The first and fifth-place clubs in the English Premier League will go at it this weekend when league-leading Manchester City hosts Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday, October 15th. City lost their first game of the season the last time out after a six-game winning streak and will be looking to rebound while Everton hit a rocky spot after the starting the new campaign on fire.
Manchester City vs Everton – Pinnacle Soccer Betting Line:
- Pinnacle currently lists Man City as the favorites to win the game at -200 with Everton +585 and a draw at +381
Manchester City vs Everton – Head to Head:
Everton beat Man City 2-1 at home in the League Cup last season, but lost the return leg 3-1 in Manchester two weeks later. They also drew 0-0 at the Etihad in Manchester in league action in January with Man City winning away 2-0 on Merseyside in a league encounter back in August. Everton’s last league win was a 2-0 home result in March of 2013. Overall, the two clubs have met 180 times in the past with Man City winning 68 times, losing 67 and drawing the other 45. Man City has won just eight of the past 23 encounters.
Manchester City – A Closer Look:
Manchester City still hangs onto the league lead even though they were downed 2-0 by Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in London in their last match two weeks ago. Spurs took the lead on an Aleksandar Kolarov own goal in the ninth minute and midfielder Dele Alli added an insurance marker after 37 minutes. The win moved Tottenham to within just one point of Man City. However, City still has a four-point lead over fifth-place Everton for the all-important fourth spot and a berth in next season’s European Champions League.
City enters the weekend with 18 points on six wins and a draw with a league-high 18 goals scored and seven allowed. Liverpool has also scored 18 goals this season. Man City has won all three home games so far, but came against some of the league’s weakest teams in Sunderland, West Ham and Bournemouth. City’s new manager Pep Guardiola has a few injury problems to deal with as defenders Bacary Sagna and Vincent Kompany are still on the shelf. However, there’s an outside chance that midfielder Kevin De Bruyne will return to the lineup this weekend.
Everton – A Closer Look:
Everton ethers the weekend in fifth place in the Premier League with 14 points from four wins, two draws and just one defeat. They’ve scored 11 goals and allowed only five against. However, they’ve fallen from second place to fifth in the matter of a few weeks and have also been knocked out of the English League Cup by losing 2-0 at home to second-tier Championship League side Norwich City. Everton drew 1-1 at home with Crystal Palace in their last match two weeks ago and lost their lone league game of the campaign 1-0 at Bournemouth a week earlier, meaning they’ve dropped five points in their past two outings.
Everton sits four points behind Man City and is just two points behind cross-town rivals and fourth-place Liverpool. Everton has road wins over West Brom and Sunderland this year along with their loss at Bournemouth. Belgian striker Romelu Lukaku opened the scoring for Everton against Bournemouth in the 35th minute two weeks ago on a free kick, but Crystal Palace leveled the game in the 50th minute courtesy of a Christian Benteke header. New manager Ronald Koeman has some injury concerns as Lukaku and defenders Phil Jagielka and Leighton Baines are questionable while fellow defenders Muhamed Besic and Tyias Browning are out with long-term injuries.
Manchester City vs Everton – Takeaway:
A win here by Everton will pull them within a point of Man City, so there’s no point sitting back with three important points up for grabs for the winner.
by Ian S. Palmer