Improving Everton will host Club World Cup champions Manchester City at Goodison Park on Wednesday as the festive Premier League action continues. Sean Dyche’s Toffees were unlucky to lose out to Tottenham Hotspur on Saturday, going down 2-1 in north London, and also had a ten-point deduction.
City, on the other hand, were at Club World Cup matches in Saudi Arabia over the past week, winning the tournament for the fifth time in 2023. Here’s 90min’s preview of the game.
| Country | TV channel/live stream |
|———————— |—————————————-|
| United Kingdom | Amazon Prime Video |
| United States | nbcsports.com, NBC Sports App, UNIVERSO, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, UNIVERSO NOW, USA Network |
| Canada | fuboTV Canada |
Everton will be without key midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure because of a hamstring injury, and there’s also a doubt over the availability of Idrissa Gueye. Seamus Coleman, Ashley Young and Dele Alli are almost certainly out for the hosts.
Projected line-up for Everton: Pickford; Patterson, Tarkowski, Branthwaite, Mykolenko; Gueye, Onana; Harrison, Garner, McNeil; Calvert-Lewin.
Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola hasn’t given too much away about the condition of Erling Haaland, who Everton will be hoping isn’t ready to return from a foot injury. Kevin De Bruyne and Jeremy Doku are also concerns for City, while Rodri’s fitness remains to be seen.
Projected line-up for Manchester City: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Gvardiol, Ake; Stones, Kovacic, Bernardo; Foden, Alvarez, Grealish.
Everton have shown plenty of Sean Dyche spirit in recent weeks, picking up valuable points to ease their relegation fears. However, they can’t rest easy just yet, particularly as they have an awful recent record against City. The reigning Premier League champions have won 11 of the last 12 meetings between the two sides, scoring 31 goals in the process.
They will feel confident of extending that run, despite their indifferent form in the league and injury concerns, and may have some secret weapons up their sleeve if Guardiola has been coy.
Overall, the stage is set for a thrilling encounter between Everton and Manchester City. With players out on both sides and City’s impressive recent record against Everton, the visitors will fancy their chances. However, Everton has shown resilience and has a knack for surprising the Premier League’s top teams. Fans can look forward to an exciting midweek match at Goodison Park.
