Manchester City vs Everton Prediction And Betting Tips

Manchester City welcome Everton to the Etihad, as they look to pick up three points to keep pace with Liverpool and Arsenal at the top of the Premier League table.

• Date: 10/02/24
• Kick-off time: 12:30
• Venue: Etihad Stadium

The Premier League weekend begins with a crucial game at both ends of the table between Man City and Everton. Pep Guardiola’s side could be in line for their ninth victory in a row when they go up against Everton following their 3-1 win at Brentford on Monday night. City currently sit second, two points behind leaders Liverpool, but with one game in hand. Despite a tough stretch of results in December, the league champions have recovered well to give themselves an excellent chance of retaining their crown. Liverpool and Arsenal will not make it easy, but they have been boosted by the recent returns of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland from injury.

In contrast, Everton are in a relegation battle, following their ten-point deduction earlier this season. The deduction has left them in the bottom three with 19 points, one off safety. They will come into this game following a stoppage-time equaliser at home to Tottenham last weekend, and Sean Dyche will hope that his side can carry this momentum into what is arguably the toughest fixture of the season.

Haaland’s return came last week in City’s 3-1 win over Burnley. The Norwegian made an appearance off the bench. The Citizens have multiple goalscorers they can rely on, but they will be relieved to be able to call upon one of their star men once again. In just 17 league games this season, Haaland has scored 14 times, which has him joint top alongside Mo Salah.

If Everton are to get anything from this game, they will have to get past the league’s third-best defence and contain the best attack. However, goals have been hard to come by for the Toffees, as their 26 goals scored is the third worst in the division. They are led by Abdoulaye Doucoure’s six goals, but the midfielder has been sidelined with a hamstring injury. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is second with just three goals, though the striker has not scored since late October.

This fixture is one that has been heavily dominated by Manchester City, especially in recent seasons, with Pep Guardiola’s men winning 12 of the last 13 meetings in all competitions. The other game ended in a draw. Such is City’s dominance, Everton have not recorded a win against this weekend’s opponents since January 2017, in which they famously won 4-0 at Goodison Park in Guardiola’s first season in the Premier League. Romelu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas, Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman were all on the scoresheet that day.

The two sides met in the reverse fixture just before the new year, as City won 3-1 on the road. They fell behind to a Jack Harrison goal after half an hour, but turned it around in the second half with goals from Phil Foden, Julian Alvarez and Bernardo Silva.

Manchester City Team News

Following the return of Erling Haaland, Pep Guardiola has no injury concerns.

Everton Team News

Abdoulaye Doucoure and Amadou Onana have been out with thigh and knee injuries respectively, but could make a return this week. Arnaut Danjuma remains sidelined.

Manchester City Form Guide:

In their last five games, Man City have a perfect record, winning them all. The champions are the most dominant they have been all season, and are once again becoming the unstoppable force that has seen them win three straight Premier League titles.

This stretch of games began with a 2-0 victory over Sheffield United, though the scoreline does not reflect the gap in quality of the two teams. They enjoyed 81% possession and recorded 1000 passes to their opponent’s 233, and the final result flattered their visitors. An FA Cup third-round tie at home to Huddersfield followed, as they started the defence of their trophy. It was a much more resounding score as they hit five past their Championship competitors. This earned them a trip to Tottenham in the fourth round, at a ground where they notoriously struggle at.

Their FA Cup journey did not end, however, as a very late Nathan Ake winner ensured that their name was in the draw for the next round. Sandwiched between these two cup ties was another Premier League win, this time at Newcastle as a 91st-minute Oscar Bobb goal secured all three points as they came from behind. The introduction of the returning De Bruyne changed the game as he scored and assisted the equaliser and winning strike.

Last time out they welcomed legend Vincent Kompany back to the Etihad as he brought his Burnley side to Manchester in the midweek fixture. It was not a very happy return, however, as the Clarets lost 3-1 with goals from Julian Alvarez and Rodri proving the difference, before a late Ameen Al-Dakhil consolation. On Monday night, City managed to earn a crucial win at Brentford thanks to a hattrick from Phil Foden after Neal Maupay had put the Bees ahead after 21-minutes.

Everton Form Guide:

In their last five games, Everton have won once, lost once and drawn three times. The Toffees are languishing in the relegation zone following a downturn in form. They have played in both the Premier League and FA Cup during this stretch of games, with them winless in their three league games.

Their most recent game was at home to Tottenham, in which they drew 2-2 thanks to a 94th-minute equaliser from Jarrad Branthwaite. Spurs had opened the scoring very early on, as former Everton striker Richarlison scored his eighth goal in as many games in the fourth minute. Jack Harrison levelled the game on the half-hour mark, as he bundled home from a corner. Richarlison restored the lead for Spurs as he completed a brace. With the visitors seemingly on their way to victory, Branthwaite was at the back post to tap in and secure a precious point.

This followed another draw, as they were held to a 0-0 at Fulham. Their sole win in this run of fixtures came in an FA Cup third-round replay at home to Crystal Palace in which Andre Gomes scored the winner. This earned them a tie at home to Luton in the fourth round, but were knocked out with a 2-1 defeat.

A game against Aston Villa began this stretch, but again they failed to find the back of the net in another stalemate. They managed to score just four goals in five games, which highlights their difficulties in attack.

Whilst Everton picked up a much-needed point at home to Tottenham in their last game, they will face a much trickier test as they travel to the Etihad. Man City have not lost since the beginning of December and we do not expect that to change this weekend. We Predict: Man City 3-0 Everton

Manchester City vs Everton will be available to watch on TNT Sports 1.