Manchester City’s push for Premier League title glory resumes on Monday evening when they make their first-ever visit to Everton’s Hill Dickinson Stadium, six points adrift of Arsenal with two games in hand on the current table-toppers.
Arsenal’s 3-0 victory over Fulham on Saturday means Pep Guardiola‘s side must win both of their games in hand simply to draw level with the Gunners. City arrive at Merseyside on the back of a strong run of form across all competitions — six consecutive wins — most recently edging Southampton 2-1 to book a place in the FA Cup final against Chelsea.
Everton, by contrast, enter the match having lost back-to-back Premier League fixtures by identical 2-1 scorelines, with both defeats sealed by injury-time goals. Losses to Liverpool and West Ham United have left David Moyes’ side sitting 11th in the table, though the gap to the top six remains just three points.
The historical record between these two clubs offers little comfort to the home side. Everton have gone 17 Premier League matches without beating Manchester City, while City have won each of their last eight top-flight visits to Goodison Park. The most recent meeting, in October last year, ended in a 2-0 City victory with both goals scored by Erling Haaland.
The managerial head-to-head adds another layer of statistical weight to City’s advantage. Guardiola has never lost any of his 15 Premier League encounters with Moyes, recording 12 wins and three draws across those meetings.
On the team news front, Everton will be without Jack Grealish, who was already ineligible to face his parent club as a loanee but has since been ruled out for the remainder of the season with a stress fracture in his foot. Defender Jarrad Branthwaite also saw his campaign end prematurely following a hamstring injury sustained in the Merseyside derby. Striker Beto, who missed the West Ham defeat through concussion, is expected to return to contention.
For City, Guardiola confirmed in his pre-match press conference that midfield anchor Rodri was “getting better” while managing a groin problem, though the Spain international had not trained before Friday and remains doubtful. Nico Gonzalez, Rodri’s deputy, cemented his place in the side with a stunning 30-yard strike — the longest-range goal by any Manchester City player this season — to seal their FA Cup semi-final victory. Centre-backs Josko Gvardiol (calf) and Ruben Dias (thigh) remain unavailable, but the squad is otherwise healthy ahead of the trip.
Possible starting lineups are as follows — Everton: Pickford; O’Brien, Keane, Tarkowski, Mykolenko; Garner, Gueye; McNeil, Dewsbury-Hall, Ndiaye; Beto. Manchester City: Donnarumma; Nunes, Khusanov, Guehi, O’Reilly; Silva, Gonzalez; Semenyo, Cherki, Doku; Haaland.
With the FA Cup final on the horizon, City’s focus will inevitably be divided, yet their recent ability to grind out results regardless of circumstance has been a defining feature of their campaign. A correct score prediction of 1-2 to Manchester City reflects both the hosts’ capacity to threaten and City’s consistency in finding ways to win at this stage of the season.
