As Manchester City will be playing before Liverpool in this round of fixtures, there is an opportunity for them to leapfrog the Reds into 1st place in the Premier League with a win. Although this may be a temporary placing, it would add pressure to Liverpool's current struggles to remain at the top of the league.

Current Form

Everton

Everton have failed to impress for large parts of the season so far, and there is already talk of another managerial replacement potentially being on the cards at the end of the season. The Toffees currently find themselves in 9th place in the Premier League on 33 points, ahead of Bournemouth on goal difference alone. In their previous 5 games, Everton have won 2 and lost 3.

Statistically, Everton have been as average as their table placing so far this season. They've scored 36 times, an average of 1.44 goals per game. However, they have also conceded 36 times and this is something they really need to improve as soon as possible.

Manchester City

Manchester City have had a mixed bag of results recently but put together a convincing win against Arsenal in the previous round of fixtures. That has kept them in 2nd place in the Premier League on 59 points, 3 points behind leaders Liverpool. In their previous 5 games, Manchester City won 4 and lost 1.

Statistically, Manchester City are up there as one of the best teams in the world this season. They have scored 66 times, an average of 2.64 goals per game. Defensively, they have only conceded 20 times, an average of 0.80 goals per game.

Head to Head

In the previous 10 meetings between the clubs, Everton won 2, Manchester City won 4, and there were 4 draws. Manchester City have won 2 games on the bounce in this fixture, however.

Analysis

Everton

Everton are in a poor run of form at the moment so are heavy underdogs in this fixture. However, the Toffees have also been known to down tools if it means that they will hinder Liverpool in the process. This was evident when this fixture came around during Liverpool's previous title race under Brendan Rodgers, and Everton looked like they had no interest at all in getting anything out of the game. However, with Silva possibly looking to save his job, it is likely that he will be looking for his players to put in a big performance here. Whether or not he is able to inspire such a reaction is yet to be seen.

Strategically, Everton cannot afford to sit back and allow Manchester City to pass the ball around freely in front of their defensive lines. This kind of play inevitably leads to Manchester City's attacking talent finding ways to break through the lines and test goalkeepers. When teams have beaten Manchester City this season, they've shown a desire to get at them and push forward whenever possible. Everton certainly have players who can cause Guardiola's team issues, but the difficult part is actually getting them involved in the attacking phases.

Manchester City

For all the talk of Liverpool looking shaky recently, not much has been said about Manchester City also showing signs of a wobble in the title race. In truth, Guardiola will be feeling relieved that his side weren't punished by Liverpool following their loss to Newcastle. All that this team can do now is to continue to put points on the board and hope that Liverpool aren't able to get back to their recent great form. Playing against Everton is possibly a good way to guarantee a Manchester City win at the moment, and even if they are up for the game, it's unlikely that they'd have much say in the outcome anyway.

Strategically, Manchester City just need to do their usual thing. Guardiola's team will look to dominate possession and get forward at any opportunity. With the top quality players they have within their squad, they will definitely create chances so being clinical is likely all that it will take to bring all 3 points back to Manchester on Wednesday night.

Predictions

My disappointment with Liverpool's recent results has me feeling rather pessimistic and I can't see anything other than a comfortable win for Manchester City here. Whether Everton decide to roll over and allow themselves to be steamrolled is yet to be seen, but it certainly wouldn't surprise me. Nonetheless, I will be hoping for a Toffee player or two to stand up and be counted, providing a shock result against Guardiola's team.

Prediction: Manchester City win.

Score Prediction: Everton 0 - 4 Manchester City

Betting Picks

Despite my prediction, Manchester City offer very little risk to reward value for me at their current price. Therefore, I have placed a couple of hopeful bets on the Everton to win market and Everton to win or draw market. I have also taken a small position on over 2.5 goals.

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