Manchester City will host Fulham at the Etihad Stadium on boxing day
Image credit: Manchester City
Manchester City is set to face Everton on Boxing Day, December 26, 2024, at the Etihad Stadium, with kick-off scheduled for 12:30 pm.
City is experiencing a challenging period, securing only one victory in their last 12 matches across all competitions, which has seen them drop to seventh in the Premier League standings. Their latest setback was a 2-1 loss to Aston Villa.
Everton, under manager Sean Dyche, have demonstrated resilience, achieving goalless draws against Arsenal and Chelsea in their recent fixtures.
Team News
Manchester City is contending with several injury concerns. Defenders Ruben Dias and Nathan Ake are sidelined, and goalkeeper Ederson is doubtful for the upcoming match. Additionally, the availability of John Stones and Matheus Nunes remains uncertain.
Everton boasts a strong defensive record, having secured five clean sheets in their last six matches.
Key Players
Erling Haaland, who had a prolific start to the season, has found the net only once in his last six appearances.
Manager Pep Guardiola emphasizes that the team’s recent struggles are a collective issue, not solely attributable to Haaland.
Everton’s disciplined defense will aim to contain City’s attacking threats, making for a potentially tight contest.
Match Prediction
While Everton’s recent results against Arsenal and Chelsea underline their resilience, Manchester City’s need for a win could see them edge out their opponents. However, it won’t be an easy task against an Everton side that has proven difficult to break down.
Predicted Score: Manchester City 2-1 Everton.
Chris Sutton is also backing the Blues to win by the same score on BBC Sports:
Manchester City are finding everything difficult at the moment, including creating chances and scoring goals, but I still think it is just a matter of time until they come good again – they have to.
There is so much noise around City at the moment, about what is going wrong, but this is still a game they should win.
Did you know?
Everton have kept clean sheets in five of their past six games but they were thrashed the last time they came to Manchester – at the start of December, when they lost 4-0 to Manchester United.