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Manchester City will look to keep pace at the top of the Premier League ladder as they face Everton at home. Join The Roar for live scores and commentary from 04:30 AEDT on Sunday morning for live scores and coverage.
Four wins on the bounce have restored faith around the blue half of Manchester that their Premier League title defence isn’t over.
While Chelsea’s lead could extend to six points by the time this fixture kicks off, the Citizens will know their best often comes when it most counts.
Having defeated Everton home and away last season, most notably May’s crucial win at Goodison Park that set their path towards title glory, City will be confident against the Merseysiders, who endured a poor November with only one win from five league games.
Currently saddled outside the top half, three points is essential if Everton are to make a play for the elusive top four spots come end of season.
After conceding an early lead at Sunderland, Manchester City were clinically ruthless in dismantling the Black Cats, most notably via the sharp shooting of Sergio Aguero, whose star value in an already glamour lineup at the club continues to climb upwards.
After a sluggish start to the season where the Argentine was paled into the background due to the brilliant start of Chelsea’s Diego Costa, Aguero now leads the Premier League scoring charts with 14 successful strikes.
Partnered with the equally brilliant Edin Dzeko, there are few defences in England that can keep out a duo of this quality, not least Everton’s ageing defensive pairing of Phil Jagielka and Sylvain Distin.
While City do miss the services of the influential David Silva, Pellegrini will likely employ James Milner to partner Samir Nasri in the attacking midfield roles to supplement the strikers, while veterans Yaya Toure and Frank Lampard control the midfield battle further behind.
The possible worry for City will be the continued absence of captain Vincent Kompany, meaning Pellegrini is left to the services of the inconsistent Martin Demichelis and the lackadaisical Frenchman Eliaquim Mangala, who has already been shown red twice early in his City career.
It is the defensive concern that may be Everton’s best hope of rousing an upset. While Evertonians would have hoped for more than just six goals from Romelu Lukaku when he signed permanently during the off-season, there is no question that a combination of him and the trio of compatriot Kevin Mirallas, the legendary Samuel Eto’o and the wonderfully prodigious Ross Barkley may be enough to give the Toffees fortunes a much-needed reboot.
Further subplots exist with the return of Gareth Barry to the Etihad. Up against many of his former teammates with whom he celebrated City’s first Premier League triumph three seasons ago, Barry is set for a busy afternoon in defensive midfield alongside Muhamed Besic.
Everton are a team that rarely get cowed by teams considered superior, and should provide good value on the day. Yet a fixture at the home of the champions is a completely different prospect, and Manchester City should overcome their tricky opponents.
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