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Manchester City vs Everton

Match Preview

Updated Despite having assumed the mantle of draw specialists with their seventh of the season against Arsenal on Wednesday and slipped to sixth in the table behind Tottenham, Everton go into their biggest challenge of the campaign so far in elevated spirits.

Aggrieved at another refereeing decision that didn't go their way in the form of Mikel Arteta's foul on Steven Pienaar and no doubt feeling that with a bit more composure and guile the Blues could have beaten Arsene Wenger's men, David Moyes was nevertheless pleased at the manner that his side fought back from a goal down.

And that will provide a platform on which to take on the Champions in their own back yard this weekend, a place where the Blues have gone and executed a smash-and-grab raid of the three points before. Indeed, the last team to beat Roberto Mancini's side on their own patch was Everton almost two years ago.

Tim Cahill may no longer be around to terrorise the City defence in a fixture in which he just loved to score, but Everton have a few more weapons than was the case last season.

Certainly Moyes's injury list appeared to be easing as his team ploughs into a thick part of the fixture list. Phil Neville was the only medium-term absentee as he recovers from knee surgey but there is now a question mark over Leighton Baines after Moyes revealed the defender had finished the draw with the Gunners with a hamstring strain.

The fact that he played the final quarter of an hour or so with the injury would suggest it isn't serious but it might keep him out of action this weekend, if only as a precaution ahead of the rest of what is a tricky December programme.

Though Sylvain Distin can fill in at left back — and given Moyes's penchant to play central defenders as full-backs, it wouldn't be shock to see the Frenchman deployed there — Bryan Oviedo would be the obvious replacement for Baines. The Costa Rican has looked lively in his appearances as substitute since arriving in August when he has been played on his natural left side.

The camp has been buouyed, though, by the return to training of Kevin Mirallas this week. Whether the Belgian is deemed fit enough to start at the Etihad Stadium remains to be seen but there is no doubt that Everton have missed what he brings to the attack in recent games.

Should he pass a fitness test, Mirallas would likely deplace Steven Naismith from the right wing berth, with the rest of the midfield and forward line unchanged.

There has been no mention of any further injury issues is also renewed concern over Darron Gibson who was substituted after 73 minutes on Wednesday. He would almost certainly have been brought off around that time anyway given his lack of match fitness but he also went down a few minutes earlier with an unspecified knock.

Moyes has since revealed that a bone growth on his troublesome thigh tendon could prompt a recurrence of the problem that sidelined him from the beginning of September until this week but he will be assessed before this weekend's game to see if he suffers any reaction.

With the bulk of the pressure on City and Moyes taking a bit more than a mere "knife to a gun-fight" this time around, the potential for a surprise certainly exists if Everton go in there with the right mindset and approach.

They've shown that when they're on their game, they're a match for and should fear no-one, even if they haven't quite been on their game for a full 90 minutes in some time. City away would be the perfect time to pull out another cracking performance and make up for recently dropped points at home and on the road.

Referee: Lee Probert
Kick-off: 3pm

Lyndon Lloyd

» Read more

• Global TV coverage
• Hibbert: Everton love taking on the best
• Live Matchday Forum

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