despite having had a very strong start to the season.

35 points from a possible 45 is a phenomenal start, but a loss to Brentford before half-time cost them dearly.

However, in a 38-game season, City are still the team most likely to finish first.

This is largely due to the presence of Erling Braut Haaland, who scored 20 Premier League goals this season in a 3-1 win over Leeds United on Wednesday, the fastest to reach the milestone in a season.

Strength from depth is another important factor as manager Pep Guardiola can afford to bench Phil Foden, João Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte in midweek and win comfortably.

They have beaten Everton in each of their last 10 games, but the last encounter at Goodison in February was a hotly contested one as City took all three points despite narrowly avoiding a penalty after Rodri’s handball.

Four consecutive defeats in all competitions for Everton, all against teams close to the relegation zone, left Lampard just outside Goodison Park.

Leicester City came to Goodison and beat them convincingly before Bournemouth completed a league and cup double against the Toffees days after the World Cup break, scoring seven goals in two games.

In their competitive return, the late Wolverhampton Wanderers added to their misery by reaching Merseyside and finishing with three points through Rayan Ait-Nour’s 95th-minute winner.

They are not yet in the relegation zone, but a defeat here and a chase from the amateur defense in recent games leave them very vulnerable, with the three teams below them within easy reach.

Next week’s game against Brighton & Hove Albion should be crucial for Lampard as it is accepted that they are in danger of losing to the Etihad in that game.

However, if he loses here he will have to keep the scoreboard from getting ugly and will be played at the whim of a side that look set for a relegation battle, something Lampard has now admitted after the loss at Wolves.

City’s only notable absences are the two Winter World Cup legacies. Julian Alvarez is slowly withdrawing from Argentina celebrations, while Ruben Dias recovers from a hamstring injury he picked up while representing Portugal.

Perhaps most concerning for those who aren’t City supporters, Guardiola insists goal-hungry Erling Haaland is still not at his ‘best’ as he continues to recover from a foot problem he contracted in the Champions League.

Conor Coady is available again after playing for league parent club Wolves on Boxing Day. The England international could rekindle his partnership with James Tarkowski after Yerry Mina scored his return from injury with a goal but bounced back in the second half.

Andros Townsend has suffered a setback in his recovery from a serious knee injury, and James Garner is not expected to return from a back problem until February.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin is the most notable absentee for the Toffees. The injury-prone striker is on his way back to fitness but Frank Lampard fears he could trigger another problem by hastily restoring his number 9.

Man City vs Everton H2H Results (Last 5)

    Man City: 5 Wins

    Everton: 0 Wins

    Draws: 0

Current Form (Last Five Games)

    Man City: W  W  L  W  W

    Everton: D  L  L  L  L

Probable Lineups:

Man City (4-3-3): 

Ederson; Lewis, Stones, Laporte, Ake; Gundogan, Rodri, Bernardo; Foden, Haaland, Grealish

Everton (4-3-3): 

Pickford; Patterson, Coady, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Iwobi, Gueye, Onana; Gordon, Maupay, McNeil