Manchester City vs Everton prediction: ENGLAND: Premier League betting tips on match 2024-12-25 12:30.
[p]Manchester City’s remarkable slide continued on Saturday as they were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa. That made it one win from 12 matches across all competitions (D2, L9), while it was a fourth straight game in which City have conceded more than once (D1, L3). Pep Guardiola’s men sit bottom of the form table across the last eight league games having accumulated just four points (W1, D1, L6), leaving the side who’ve won each of the last four Premier League titles outside the top-six at Christmas![/p]
[p]Guardiola’s quest to “find a way” sees his side meet Everton on Boxing Day, and this surely presents the perfect opportunity given that City have avoided defeat in 15 straight meetings with the Toffees (W13, D2). Clean sheets in three of the past four home H2Hs might lend some confidence to a fragile defensive unit too, yet after a 2-1 defeat to Manchester United last week, City could lose back-to-back home league matches for the first time since May 2021![/p]
[p]Everton have form for upsetting the division’s big hitters, holding Arsenal and most recently Chelsea to goalless draws. Those shutouts made it five clean sheets from their last six league matches (W1, D4, L1) to leave the Toffees four points clear of the drop zone, yet concern remains in attack for Sean Dyche, as his side have netted just 14 times in the Premier League – only Southampton have managed fewer.[/p]
[p]While there’s little doubt Everton have made themselves hard to beat of late, the club’s new owners will want to see manager Dyche start turning more of those draws into wins. Victories have been a particularly rare commodity on the road, with Everton having won just one away Premier League game in a little over a year (D7, L11)![/p]
[p]Players to watch: Erling Haaland has been on a barren spell by his lofty standards, with just one goal scored across his last six matches, yet he’s enjoyed previous fixtures against Everton with four goals in his three personal H2Hs, three of which came at the Etihad Stadium. Midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye made his 200th Premier League start last time out – he also set up Everton’s last goal at the Etihad back in 2022. [/p]
[p]Hot stat: Six of the past eight December meetings between these two sides have seen both teams score. [/p]
[p][i]Written by David H[/i][/p]