Match Summary

Mikel Arteta: ordered to rest for two weeks after his assault by Plesan on Thursday

From BBC Sport:
Danny Mills' stunning 25-yard strike set Manchester City on the road to victory and kept Everton rooted to the bottom of the Premiership table. Mills sparked a wretched game into life after 71 minutes with a long-range drive that flew high past Nigel Martyn.

Darius Vassell wrapped up a deserved win for City with a goal in the dying seconds from Joey Barton's pass.

Sylvain Distin cleared off the line from David Weir late on, while City's Antoine Sibierski was denied by Martyn.

It put Stuart Pearce's side back on track after successive Premiership defeats - but his Everton counterpart David Moyes is contemplating a crisis after going out of Europe and with only one league goal this term.

City's Barton recovered from an ankle injury, while Andy Cole was fit again and able to return after a hamstring problem. Everton were without Mikel Arteta after he suffered a neck injury in the Uefa Cup clash against Dinamo Bucharest on Thursday.

The early kick-off was no excuse for a dismal first 45 minutes that was devoid of any attacking ideas or quality.  Everton's Leon Osman had a header off target from Matteo Ferrari's cross, while Tim Cahill's header was ruled out for a clear offside.  City also struggled to make any impact, with little of their early-season momentum in evidence.

Barton livened up the crowd after 58 minutes, with a crunching tackle on former Manchester United star Phil Neville that earned a yellow card - and arguably the biggest cheer of the match so far.  Kiki Musampa had a half-chance three minutes later but he could only hit the side-netting.  It was his last contribution as he was replaced by Lee Croft, with Everton also sending on James Beattie for Marcus Bent.

City finally made the breakthrough with 19 minutes left, courtesy of a moment of quality completely out of keeping with the rest of the game.  Mills advanced on the right-flank, then cut in and lashed an unstoppable 25-yard shot past Martyn.

Sibierski almost doubled City's lead with seven minutes left when he got on the end of Croft's cross but Martyn made a crucial block.  And as Everton pressed forward in the dying seconds, Barton played in Vassell with a precise pass to beat Martyn and wrap up the points.

BBC Sport

Match Preview

The European Adventure is well and truly over, and it's back to the madness of the Premiership — and the most ridiculous kick-off time every invented by a Sky-brained idiot, or ever approved by the fools at the FA.  11:15 on a Sunday morning???  I know we may be playing like a pub team, but come 'ed!

It remains to be seen just how many players David Moyes will have to call on, with Mikel Arteta needing a couple of weeks rest to recover his composure following an utterly despicable challenge by Mhiaita Plesan.  Why no legal action has been taken against him is seriously puzzling. 

It's an away game and one we can't really afford to lose but with the improved displays playing 4-4-2 with McFadden up front in the last couple of games, perhaps we can hope that David Moyes will put a little more faith in that more attacking formation on the road.

With Hibbert, Ferguson and Kilbane also doubtful following the bruising encounter with the Romanians, the manager will have to make more changes and with James Beattie presumably not fit enough to start, Marcus Bent could get another opportunity to prove that he's not a one-season wonder for every club he joins.

If Moyes sticks with 4-5-1, it's probably hope for a point... or the usual script: give away a silly goal and chase the game, eventually switching to 4-4-2 when it's too late and we haven't a hope.  Is it really that impossible for us to break from the back with some decent speed and slick passing?  Don't they ever practice that stuff in training?

Come on, Moysie; now's the time you need to show you can motivate the players again and, for the sake humanity, get them playing some decent football.

Michael Kenrick and Lyndon Lloyd

Matchday Stats

Sunday sees the 157th match between Manchester City and Everton make history as it kick’s off (assuming the game isn’t postponed).  Thanks to the involvement of Sky, this match will be the earliest kick-off in Premiership history – with the game starting at 11:15 in the morning.  It will also be Everton’s third match at the City of Manchester stadium, and, buoyed by the showing on Thursday in the UEFA Cup, Everton will be looking to match the result from last season when Tim Cahill scored the winner, only to be sent off seconds later due to his celebration.  Of course, no one needs reminding of the capitulation that took place in the first game there, when Everton looked like they were already on their summer holidays as City won easily 5-1 – with Kevin Campbell scoring his first of the season and his last as an Everton player.

Everton's full record against Manchester City is:

Our record away to City is:

There have been 5 Everton hat-tricks against Manchester City over the years with the last one being scored by Gary Lineker in a 4-0 win at Goodison Park on 11 February 1986, with Graeme Sharp getting the other goal.  Despite the teams playing regularly against each other in the 20’s and 30’s, Bill Dean is not amongst the hat-trick scorers for Everton!

The most common victory for Everton is 1-0 which has happened 15 times in Everton's 56 victories.  City’s most common victory over Everton is also 1-0, which has happened 16 times in their 59 victories.  The most common draw between the sides is 1-1, which has happened 18 times in the 41 draws between the sides.

Everton's record for 2 October is:

This is the second time the clubs have met on this day.  The first was in 1954, when Cliff Britton’s Everton team lost 1-0 at Manchester City.  The last match n this day was a 1-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur last season.

George Beare was born on this day in 1885 in Southampton.  Signed from Blackpool in November 1910, George made 118 appearances for Everton on the wing, and scoring 19 goals before moving on to Cardiff City in September 1922.  Apparently, according to a journalist of the time, George was “an expert card manipulator, trick cyclist and an excellent billiards player.”

Michael Ball was also born on this day in 1979 in Liverpool.  After signing as a professional in October 1996, Michael made 139 appearances, scoring 8 goals before moving on to Rangers in August 2001.  There were various rumours of him returning to Goodison Park, but in August this year Michael moved from Rangers to Holland.

Steve Flanagan

Report

Lyndon Lloyd

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