Manchester City and Everton will both be looking to build on Boxing Day victories in the Premier League when the two high-flyers lock horns at Goodison Park on Monday evening.
City cruised to a 2-0 win over Newcastle United on Saturday, while Everton left it late to beat Sheffield United 1-0 at Bramall Lane.
Match preview
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Despite being dumped out of the EFL Cup in cruel fashion by Manchester United, Everton went into their Boxing Day clash with Sheffield United on the back of three successive league victories - including a memorable 2-1 win over Arsenal last weekend.
However, Carlo Ancelotti's men did not have it all their own way against a lowly Sheffield United side and were frustrated by the Blades for 80 minutes, but Gylfi Sigurdsson popped up with the winner 10 minutes from time to ensure that the Toffees won their fourth Premier League game in a row.
This week's hosts moved up to second in the Premier League table with that victory against Sheffield United - with Merseyside rivals Liverpool two points ahead before they face West Bromwich Albion on Sunday - and Everton successfully took advantage of Leicester and Manchester United dropping points to leapfrog both of their European rivals in the table.
Ancelotti's side recovered well from their EFL Cup exit and will be out to win their fifth Premier League game on the bounce when they face off against City, who are hot on the heels of the top four heading into 2021.
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In contrast, City took another giant stride forward in their quest for a fourth-straight EFL Cup triumph with a dominant win at Arsenal in midweek, and Pep Guardiola's men followed that up with a routine home win over Newcastle.
Ilkay Gundogan took just 14 minutes to put City ahead on Boxing Day, with Ferran Torres doubling the hosts' lead in the second half as City ran out comfortable winners on their own turf - their third win on the bounce in all competitions.
While the Citizens still find themselves outside of the top four, Guardiola's crop are only one point behind arch-rivals Manchester United and two below Leicester City - who have played a game more - and the four-time Premier League winners are starting to hit their stride at a crucial time.
Everton trounced Man City 4-0 in this fixture back in January 2017, but Guardiola's side have come up trumps in their last five matches against the Toffees, including a 3-1 win at Goodison Park last season.
Everton Premier League form: LDWWWW
Everton form (all competitions): DWWWLW
Manchester City Premier League form: WWDDWW
Manchester City form (all competitions): WDDWWW
Team News
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Man City announced on Christmas Day that Gabriel Jesus and Kyle Walker had both tested positive for coronavirus - the pair played no part against Newcastle and will miss this one too.
Eric Garcia is the hosts' only other absentee, and while Guardiola has previously insisted that he does not rotate to rest his players, there will certainly be some fresh legs on Monday.
Rodri was hauled off just before the hour mark against Newcastle - suggesting he will start this one - while Sergio Aguero is in line to return to the attack.
Meanwhile, Everton's Richarlison was not cleared to play in this game due to concussion protocols, and James Rodriguez will not be available just yet either.
Anthony Gordon is likely to drop out of the team for this one for Bernard, while Seamus Coleman and Andre Gomes are potentially in line for starting roles at Goodison Park.
Everton possible starting lineup:
Pickford; Coleman, Mina, Keane, Godfrey; Gomes, Doucoure; Iwobi, Sigurdsson, Bernard; Calvert-Lewin
Manchester City possible starting lineup:
Ederson; Cancelo, Stones, Dias, Mendy; Rodri, Fernandinho; Mahrez, De Bruyne, Sterling; Aguero
We say: Everton 1-2 Manchester City
Everton represent a much tougher test for City than they have done in previous seasons, and having only 48 hours in between fixtures is sure to affect both sets of players. Guardiola's men boast a good record in this fixture, and the visitors enjoyed a much more comfortable Boxing Day win than Everton did, so we expect City to just edge this mouthwatering clash.
Top betting tip
Video prediction
Watch the Sports Mole Football Shorts prediction for this game below:
Data Analysis
Our analysis of all available data, including recent performances and player stats up until an hour before kickoff, suggested the most likely outcome of this match was a Manchester City win with a probability of 68.19%. A draw had a probability of 17.6% and a win for Everton had a probability of 14.19%.
The most likely scoreline for a Manchester City win was 1-2 with a probability of 9.59%. The next most likely scorelines for that outcome were 0-2 (9.45%) and 0-1 (7.84%). The likeliest drawn scoreline was 1-1 (7.96%), while for a Everton win it was 2-1 (4.04%). The actual scoreline of 1-3 was predicted with a 7.7% likelihood. Our data analysis correctly predicted that Manchester City would win this match.
