Everton v Manchester City preview: Toffees continue survival fight
That was the first time they’d hit five on the road since Boxing Day 2018, and manager Sean Dyche will be hoping it’s a sign of his attack resurging because goals have been hard to come by on their own turf this season - they’ve netted more than once in just one PL home game.
That win helped Everton climb out of the bottom three and they’ll now start the gameweek two points clear of the drop zone.
Maintaining this feel-good factor against champions Manchester City looks like a tough assignment, yet when these sides last met at Goodison Park on a Sunday, the Toffees produced another attacking masterclass and hit Pep Guardiola’s men for four without reply in a memorable win back in 2017.
That was Everton’s last success against Man City, who have dominated this H2H ever since by winning ten of the last 12 competitive meetings.
They are also on a run of ten straight PL wins heading into this game, which is a feat that’s now been achieved on five occasions under Guardiola, and no other manager can match that many 10+ winning streaks in the competition’s history.
Yet this won’t be a straightforward assignment for City with this clash coming in between two crucial Champions League semi-final matches.
Their 1-1 draw at the Santiago Bernabéu in midweek leaves that tie against Real Madrid finely poised, meaning we may see a host of changes from the away side in a bid to add fresh legs ahead of the second leg.
Yet, with just a one-point lead on Arsenal at the top, Guardiola may also be fearful of disrupting momentum.
Players to watch: Key creator Alex Iwobi has registered eight PL assists this season, no Everton player since 2016/17 has managed more.
Riyad Mahrez has been in a similarly rich vein of form for City, with four assists in his last three PL matches - he also set up Erling Haaland’s goal in the reverse (1-1).
Hot stat: Everton have won just four of their last 46 PL games against sides starting the day top of the table, but one of those came against Arsenal in Dyche’s first game in charge.
