Manchester City vs Everton: Prediction, Preview & Betting Tips

Manchester City's defensive frailties will give Everton and Sean Dyche plenty of optimism heading into his game. However, Everton's record at the Etihad is less than desirable, which would favour an out-of-sorts Manchester City side.

Everton are winless in their last 15 meetings against the current Premier League champions, with Manchester City winning their last three consecutive meetings against the Toffees. Manchester City have scored first in this fixture in nine of the previous ten meetings between the two teams, with the Toffees failing to keep a clean sheet in 15 against the Citizens. Over 2.5 goals have been scored in eight of the previous ten involving Manchester City.

Looking at the fixtures for Manchester City, on paper this would have been the ideal game for Manchester City to end this sequence potentially the current champions have been enduring.

Everton will make things difficult, but we predict a scrappy 2-1 win for Manchester City.

Manchester City 2-1 Everton

Manchester City look to shake off the disappointment of the weekend and end this barren run of form as they host Everton at the Etihad Stadium.

Date: 26/12/2024
Location: Etihad Stadium
Kick-Off: 12.30 PM

Pep Guardiola will be under no illusions that his Manchester City side will likely concede the Premier League title in a disappointing campaign for the Citizens. The current run of form for the current Premier League champions rivals that of Stuart Pearce’s tenure as manager during the 2005/06 season. As it stands, Pep Guardiola’s side are hanging on to the final European place in the Premier League and in terms of the title race, the hosts are 12 points behind Liverpool who have a game in hand.

After 17th games, Manchester City are seventh in the Premier League and are four points behind Nottingham Forest who occupy that fourth place spot. Last season, Manchester City only lost three games all season, but by December, the Citizens have now lost six, having won eight and drawn three of their 17 games. A win for Manchester City would only move them as high as fifth, but a defeat could see the hosts slip down to 10th.

Everton’s off-the-field issues seem to be improving after the club announced the takeover from the Friedkin Group, which had previous ties with AS Roma. The Toffees are set for a relatively comfortable season but will be quick to assure themselves that any relegation talk is quickly squashed. After 16 games, Everton are 15th in the Premier League, four points clear of the relegation zone. However, they have a game in hand over their nearest competitors.

Manchester City were victorious in both league meetings last season, with a 2-0 win at the Etihad and a 3-1 win at Goodison Park.

The game will be available on Amazon Prime.

Ruben Dias has been ruled out for three weeks following a muscle injury. Ederson is still expected to miss out, and John Stones is also expected to be unavailable.

James Garner and Dwight McNeil are both expected to be unavailable for Sean Dyche.

Pep Guardiola will look at the recent history between the two sides in order for his side to gain any potential advantage over Sean Dyche’s Everton side. Everton are winless in their last 15 meetings against the current Premier League champions, with Manchester City winning their last three consecutive meetings against the Toffees. Manchester City scored first in this fixture in nine of the previous ten meetings between the two teams. The last time Everton beat Manchester City at the Etihad was in 2010.

Manchester City are in the midst of their worst form under Pep Guardiola, since his arrival in 2016. The Citizens have lost their last three consecutive games and are without a win in their previous four. More concerning is that the club has now only won once in their last 12 in all competitions and once in eight in the Premier League. The hosts come into this game following their 2-1 away loss to Aston Villa.

Manchester City’s home form is relatively strong. The hosts have won five of their eight home Premier League matches, although cracks have recently started appearing in the Etihad fortress. Manchester City have won three of their previous five home league games, but defeats against Tottenham Hotspur (0-4) & Manchester United (1-2) have only added to Pep Guardiola's and his team's vulnerability.

Everton are coming into this game, having remained unbeaten in their previous three Premier League games, with two draws (both 0-0 against Chelsea and Arsenal) and a 4-0 win over Wolves. Their only defeat in the last five was a 4-0 defeat against Manchester United at Old Trafford. Everton have drawn four of their last six games 0-0, with the two 4-0 scorelines either side.

Away from home, the Toffees have been poor. Everton have only won once away from home in the Premier League, which was a 2-0 win at Portman Road, when they faced Ipswich Town. Since that win, Everton have now gone four away from home without a win, with two draws and two losses - including a 1-0 defeat against Southampton.

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