Everton vs Manchester City Match Prediction

Manchester City make the trip to Goodison Park on Saturday as the Cityzens look to keep up with early pace-setters, Liverpool.

Last weekend, Pep Guardiola’s troops emphatically put their shock defeat to Norwich behind them as they blitzed past Watford 8-0, with Bernardo Silva scoring a hat-trick.

Everton, meanwhile, come into the encounter on the back of two successive losses in the league to Bournemouth and Sheffield United. Hence, despite playing at home, the Toffees would be under immense pressure to get something out of the game, a fact emphasised by their lacklustre standing in the Premier League table.

However, Everton should not retreat into their shell and allow the visitors the lion’s share of possession. If the hosts do indulge in that tactic, City might just pick them off with ease, considering the conviction and incision of their attacking play.

Moreover, the Cityzens would look to control the game through midfield and create instances of numerical superiority in the centre of the park, wherein they might be able to take the Everton midfielders out of the game.

The away side’s wingers would also drift in-field quite frequently to encourage the full-backs to foray forward, meaning that the hosts would have plenty of offensive firepower to contend with.

As for Everton, they would hope to disrupt the rhythm of the champions by slowing down the game as much as possible and restricting the space in between the defence and the midfield.

Consequently, that might prompt City to commit more men forward, thereby leaving gaps at the back. If such a situation plays out, the Toffees, having the likes of Moise Kean and Richarlison among their ranks, would fancy their chances against a make-shift defence.

Thus, at this juncture, it feels that if Everton are to gain anything from the match, it is imperative that they make the net ripple first. It would then allow them to lure City in before landing a decisive punch, akin to what Norwich did a fortnight ago.

However, if the visitors manage to nudge ahead, it could be an extremely long evening for the Toffees, and one that they wouldn’t have too many fond memories of years down the line. And, on recent evidence, it looks as if the latter scenario might just come to fruition.