Everton vs Manchester City news: League leaders to bounce back against wavering Toffees

Everton vs Manchester City

After losing to Tottenham last week, Manchester City will be desperate to return to winning ways, while a result for Everton will be crucial for their survival hopes.

Facing Manchester City directly after they lose is one of the worst times to come up against Pep Guardiola's side, with the Spaniard able to draw a reaction from his squad.

When they lost to Spurs on the opening day of the season, City responded with a 5-0 drubbing of Norwich City. Similarly, after a 2-0 loss to Crystal Palace, they went and dismantled cross-city rivals Manchester United 2-0 the following week.

Guardiola will be hoping for another response on Saturday afternoon, while Frank Lampard will hope his Everton side can bounce back from their 2-0 loss to Southampton last week.

When: Saturday, February 26, 17:30 GMT

Where: Goodison Park

How to watch: Sky Sports

Or follow live updates from our match centre

Who is the referee for Everton vs Manchester City

Paul Tierney will take charge of Saturday's game, in what will be the 41-year-old's 20th match of the season.

In his 19 appearances so far, Tierney has brandished 79 yellow cards, one red card and four penalties.

Tierney has taken charge of three Manchester City games this season - the 1-0 win over Leicester, 2-2 draw with Liverpool, and 7-0 thrashing of Leeds United.

The only Everton game he has officiated this season was the Toffees' 4-1 loss to Merseyside rivals Liverpool, where seven yellow cards were shown.

Recent form

Everton come into Saturday's clash in dire form, having won just one of their last eight Premier League matches.

Now level with Newcastle on points, and just two ahead of Burnley, Lampard will be aware of the uphill challenge Everton face to survive relegation this season.

Their last outing saw them lose 2-0 to Southampton after second half goals from Stuart Armstrong and Shane Long, but Lampard will be hoping to replicate their performance a week prior, when Everton managed a 3-0 win over Leeds United.

With two games in hand on Leeds United and three on Brentford above them, Everton have a great opportunity to overtake fellow relegation rivals on Saturday, but hosting the league leaders is never an easy task.

As for Manchester City, their slip up against Tottenham last week allowed Liverpool to close the gap at the top of the table to just three points, with the two title rivals set to battle it out on April 10.

Following Liverpool's strong showing against Leeds United on Wednesday, where the Reds managed a 6-0 win, Manchester City will want to answer back with a convincing result on Saturday, and their form against struggling sides suggests they're more than capable of doing so.

Against teams in the bottom six of the Premier League, Manchester City have scored 28 goals in just seven games, an average of four per game.

To add to their dominance, they've only conceded one in that time - in their 3-1 victory over Watford. It seems like the points are only heading in one direction come Saturday afternoon.

Everton and Manchester City players in form

Riyad Mahrez and Raheem Sterling are both in top form for the visitors, with the latter scoring a hat-trick against Norwich and then adding to his tally in City's Champions League clash with Sporting Lisbon.

The England international has five goals against the Toffees in 17 appearances, including one earlier this season.

Mahrez is also hitting top form for the Cityzens, with the Algerian forward scoring five in his last five appearances.

His latest came during injury time against Tottenham, minutes before Harry Kane's winner, and it took his Premier League tally up to eight for the season.

With Everton's defence continuing to look leaky under Lampard, expect City's wide men to cause trouble.

As for the Toffees, 21-year-old winger Anthony Gordon is enjoying a good spell of form under Lampard, and he was rewarded for his efforts with a goal during the win against Leeds.

The energetic youngster can hurt City on the counter-attack, provided that the Everton midfield can supply him with the ball.

Last three matches

Manchester City 3-0 Everton (Premier League - November 21, 2021)

In this season's reverse fixture, the reigning champions had no troubles dispatching an unorganised Everton side.

Raheem Sterling opened the scoring just moments before half time, and Rodri and Bernardo Silva extended the lead after the break.

Manchester City 5-0 Everton (Premier League - May 23, 2021)

Another Everton trip to the Etihad Stadium ended in disappointment as Pep Guardiola's side ran riot.

Kevin De Bruyne and Gabriel Jesus gave the hosts a 2-0 lead within 15 minutes, and Phil Foden added the third in the second half before a late Sergio Aguero brace rubbed salt in Everton's wounds.

Everton 0-2 Manchester City (FA Cup quarter-finals - March 20, 2021)

City's last trip to Goodison Park proved to be a frustrating yet successful one. The hosts, under the tutelage of Carlo Ancelloti, managed to hold out for 84 minutes before Ilkay Gundogan opened the scoring.

With the Toffees then needing to push for an equaliser, Kevin De Bruyne ended their cup run by doubling the lead in the final minute of play.

Last 10 meetings

Everton have hugely struggled against City in recent years, losing nine consecutive games to them. Their last win came in 2017, when they recorded a remarkable 4-0 win.

Everton wins: 0

Draws: 1

Manchester City wins: 9

Everton goals: 6

Manchester City goals: 27

Managers' thoughts

Frank Lampard and Pep Guardiola in conversation

Ahead of the clash, Frank Lampard said "It hasn't been good enough away from home all season, we have a lot of games to go. Against Man City, there's a reason why they're top and they're the best team. We have to worry about ourselves and try and get a result."

The Everton manager added: "Manchester City's winning record is incredible this season, even when they lose it doesn't generally look like a normal loss. I'm taking them at face value, we have to be very organised and aggressive - and take our opportunities to do positive things in the game."

Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola said, "Everton have good players, they are fighting for being where they should be from the history. It will be tough at Goodison Park but I have full confidence in these players. I don't have an alternative.

"Everyone in the world would think they wouldn't be in that position. I'm not there to know the reason why."

Predicted Everton vs Man City teams

Everton: Pickford, Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Kenny, Gray, Allan, Van de Beek, Gordon, Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin

Man City team: Ederson, Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo, Rodri, Silva, De Bruyne, Sterling, Foden, Mahrez

Everton vs Man City prediction

Manchester City will ease to a 10th consecutive win against Everton, and likely do it without conceding. With City eager to extend their lead at the top of the table, we expect a 4-0 victory for Saturday's visitors.