Matchday 18 of the Premier League between Manchester City and Everton will take place on December 26 at the Etihad Stadium. Manchester City vs. Everton: prediction and betting odds, statistics.
Referee: Simon Hooper (England)
Matches – 10 (Premier League, 2024/25);
Yellow cards shown (including second yellows) – 47;
Average yellow cards per match – 4.7;
Red cards shown – 1;
Average fouls per match – 21;
Penalties – 0%.
Predicted lineups for Manchester City vs. Everton
Manchester City (4-2-3-1): Stefan Ortega – John Stones, Rico Lewis, Josko Gvardiol, Manuel Akanji – Ilkay Gundogan, Mateo Kovacic – Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Phil Foden – Erling Haaland.
Everton (4-3-3): Jordan Pickford – Vitaliy Mykolenko, Ashley Young, James Tarkowski, Jarrad Branthwaite – Abdoulaye Doucoure, Idrissa Gueye, Orel Mangala – Iliman Ndiaye, Jack Harrison, Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
The starting lineup for each team in their last match in this tournament is listed.
Manchester City
The Citizens visited Birmingham last round, where they fell to Aston Villa (1-2). Before that, they lost at home to Manchester United by the same scoreline. Since the beginning of November, Pep Guardiola's side has played eight league matches and suffered six defeats, managing only a win against Nottingham Forest (3-0) and a draw with Crystal Palace (2-2). As a result, Manchester City has slipped to 7th place and is already 4 points behind the Champions League zone.
Defender Ruben Dias, forward Oscar Bobb, and midfielder Rodri Hernandez will miss the match due to injuries. The participation of goalkeeper Ederson is in doubt.
- No more than three goals have been scored in 8 of Manchester City's last 10 Premier League games.
- The club has conceded in 14 of their last 16 Premier League matches.
- The number "2" has appeared in the final score in 6 of the last 8 league matches for the Citizens.
Everton
The Toffees have not conceded a goal in their last three Premier League matches. They first thrashed Wolverhampton (4-0) and then played out two goalless draws with Arsenal and Chelsea. It's also worth noting that in their last six league matches, Sean Dyche's side has suffered only one defeat (1 win and 4 goalless draws). However, the club is only 15th in the standings and just 4 points above the relegation zone.
Defender Ashley Young is out due to an accumulation of yellow cards.
- At least one team failed to score in seven of Everton's previous Premier League games.
- No more than three goals have been scored in 10 of Everton's last 12 league matches.
- In 19 previous away Premier League matches, the club has won only once (7 draws and 11 losses).
Manchester City vs. Everton: Match Prediction
Everton has kept a clean sheet in five of their last six Premier League matches. The team has long been known for its solid defense, but this season Sean Dyche has perfected their defensive setup. However, their attacking play remains weak, as they have only scored against Wolverhampton in their last seven league matches. I am confident that the Toffees will continue to play defensively and lack attacking prowess in the upcoming match.
Manchester City's crisis continues. It seems that in January, the club will need to make several signings, particularly in midfield, where they haven't refreshed their squad for some time, leading to their drop in the standings. The team is scoring noticeably less – in their last 9 Premier League matches, the Citizens have only scored two or more goals twice. I believe that this round will also be a low-scoring affair, as Manchester City rarely plays high-scoring matches against this opponent – in their last 10 league encounters at the Etihad, only twice have the teams scored more than three goals.
My prediction – Total under 3.5 goals
