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Everton face Manchester City on Sunday afternoon, with both teams looking to close gaps at the top of the table, Guardiola’s men have fallen off the pace somewhat, with Chelsea, Liverpool and Tottenham leapfrogging them with City seven points off the league leaders.
Everton come into the game looking to make up a huge nine point deficit on Manchester United, who face Liverpool later in the day.
It’s a big game for…
Pep Guardiola. A defeat here would open a can of worms for the Spaniard, not only would be lose ground in the title race, but might even fan the flames about his struggles in English football and might also allow Everton a foot in on the top four.
Weird stat…
Manchester City missed two penalties last time out against Everton, with Phil Jagielka and Maarten Stekelenburg conceding and saving them both, respectfully.
Remember when…
As mentioned above, the Dutch keeper somehow managed to absolve Phil Jagielka of giving away two penalties, by saving them both from De Bruyne and Aguero, helping Everton to claim a 1-1 draw.
Player to watch…
Raheem Sterling. Hugely troubling for the Everton backline in the reverse fixture, he has been involved in nine goals for the club, scoring five and assisting four.
Past three meetings…
Manchester City 1 (Nolito) Everton 1 (Lukaku) Etihad Stadium, October 2016.
Manchester City 3 (Fernandinho, De Bruyne, Aguero) Everton 1 (Barkley) Etihad Stadium, January 2016
Manchester City 0 Everton 0 Etihad Stadium, January 2016
Form guide…
Everton: WLWDWL
Manchester City: WWWLWW
Vital information…
Kick off time: 13:30
TV: Sky Sports 1
Odds…
Everton to win: 16/5
Manchester City to win: 17/20
Draw: 19/10
(Odds provided by BetVictor)
42 mins: Some frantically slack passing enters into the game as it approaches half-time. City are desperate to get back on level terms and are loading players forward, and Everton sense there is the chance to bag a second on the counter attack as a result. Neither is going to happen, however, if their players continue to pass to an opponent.
45 mins: As two minutes of added time is signalled, Joel Robles requires some medical treatment after taking a heavy blow. What is it with Everton goalkeepers and injuries?
45+2 mins: Tom Davies heads off the line! The youngster has had an impressive first half and ends it in heroic fashion by clearing Bacary Sagna's looping header away from underneath the crossbar as the right-back threatened a stoppage time equaliser.
SECOND HALF KICK-OFF: There's a delay at the start of the second period as Romelu Lukaku dawdles on to the pitch to join the other 21 players ready to kick-off. The striker has been the difference so far. Will he still be the difference come 90 minutes?
47 mins: GOAL! EVERTON 2 MANCHESTER CITY 0:
What a start to the second half for Everton! Within seconds of kick-off, Romelu Lukaku has Everton on the move, shaking off his marker and threading a pass through the middle. The striker's initial ball is cut out, but Ross Barkley was first to intercept and he quickly found Kevin Mirallas in space to his right. The Belgian had a second to react, and did so superbly, sliding a right-footed shot away from Claudio Bravo and into the bottom left corner.
50 mins: Any half-time words of advice from Pep Guardiola have presumably been lost as Manchester City's task becomes twice as difficult. Indeed, frustration masked as urgency has crept into the visitors' game, signified by Kevin De Bruyne overhitting a simple pass and Raheem Sterling miscontrolling it on arrival.
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