MANCHESTER CITY will hope to transform their ailing fortunes when Sean Dyche’s Everton visit the Etihad Stadium on Boxing Day.
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“Sooner or later, we are going to find it.”
That was the message from Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola after suffering their ninth defeat in 12 games in all competitions.
The 2-1 loss at Aston Villa saw them drop to seventh in the Premier League table – 12 points behind leaders Liverpool having played a game more.
City have already lost nine games in all competitions this season; only in 2019-20 (12) and 2016-17 (10) has a side managed by Pep Guardiola lost more matches in a season.
They have also registered just one clean sheet since October’s victory over Southampton at the Etihad.
It’s not been happening at the other end either with City having had had more shots than any other side in the Premier League this season (294) but the eighth lowest conversion rate (9.9).
A home clash against Everton would appear to be the perfect antidote to City’s struggles – based on previous meetings at least.
City have won 13 of their last 15 meetings against the Toffees (W13, D2), scoring 37 goals and keeping seven clean sheets during that run.
However, Sean Dyche’s side have picked up a positive habit of spoiling the party for top sides of late, securing back-to-back goalless draws against Arsenal and Chelsea in their last two outings.
In fact, nobody can better Everton’s seven clean sheets in the Premier League this season (7) while since the beginning of October, the Merseyside outfit have kept more clean sheets than any other team across Europe’s top five leagues.
Odds are correct at the time of publication and are subject to change.
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It feels unlikely that we’ll see a deluge of goals at the Etihad on Boxing Day. Manchester City have been struggling to put the ball in the back of the net with their main source of goals, Erling Haaland, netting just once in his last six Premier League games.
The Cityzens are just devoid of confidence after such a dismal run, and will meet an Everton side under new ownership and with their tails up after successive draws against Arsenal and free-scoring Chelsea. As mentioned, the Toffees have kept more clean sheets than any other team across Europe’s top five leagues since the beginning of October and Sean Dyche will not be changing his approach anytime soon.
Man City vs Everton
Phil Foden grabbed a consolation goal against Aston Villa in Manchester City’s last clash, and that’s no surprise given his attacking statistics lately.
Over the last four league games, Foden has generated 15 efforts on goal and is averaging a shot every 23.2 minutes – considerably better than any of his Manchester City colleagues including Erling Haaland.
Only Jeremy Doku has more touches in the opposition penalty area (18) while nobody can match Foden’s six efforts on target in his last 348 minutes of action.
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