Manchester City Vs Everton Football Score Match 31 December 2022
Manchester City welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium on New Year’s Eve in a game with very differing implications for both. Frank Lampard’s job at Everton is arguably now the most fragile in the whole top flight. Arsenal’s excellence means that despite a very strong start to the season, Man City find themselves five points adrift from the top. Thirty-five points from a possible 45 is a phenomenal start, but a defeat to Brentford before the break has been very costly. Over the course of a 38-game season though, City are still the most fancied side to finish on top. That is largely thanks to the presence of Erling Braut Haaland up front, who made it 20 Premier League goals for the season already in their 3-1 win over Leeds United on Wednesday, the fastest it has taken anyone to reach that milestone in a campaign.
Strength in depth is the other major factor, as manager Pep Guardiola could afford to leave Phil Foden, Joao Cancelo, Bernardo Silva and Aymeric Laporte on the bench in midweek, and still win comfortably. They have beaten Everton in all of their last 10 meetings, but the last meeting at Goodison in February proved very controversial when City took all three points despite avoiding a very clear penalty being given against them following a handball by Rodri. Four straight losses in all competitions for Everton, all against sides in around the relegation zone, have left Lampard on the brink at Goodison Park. Leicester City came to Goodison and beat them convincingly before Bournemouth completed a league and cup double over the Toffees in the space of a few days before the World Cup break, scoring seven goals across the two games.
On their competitive return, bottom-of-the-table Wolverhampton Wanderers compiled the misery by coming to Merseyside and leaving with three points thanks to a 95th-minute winner from Rayan Ait-Nouri. They are not yet in the relegation zone, but a defeat here and the continuation of some amateurish defending in their recent matches will leave them very susceptible, with the three sides below them all within reach. Next week’s fixture against Brighton & Hove Albion is expected to be the make or break for Lampard given that there has been an acceptance they will probably lose at the Etihad in this one. However, if they do lose here, they must make sure the scoreline does not get ugly and play with the desire of a side that looks prepared for a relegation battle, which Lampard admitted they are now in following the defeat to Wolves.
Julian Alvarez is unlikely to be thrown into the Man City squad as he gradually returns to club action following World Cup success with Argentina. Ruben Dias will miss out with a thigh injury, but City still have plenty of options available at centre-back, with Manuel Akanji and John Stones the preferred duo on Wednesday. Foden may come in along with Cancelo as both were rested against Leeds, as Jack Grealish and Rico Lewis are the two likely to make way. Yerry Mina went off injured again for Everton on Boxing Day, a sight that has become all too familiar for him while at the club. He has gone off early in his last three Premier League starts, but they will have Conor Coady back to replace him after he was ineligible to face parent club Wolves.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin remains a doubt after the forward could not recover from a continuous thigh issue in time to play any part in the Boxing Day defeat. Andros Townsend has suffered a setback in his return from an ACL tear, while James Garner will miss the next month with a back injury. Manchester City host Everton on New Year’s Eve needing a win to put the pressure on Premier League leaders Arsenal before the Gunners’ away clash with Brighton and Hove Albion. The defending champions have won their two games since returning to domestic action after the FIFA World Cup and will want to close out the year in strong form. Meanwhile, the Toffees are struggling to keep their heads above water at the wrong end of the table. Erling Haaland has three goals from his past two games and will be keen to carry that hot streak into 2023.
“They are difficult, just because of their pure quality level in terms of players and the coach,” said Everton manager Frank Lampard ahead of Saturday’s clash with City. “They have got possibly the greatest coach in the world for what he does and the style of play he has brought to the team and to this league. There is an incredible amount of talent and backup in their squad.”
City: Pep Guardiola will be without Ruben Dias who is still out with a thigh issue while Julian Alvarez is not expected back after the World Cup win with Argentina until early January. Apart from those two, City are more or less full strength and a motivated Haaland will be a nightmare for any opponent not least one looking nervously over their shoulder at the relegation zone. Bernardo Silva and Phil Foden could be in line to start.
“The last two games against Liverpool and Leeds were so demanding — the high pressing and intensity from both teams,” said Guardiola pre-game. “We handled it well. I do not know what Everton is going to do. If they defend deep we have to know how to handle that, the transition from (Jordan) Pickford is so fast. The quality is there — we have a feeling Everton have exceptional, really good players. In this period of the calendar it can be a problem. Just three days after the game against Leeds, which was so demanding. We have to be ready again.”
Everton: Losing 2-1 to a late Wolverhampton Wanderers winner was not an ideal return to action after the World Cup so Frank Lampard’s men are looking down the barrel at a tough end to 2022 with a trip to face City about as difficult as it gets. Dominic Calvert-Lewin is available again after two months out with a thigh problem while Conor Coady should return after being ineligible to face parent club Wolves.
“It is the hardest way to lose a game, especially one that you believe you deserved to win,” Lampard said pre-match of the loss at Goodison Park. “We played a pretty good game, I felt that at the time and I feel it more watching it back. We were very good off the ball, especially in the first half and made it very difficult for Wolves to create chances. We had our chances to win and it was a cruel way to lose. I feel for the players in that sense because they give everything. But we have to bounce back. They do not come tougher than what we have in front of us but at the same time, we cannot forget the good things we did in the game. We have to go with a sense of belief, pride and confidence.”
