Everton vs. Manchester City – England Premier League Match Preview, Goodison Park Liverpool, England 8:45 AM EST Saturday March 16, 2013
By Jason Green of Predictem.com
Match Odds: Everton 3.75 / Manchester City 2.00 / Draw 3.50
Moneyline: Everton +275 / Manchester City +200 / Draw +250
Over/Under: 2.5 goals
It looks as if repeating as Premier League champions is out of the picture for Manchester City, as they are in 2nd place in the EPL, but they trail Manchester United by 12 points. They have to end the season on fire and have Man U collapse to have any shot at the league crown.
Everton is sits in 7th place in the EPL and if they end the season well they have a chance to qualify for the Champions League, but if they falter they may fall out of the top 8 and will not even play in the Europa League next season.
While Man City is, pretty much, out of the EPL race they still have a chance to add to their trophy case since they qualified for the FA Cup semifinals in their last match.
Everton has a good offense and they have a tall task in this match facing a Man City defense that has given up the fewest goals in the EPL and they have not conceded a goal in their last 4 matches.
Everton was upset at home losing to Wigan in their last match, which eliminated them from the FA Cup, but in their previous 2 matches at home they won scoring 6 goals and only conceding 2.
Earlier this season at home Manchester City played to a 1-1 draw against Everton.
In Manchester City’s last 3 matches at Everton they have lost and have not won there since the 2009 season.
For Manchester City Sergio Aguero (knee) and captain Vincent Kompany (calf) may miss this game due to injuries and both missed City’s last match.
Everton has only won 3 of their last 9 matches and one of the reasons they have not been playing well is that Nikica Jelavic has seemed to lose his scoring touch. He and Marouane Fellaini (11 goals) will have to pressure the Man City defense.
Even though Man City’s Carlos Tevez was arrested last week he was the star in the recent FA Cup match with a hat trick. Everton will have to suck it up on defense and keep he and Edin Dzeko (12 goals) from finding open spots near their box.
Man City G Joe Hart has 4 clean sheets in his last 4 matches and even though his club should win the time of possession battle Everton will have their chances and they will score.
Everton will have to play well in the midfield in this match and they must take advantage of counter attack chances. In the first match between these 2 clubs at Manchester City only had 1 more shot on goal, but they did dominate the time of possession (59% to 41%).
In their last 10 matches Everton has an Over/Under 2.5 goal record of 7-3 with Manchester City at 4-6.
Manchester City Recent Form
2/9/2013 Southampton 3 Manchester City 1 (Premier League)
2/17/2013 Manchester City 4 Leeds United 0 (FA Cup)
2/24/2013 Manchester City 2 Chelsea 0 (Premier League)
3/4/2013Aston Villa 0 Manchester City 1 (Premier League)
3/9/2013 Manchester City 5 Barnsley 0 (FA Cup)
Everton Recent Form
2/16/2013 Oldham Athletic 2 Everton 2 (FA Cup)
2/23/2013 Norwich City 2 Everton 1 (Premier League)
2/26/2013 Everton 3 Oldham Athletic 1 (FA Cup)
3/2/2013 Everton 3 Reading 1 (Premier League)
3/9/2013 Everton 0 Wigan Athletic 3 (FA Cup)
Jason’s Pick to Win: Manchester City has not had much luck at Everton in the last few seasons, but I think that will change. They will come out a little sluggish, as they tend to do on the road, but their offense, while not the same caliber as last season when they won the EPL, is solid and they are too strong in the midfield. This match will be a close one and Everton will not be shut out, but City will win this match by a score of 2-1.
