Roberto Martinez will lead unbeaten Everton (3-3-0) to the Etihad Stadium to take on Manuel Pellegrini and Manchester City (3-1-2) on Saturday.
City will be looking to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich in the UEFA Champions League on Wednesday, while Everton — fresh off a 3-2 win over Newcastle — are hoping their tremendous early-season form continues.
Both David Silva (ankle) and Sergio Agüero (knock) should be available for selection after returning to the starting XI against Bayern.
For Everton, Arouna Koné (knee) and Steven Pienaar (hamstring) could return, while Antolin Alcaraz (hernia) has been ruled out for another three to four weeks. In addition, Gareth Barry is unavailable to play against his parent club.
Possible Starting Lineups
Manchester City: Hart; Zabaleta, Kompany, Nastasic, Clichy; Fernandinho, Yaya Touré; Navas, Silva, Agüero; Negredo.
Everton: Howard; Coleman, Jagielka, Distin, Baines; McCarthy, Osman; Naismith, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku.
Manager Quotes
Martinez on the Toffees’ position in the league table: “It was a great target before the [Newcastle] game and now it’s a great target to maintain for as long as we can.
“But obviously we are in October and now is not the time to be looking at the table.
“Now is the time to keep those standards, to keep growing and keep all the players fit so we have that competition that is going to drive us until the end of the season.”
Pellegrini on City’s 3-1 defeat to Bayern Munich on Wednesday: “We played really bad today – it’s not the team we’ve seen every week in the Premier League and I think that was the worst thing.
“We didn’t have possession and we didn’t do enough to have more. Of course Bayern always have a lot of the ball but today wasn’t a good day for us.”
Match Facts
The hosts, who have scored in 53 consecutive league fixtures at the Etihad Stadium, have lost nine of their last 12 meetings with Everton.
Everton midfielder Ross Barkley has taken the Premier League by storm this season, having bagged two goals in six league appearances for the Toffees.
The England international, 19, and on-loan Chelsea striker Romelu Lukaku were absolutely brilliant against Newcastle United on Monday, with the latter earning man-of-the-match honours after a spectacular two goal performance.
Lukaku, who has netted six goals in his last five league appearances, is 11/4 to score anytime against City on Saturday.
Betting Odds
Manchester City (13/20); Everton (41/10); Draw (10/3)
Match Prediction
Manchester City 2 – Everton 1 (7/1)
- Soccer News Like
- Be the first of your friends!
