Everton will look to maintain their push to end the Premier League season in seventh position when they host future champions Manchester City at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Toffees finally reached the magic 40-point mark and ended a run of six successive away defeats in all competitions when they beat Stoke City 2-1 in the snow at the Britannia Stadium last time out, with a brace from January addition Cenk Tosun proving to be the difference against the 10-man Potters.
The result kept the Merseyside outfit in ninth position in the table and just three points adrift of Burnley in seventh, and they will want to end what has been a disappointing campaign in which they were hoping to challenge the top six on a positive note.
While their form on the road has been more than patchy, they have impressed on their own patch in recent weeks by taking 10 points from the last 12 available in the top flight, and they will hope to add to that tally this weekend.
Sam Allardyce will know that his side face a tough task to get anything against Pep Guardiola’s men considering the visitors have won 26 of their 30 league games this term and are 16 points clear at the top, but they will certainly take some solace that they are one of the clubs the Citizens dropped points against following their 1-1 draw at the Etihad Stadium in August.
Allardyce stuck with a 4-2-3-1 system against Stoke last time out but made two changes to his XI, and he could be thinking about making more alterations to both the formation and the team on Saturday.
Here is how Everton must line up against Man City, ahead of Jordan Pickford in goal…
In the absence of the suspended Ashley Williams – who sits out his final match against City – Everton have stuck with a back five of Pickford, Seamus Coleman, Phil Jagielka, Michael Keane and Leighton Baines, and they have looked reasonably solid as a result.
Allardyce should stick with that quartet against Pep Guardiola’s free-scoring side because of the Premier League experience they have, but Jagielka and Keane especially will certainly need plenty of protection from those in front of them – although they will have been boosted by the news that Sergio Aguero is doubtful because of a knee problem.
Allardyce has stuck with a 4-2-3-1 system in recent matches but he should go with a flat five across the middle to try and give his side a bit more control of the ball in the centre of the park – where City can be so dangerous because of David Silva and Kevin De Bruyne.
While Theo Walcott and Yannick Bolasie should remain on the flanks to try and cause the visitors plenty of trouble on the counter-attack, the 63-year-old boss should look to pack the midfield and bring Morgan Schneiderlin – who the fans want gone in the summer – in alongside another former Man United player in Wayne Rooney, and Idrissa Gueye.
After scoring two goals against Stoke City and with four goals in Everton’s previous three Premier League matches, Cenk Tosun has to start up top on his own against Man City.
It will be a tougher afternoon for the Turkey international than he perhaps had against Stoke, Brighton and Hove Albion and Burnley previously, but he has shown what a good finisher he can be if he gets a chance, and he will be looking to Bolasie and Walcott to supply him on Saturday.
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