Prediction: Everton vs Manchester City

Struggling Everton ended a four-match losing run as they shared spoils with West Ham in the FA Cup third round, but the Toffees face another difficult game as they play host to holders Manchester City. The Citizens did brilliantly to catch leaders Chelsea despite missing some important players and they head to the Merseyside high on confidence.

Tipped to enter the Premier League top 4 chase before the season started, Everton are currently languishing in the bottom half of the standings, some 15 points behind Champions League positions. Even if the squad appear even stronger than last season, there are several obvious issues that have prevented the Toffees from living up to the billing. Everton didn’t have such a big squad to begin with and seeing as almost all important players have spent at least a couple of weeks on the sidelines, the under-par performances are not that surprising. Add to that the hectic schedule due to club’s European commitments and you will see why Roberto Martinez is struggling to get the maximum from his side. Everton are going through a very rough patch at the moment, having lost last four Premier League fixtures before they narrowly avoided defeat in the FA Cup clash with West Ham. The good news is Leighton Baines and Antolin Alcaraz return from injury and suspension respectively, but Tim Howard, James McCarthy, Sylvain Distin, Leon Osman, Darron Gibson, Steven Pienaar, Christian Atsu and Tony Hibbert are all unavailable.

Manchester City manager Manuel Pellegrini probably didn’t think his side would stand any chance of closing down the gap behind Chelsea when key players Sergio Aguero and Vincent Kompany were missing, but their teammates did well to compensate, helping the Citizens move level on points with the Premiership leaders. Manchester City did fail to defeat Burnley at home in spite of a two-goal lead, and they almost squandered another two-goal advantage as Sunderland levelled the score before Frank Lampard again scored the winner after coming off the bench. The Citizens then recorded another hard-fought triumph as they defeated Sheffield Wednesday in the FA Cup third round, but with the hectic festive schedule finally over, they should look much better against Everton. The latest reports suggest that captain Vincent Kompany should return to the side, but while Sergio Aguero and Edin Dzeko have resumed training, they are unlikely to be in contention, meaning James Milner is again expected to start up front. Yaya Toure has left to take part at the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, but Fernando returns from suspension.

Conclusion

Everton are not only extremely low on confidence, but they are still missing a host of important players and I don’t see how they are going to end the barren run against Manchester City. Having finally closed the gap behind title rivals Chelsea, the Citizens will give their best to remain near the top and I can see them winning at Goodison Park.

Verdict: Away win Manchester City (2)

Best Odds: 10/11

Bookmaker: bet365