Relegation-threatened Everton could be tough for City to crack

Everton play their penultimate home game of 2022-23 this weekend and it’s their most difficult Goodison Park assignment of the campaign as reigning Champions and current Premier League leaders Manchester City come to town.

Pep Guardiola’s well-oiled machine will make the short trip down the M62 on the back of a 10-match winning streak in the League that has seen them overtake Arsenal at the summit and, with four matches remaining, have another title within their grasp.

Everton, of course, are still mired in a scrap at the other end of the table to avoid relegation but they boosted their chances of doing so massively last Monday with their stunning 5-1 demolition of in-form Brighton that has them sitting in 17th place coming into the weekend.

Saturday’s games involving the Blues’ rivals, Leeds (home to Champions League-chasing Newcastle) and Nottingham Forest (away at unpredictable Chelsea) may change the picture at the bottom by the time Everton kick off but Sean Dyche and his men will at least know where they stand.

Come what may, Dyche will know that if his team can pull off a second shock win in the space of a week, they will have taken another huge step towards salvation from the drop.

The manager won’t be getting ahead of himself, though, and he explained on evertonfc.com that he has been trying to even out the emotional highs and lows that have affected the squad this season to what he believes has been an unhealthy degree.

“I’ve spoken to the players about not getting too carried away,” Dyche said. “We beat Arsenal in our first game and then I was quick to mention it was a step and there are lots of steps to go.

“That doesn’t mean to say I don’t enjoy it, but it’s a season’s worth of work, not just one game. I’ve been trying to moderate that feeling. When I walked in here the thing that hit me instantly was a big result, big everything; tough result, low everything. That needed to change in-house.

“Our fans, who have been brilliant, can absolutely react like that but the in-house feel here, the environment we work in, and the flow had to get more level and more consistent in our daily work and thinking.

“We’ve spoken to the players and staff about it. It’s important to handle good times in terms of not thinking everything is solved and right and proper.”

Certainly, in Manchester City they will be facing a similar playing style to that of Brighton even if the individual players will be world class in so many positions on the pitch and not only did a worse Everton side grab a draw at the Etihad Stadium in the reverse fixture on New Year’s Eve but the Toffees were robbed by VAR of a chance to try and claim a point from the penalty spot in last year’s game between these two clubs at Goodison.

Anything is possible when it’s 11 vs 11, as Ronald Koeman’s Blues demonstrated in January 2017 when they inflicted on Guardiola his heaviest Premier League defeat in what was the only time an Everton side has beaten City in the last decade.

Defensively, though, Everton will need to be near perfect while, at the top end of the pitch, Dyche will be impressing on his players the need to be as clinical as they were against Brighton with what chances fall their way.

“The message will be simple; just take it on,” he said in his comments on the official website. “It’s a big challenge obviously. I’m sure the Evertonians will back us as they do, it’ll be a really good atmosphere for us to go and play in.

“But it’s about taking it on with the mentality we showed at Brighton. All the details have got to be right against Manchester City. You might need them to have a soft one, and your key players play well, all of them things go in the melting pot.

"Yet, it’s still about us taking the game on.”

With Seamus Coleman now officially ruled out for the remainder of the season and Yerry Mina having come through 90-plus minutes on the south coast unscathed, the only real question mark over Dyche’s team selection is likely to be who starts between James Garner and Amadou Onana.

Garner had arguably his best game so far against the Seagulls and but for a terrific block by Lewis Dunk would have opened his Premier League account with what would have been Everton’s fourth goal just before half-time. But Onana, who laid on a lovely assist for Dwight McNeil to complete the rout at the Amex Stadium, will be champing at the bit to be involved and it his physical prowess and presence from a defensive standpoint might give him the edge against this particular opponent.

Guardiola, meanwhile, is expected to make a few changes to a starting XI that ended up playing the full game with no replacements against Real Madrid in the Champions League on Tuesday evening. The likes of Aymeric Laporte, Phil Foden and serial tormentor of Everton, Riyad Mahrez could step in and underscore the ridiculous strength in depth that City possess, while Erling Haaland will pose the sternest of tests at the tip of Guardiola’s spear.

Mina, for one, will no doubt be relishing going up against the Norwegian while Everton will feel confident that a fit and firing Dominic Calvert-Lewin, combined with their set-piece threat and counter-attacking ability will give them every chance of causing City problems.

Any kind of positive result would be a bonus; a win would just keep Evertonians in dream land.