Season 2021-22 Opinion Talking Points

Everton vs Manchester City: Premier League Preview, H2H & Predicted Line-ups

Saturday's Premier League action closes out at Goodison Park as relegation-threatened Everton take on pacesetters Manchester City in a high-stake affair. 

For those interested in betting, the weekend game offers interest options for punters with a score draw a useful bet given City's recent troubles. You can also take advantage of this LeoVegas bonus and play their new Book of Dead game while you wait for the weekend game.

It has not been the best of starts for new manager Frank Lampard, who has lost two of his opening three Premier League matches in charge of Everton (W1), including a 2-0 defeat away to Southampton last time out.

A run of five reverses from their last six league outings has seen the Toffees slide to 16th in the standings, as they now hold a slim two-point lead over 18th-placed Burnley.

Lampard can still call upon his 100% win ratio at Goodison, having ousted Brentford 4-1 from the FA Cup before storming past Leeds 3-0 in his Premier League touchline debut in Merseyside.

Keeping Everton's home form on the upwards trajectory could be key to ensuring survival come May, with the ex-Chelsea boss looking to avoid another troublesome managerial stint in England's top-flight.

However, the Toffees' hopes of turning Goodison into a fortress will face a stern test on Saturday when they take on defending Premier League champions Man City.

Tottenham Hotspur's stunning 3-2 win at the Etihad last weekend might have given Everton the recipe to at least go toe-to-toe with arguably the best side in Europe. 

Everton vs Man City Head-to-Head

Everton's visit to the Etihad earlier in the season yielded a crushing 3-0 defeat, extending their losing Premier League streak against the Cityzens to eight matches. 

Only once in their last 17 top-flight encounters have the Toffees overcome Man City, courtesy of a 4-0 thrashing at Goodison back in January 2017.

But the Merseysiders have since lost four consecutive home league meetings with Pep Guardiola's team, scoring just three goals while conceding 11 in return. 

Encouragingly, though, before that underwhelming run of results, Everton had only lost four of their previous 20 league H2Hs on home turf (W11, D5). 

Everton Preview

Coming into this matchday, the Toffees have already suffered 13 defeats from their 23 Premier League fixtures this season, as many reverses as they had for the entire 2020/21 campaign. 

Much of the blame for Everton's disappointing league form has to be pinned on their lackustre first-half showings, with no side netting fewer Premier League goals before half-time than Lampard's men (eight) so far.

Indeed, only 29% of their top-flight goals scored this term arrived before the interval (8/28), while Man City's tally of 30 first-half goals bagged beats Everton's overall scoring haul.

It then comes as no surprise that only three Premier League clubs have opened the scoring on fewer separate occasions than Everton (seven) this season.

Unfortunately, Lampard cannot rely much on his defence to fend off Man City, with the Toffees failing to keep a clean sheet in four of their last five league games at home. 

Player to Watch

The Goodison faithful had hoped for Dominic Calvert-Lewin's long-awaited return from injury could turn Everton's season around but to no avail.

Since returning to action in January, the English striker has not found the back of the net in any of his five Premier League appearances despite being handed 90 minutes of football four times in that sequence. 

Calvert-Lewin has tallied two goals and a pair of assists in his eight matches against Man City, though he is still waiting for his first goal against this opposition at Goodison.

However, Lampard will need his standout striker to break the course now more than ever. 

Everton vs Manchester City Predicted Line-ups

Everton (4-4-2): Jordan Pickford; Vitalii Mykolenko, Mason Holgate, Michael Keane, Seamus Coleman; Joel Iwobi, Donny van de Beek, Allan, Demarai Gray; Richarlison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.

Manchester City (4-3-3): Ederson; Kyle Walker, John Stones, Aymeric Laporte, Joao Cancelo; Ilkay Gundogan, Rodri, Kevin De Bruyne; Raheem Sterling, Phil Foden, Bernardo Silva.

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