Everton vs Manchester City
England – Premier League
Date: Saturday, 26 February 2022
Kick-off at 17:30 UK/ 18:30 CET
Venue: Goodison Park.
When Manchester City visits Goodison Park on Saturday evening to face Everton, the Premier League leaders will be looking to get back on track.
Since Frank Lampard took over as manager at the end of January, Everton’s form has swung wildly from one extreme to the other.
They’ve won both of their home games by three goals, including a 3-0 Premier League victory over Leeds United, but they’ve lost both of their away top-flight games by two goals.
The Toffees are coming off a poor 2-0 loss to Southampton at home, in which they failed to register a single shot on goal.
With the Merseyside outfit only two points above the drop zone, the outcome has them looking uneasily over their shoulders.
Manchester City, on the other hand, appeared to be in a league of their own just a few weeks ago, when they established a 12-point lead at the top and appeared to be well on their way to retaining the Premier League title.
However, the Sky Blues have recently shed points, giving the title battle a new lease on life, with the tenacious Liverpool now only three points behind the table-toppers.
Last Saturday, Manchester City were defeated 3-2 by Tottenham Hotspur at home.
Liverpool, who have won their last six league games in a row, took advantage of the situation.
Due to Liverpool’s absence from league play this weekend due to their Carabao Cup final against Chelsea, Pep Guardiola’s side will be looking to strengthen their hold on the table and earn some breathing room.
Everton vs Manchester City Head to head :
- The latest clash had ended in a 3-0 win for Pep’s men.
- They are on a nine-fixture winning streak.
- They had scored a total of 26 goals from their last nine encounters.
- At this venue, the guests are on a five-game winning streak, and had scored a total of 13 goals in the process.
Everton vs Manchester City Prediction :
Manchester City will be anxious to get back on track following their 3-2 loss to Tottenham Hotspur last time out, which might mean trouble for the hosts, who could be in for a thrashing given their inconsistencies.
In the early weeks of Frank Lampard’s tenure, Goodison Park has been fair to his side, but that has done little to help Everton, who still lack coherence and aggression on the pitch.
Everton struggled to break into Southampton’s defense last weekend, despite the Cityzens showing some flaws.
So it’s difficult to see them breaking through the Premier League’s toughest defense on Saturday.
A comfortable win for Guardiola’s team appears to be in the cards.
Everton vs Manchester City Team News :
Demarai Gray and Abdoulaye Doucoure of Everton have both returned to training this week after recovering from hip and groin injuries, but they will be evaluated before kickoff to see if they are fit to play.
Yerry Mina (thigh), Ben Godfrey (hamstring), Fabian Delph (thigh), and Tom Davies (thigh) will all be missing due to injury for Lampard.
Richarlison and Dominic Calvert-Lewin are expected to keep their starting spots in attack, while Anthony Gordon is slated to start on the left side of midfield, with Andros Townsend, Alex Iwobi, or Anwar El Ghazi on the opposite flank.
In January, I signed a contract. Dele Alli is yet to start for the Toffees, and the 25-year-old may have to make do with a place on the bench again this weekend, with Lampard preferring Donny van de Beek and Allan in central midfield at the moment.
Guardiola has announced that Jack Grealish and Gabriel Jesus are both fit to play after recovering from shin and muscular injuries, respectively, while Oleksandr Zinchenko is also in contention to play despite Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
The Spaniard is unlikely to make many changes to his starting lineup; but, if Riyad Mahrez is recalled, Ilkay Gundogan might be replaced, allowing Bernardo Silva to play with Rodri and Kevin De Bruyne in the midfield three.
John Stones and Nathan Ake, who were both unused substitutes against Tottenham, will be trying to break into the starting XI, though Ruben Dias and Aymeric Laporte are the most likely pair to start at centre-back, with Kyle Walker and Joao Cancelo continuing at full-back.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Kenny; Townsend, Allan, Van de Beek, Gray; Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling
