Soccer
  • Home
  • Football
  • Man City vs Everton: City warm up for Champions League final

Man City vs Everton: City warm up for Champions League final

Man City will be presented with the Premier League trophy and will be hoping for a win to go with the celebrations.

When: Sunday, May 23, 16:00 GMT

How to watch: Sky Sports

Best bets

Match to end a draw at 4/1 (PaddyPower)

Riyad Mahrez to score first at 11/2 (bet365)

Both teams to score at 4/5 (William Hill)

Changes likely for City

Pep Guardiola's team go into this game knowing that the result is somewhat irrelevant. They face Chelsea six days later in the UEFA Champions League Final in Portugal and have the chance to rest players.

Kevin De Bruyne has been slowly building his fitness up and although unused, he was named among the substitutes for the loss to Brighton. The game against Everton could be a fantastic chance to give him some gametime to ensure he is at his best for the all-English Champions League Final.

Man City boss Pep Guardiola

One player who City will miss on Sunday is Joao Cancelo after being sent off against Brighton. Ilkay Gundogan is also unlikely to feature against Everton due to a knee injury and Guardiola saying that he doesn't want to take the risk.

The game might also come too soon for Sergio Aguero who is nursing a leg issue, and has struggled for consistent game time all season due to injuries. Kyle Walker and Raheem Sterling may return for City, although currently are only considered 50% likely to play.

Chances for players such as Bernardo Silva and Ferran Torres, who have not played as much as they would have liked this season, could come about due to injuries and rotation by Guardiola. Torres has shone in the last couple of games, in particular against Newcastle, in which he bagged an impressive hat trick.

Last three Premier League meetings:

Everton 1-3 Manchester City (February 17, 2021)

Man City's three left-footed attacking threats were all on the scoresheet in this comfortable win over Everton.

Phil Foden was the first to net after his deflected right-footed drive found a way past Jordan Pickford.

Everton were able to go in at half time level thanks to some fortunate positioning from Richarlison. Lucas Digne's scuffed cross/shot hit the post and bounced back onto Richarlison's upper leg and into an open net.

The away team were soon back in their groove with a typical Riyad Mahrez curling shot that went in via the post. Bernardo Silva rolled the ball into the path of the Algerian who took aim from 20 yards.

Silva then scored the third, creating space with a dummy and hitting a shot that was too powerful for Pickford to turn round the post.

Manchester City 2-1 Everton (January 1, 2020)

Brazilian striker Gabriel Jesus was at the double as his side defied a late comeback from Everton to secure a narrow victory.

Phil Foden had a goal ruled out by VAR for offside and Man City had to wait until after half time to break the deadlock. Gabriel Jesus set himself up with a perfect first touch and then curled past a despairing Jordan Pickford.
A fast-flowing move from the home team was clinically finished by Jesus again, who shot into the net with his left foot.
Claudio Bravo, who was starting a rare game, then misplaced a pass and Everton pounced through Richarlison in the 71st minute to halve the deficit.
Gabriel Jesus passed up the opportunity to score a hat trick when he struck the post late on but his two earlier goals were enough to gain all three points.

Everton 1-3 Manchester City (September 28, 2019)

Raheem Sterling bagged his 100th goal in club football against a determined Everton at Goodison Park.
Kevin De Bruyne assisted Gabriel Jesus with a inch-perfect cross and the striker stooped to score a header.
Everton replied only seven minutes after, when Dominic Calvert-Lewin effectively stole Seamus Coleman's goal bound chip.
Riyad Mahrez played in Sterling, who proceeded to miss a one-on-one with Pickford. Mahrez did outfox the Everton goalie shortly after, hitting a free kick past the England international to put City 2-1 to the good.
Everton then had three chances in the space of a few minutes but could not capitalise and Sterling got his goal when his volley hit the crossbar and bounced over the line, narrowly.

Premier League head-to-head:

Played: 47

Manchester City wins: 20

Draws: 9

Everton wins: 18

Manchester City goals: 68

Everton goals: 57

Unpredictable Everton more than capable of causing an upset

There is no doubting the potential of this Everton squad, especially under the guidance of the legendary Carlo Ancelotti.

The Italian manager has three Champions League's to his name, and has won domestic leagues in England, Italy, France, Spain and Germany, making him one of the best managers in the world.

Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti

He has attracted players such as Allan and James Rodriguez to Goodison and the Merseysiders find themselves with a chance of overtaking Tottenham Hotspur on the last day of the season, given that they better Spurs' result against Leicester.

Looking to back up their victory against Wolves, Carlo Ancelotti has proven throughout his managerial career and with his tactical know-how, he will be confident of getting a positive result against Man City.

Scoreline prediction: Manchester City 1-1 Everton

As with other games this weekend, one team has considerably more to play for than the other, and this is no different. Everton could sneak into a European spot if they better Tottenham's result and a draw here might just be enough.
Although it is a tough task, they can take hope from Man City's collapse against Brighton in midweek, and will be looking to compound Man City to two rare winless games in a row.

Phil Foden and Kevin De Bruyne

With City likely to rotate, they will still undoubtedly be strong in every position and Everton will be under no illusion that they need to be at their best to come away with even a point - but it is certainly a possibility.

Goalscorer bets

Riyad Mahrez has impressed this season and he enjoys playing against Everton, once again he can cause trouble to their backline and get on the scoresheet.

The tricky winger is 37/20 to score at anytime with Unibet and 11/2 to score first with bet365.

Can Riyad Mahrez get amongst the goals?

Gylfi Sigurdsson is a set-piece specialist for Everton. The Icelander represents good value for money and is 16/1 to score first with Paddy Power or 6/1 to score anytime with the same company.

READ MORE: Premier League final day: The odds and possible outcomes in the race for European soccer

More Articles