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Everton vs Manchester City

Lyndon Lloyd , 31 January, 6comments  |  Jump to most recent
Match Preview

A mixed January comes to an end this evening with the biggest test of the month posed by by title-chasing Manchester City. Lifted as they were by the fightback to beat Fulham in the FA Cup last Friday that booked the Blues' place in the Fifth Round, Everton will have plenty to prove, not least because of their meek performance at the Etihad Stadium earlier in the season.

As is the case this time, much of the pre-match talk ahead of that game back in September surrounded the Blues' impressive run of results against City, but Roberto Mancini's men broke a four-match losing streak with a routine 2-0 victory over an Everton side that didn't manage a shot on target all game.

Starting the game in 14th place and, hopefully, with a couple of new signings sewn up, David Moyes's side will need a more positive and attacking outlook against the Premier League leaders. With Nikica Jelavic and Manolas Kostas on the verge of signing, an expectant Goodison will be hoping for some more reasons to get the noise level up for another night game.

That's where Moyes's team selection and the attitude of the players will come into play. The win over Fulham by no means scaled the heights of some of the Blues' best moments over the past few seasons, but it was measurably better than anything else Goodison has seen in recent weeks, certainly since the turn of the year.

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Injury concerns will, again, keep the manager's options fairly limited beyond the starting line-up that began against the Cottagers. Seamus Coleman, Jack Rodwell and Sylvain Distin are all expected to remain on the sidelines with Leon Osman and Phil Jagielka.

Tony Hibbert was fit enough to be named on the bench last Friday but Phil Neville, as captain, will likely keep his place at right back. Alongside John Heitinga in central defence, Shane Duffy will undergo the sternest test in his fledgeling career but performances to date suggest he should be fine, even against the likes of Sergio Aguero and David Silva.

With the exception of the left flank wildcard — any one of Royston Drenthe, Magaye Gueuye or Victor Anichebe could get the nod there — midfield picks itself from right to left, with Landon Donovan, Darron Gibson and Marouane Fellaini, while up front it would not be surprising to see Tim Cahill and Denis Stracqualursi leading the line again together after the Argentine's industrious, goalscoring exploits against Fulham.

As far as City goes, what more can be said beyond what any Evertonian is surely already thinking? They've only lost twice on their travels so far this season and have scored more goals away from home in 11 matches than the Blues have in all of their 22 so far combined. They pose an awesome opposition but if Everton can recapture some of that never-say-die spirit and serve up some chances for the forward line, then anything is possible with the 12th man of Goodison behind them.

Lyndon Lloyd

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