- Manchester City have won each of the last two head-to-head Premier League clashes, including a 2-0 home win six months ago.
- City have won their last five competitive matches, including a 2-1 win over Arsenal and a 1-0 away win against Burnley in the Premier League.
- Everton have won just one of their last five matches, losing their previous two to Liverpool and West Ham, respectively.
Another City masterclass expected
David Moyes’ Everton will look to frustrate Manchester City for as long as possible before hitting them on the counter, with Beto still their only real outlet on the break. This tactical clash between Moyes’ pragmatic 4-2-3-1/4-5-1 system and Andree Jeglertz’s free-flowing 4-3-3/3-2-4-1 should make for an interesting match.
Jeglertz has done a masterful job of maintaining the club’s relentless attacking rhythm and fluid, pressing style since taking the reins.
Their midfield dominance and pressing game have remained sharp.
Erling Haaland remains the most ruthless finisher in the Premier League, with 24 goals in 32 matches. Beto is Everton’s top scorer in the competition this season with eight goals in 33 appearances, but four of these have come in their last five games.
Everton can’t buy a win
It will be interesting to see how City approach this game against a compact, deep and highly-organised Everton side that don’t play with the ball for long periods. City have the ball to dominate territory and should be able to stretch Everton’s low-block by deploying their high-quality players in overloads.
The visitors have won their last five games in a row and are worthy favourites to dispatch Everton, with odds of 1/2 looking fair given their form and superiority in the head-to-head record.
The verdict
The bookies are expecting goals in this fixture, with the odds for Over 2.5 goals coming in at 33/50, and while a City victory looks likely, it’s not impossible to see Everton finding a goal in the game - 101/100 for Both Teams to Score - No seems like a good pick given the visitors’ excellent defensive record and Everton’s lack of scoring form.
A high-scoring City win looks likely, as Everton’s defensive organisation will be severely tested by the away side’s high-tempo, positional play. Everton have failed to win either of their previous two home games against City and we don’t see that run changing on Monday.
