Analysing Everton ahead of Saturday’s Premier League meeting | OneFootball

An in-depth look at our visitors to the Etihad Stadium this Saturday…

We welcome Everton in a 15:00 (UK) start on 18 October, after almost two weeks without a game due to the second international break of the season.

City v Everton | Match preview

Before the players set off to join their national sides, City were in fine form – going unbeaten in seven, winning five of them.

Can we keep that momentum this weekend?

With the help of Opta data, we take a look at the side aiming to stop us…

Recent form

The Toffees are in much improved form across the very end of last season and the start of this one.

They have won six of their last 10 Premier League games, as many as their previous 27 beforehand.

It’s left them with 11 points from their first seven games, sitting eighth in the very early table before the start of this weekend’s matches.

Their three Premier League wins so far have come against Brighton, Wolves and Crystal Palace. The last of those ended a 19-match unbeaten run for the in-form Eagles, so they’re not afraid of taking on teams full of confidence.

Since David Moyes’ return to Everton in January of this year, only Arsenal have picked up more than Everton’s 20 points on the road.

Preferred formation

Everton have all but exclusively gone for a 4-2-3-1 formation so far this season but a quirk of this fixture means we may see a change.

Jack Grealish, on loan from City, has undoubtedly been one of their shining lights off the left so far but will not be eligible for this one due to Premier League rules.

His link up play with Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall and Iliman Ndiaye behind a central striker has brought Everton fans joy as well as success in the first couple of months of the new term.

Behind them, Idrissa Gana Gueye and James Garner tend to get through a lot of the leg work while a settled back five of Jordan Pickford, Jake O’Brien, James Tarkowski, Michael Keane and Vitaliy Mykolenko provide a sizable final hurdle to score.

WATCH: OUR LAST 10 - EVERTON (H) WIDE

Summer activity

Everton saw significant change over the summer, with the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Ashley Young heading out the door.

A host of options were brought in, including Dewsbury-Hall and former Southampton wing talent Tyler Dibling. Thierno Barry added an extra option at the very top of the pitch while Carlos Alcaraz’s loan was made permanent.

That’s not forgetting Grealish’s loan move, which appears to be a happy one for player and club so far.

The biggest change of all came with leaving the beautiful, if aging, Goodison Park behind for pastures new.

They’ve started the season well at the Hill Dickinson Stadium, but it’s likely several players are just as familiar with grounds like the Etihad as they currently are with their new home.

Manager

Everton are managed by the only man currently in the Premier League to have taken charge of more games in the division than Pep Guardiola.

In fact, David Moyes’ 723 is more than double Pep Guardiola’s 349.

The Scotsman was actually Guardiola's first ever Premier League opponent, way back at the start of the 2016/17 season.

Moyes doesn’t have the medal haul to match our manager of course, but he’s highly respected throughout the game for the work he’s done at several clubs.

This is his second stint at Everton, after 11 years and 518 games the first time around between 2002 and 2013.

He’s since been to Manchester United, Real Sociedad, Sunderland and West Ham United, where he lifted the Europa Conference League.

How they score their goals

Everton have scored nine goals in seven matches so far, the eighth most in the division.

Given xG suggests they’ve created 9.9 goals worth of chances, they’re tracking fairly consistent in the final third.

The Toffees have tended to surrender possession to their opponents more often than not, averaging 46% of the ball – the 14th most in the division – and completing 387 passes per game – the 16th highest tally.

Pressing high is a crucial facet to their attacks though, winning the ball back 31 times in the final third – the third best in the Premier League.

Iliman Ndiaye’s three goals so far makes him Everton’s leading scorer, while six others have netted once.

Grealish, ineligible for this one, is just top when it comes to assists with four. Ndiaye, Garner and Dewsbury-Hall all have one each.

Ndiaye’s brilliant goal in last season’s draw at the Etihad makes him the only current Everton player to have scored against us for the Toffees.

WATCH: City 1-1 Everton: Brief highlights

How they defend

With seven goals conceded, Everton are currently the seventh best defence in the division.

They have Jordan Pickford and some wasteful finishing to thank for that though, having afforded opponents a total xG of 9.8 thus far (the 15th best in the league).

It’s been three games since Everton’s last clean sheet, coming against Aston Villa last month.

Given City are currently the league’s leading scorers with 15, our visitors will have to be at their best to shut us out in this one.

WATCH: Watch: Every Manchester City goal scored so far this season

It’ll come as no surprise to most that Everton are strong in individual duels given their energetic and powerful personnel, winning an average of 59 per game. That’s the most in the Premier League.

Only Brighton on 22 have received more yellow cards than them, with Everton players cautioned 19 times in just seven games. That has yet to translate into any red cards though.

England international goalkeeper Pickford is one of the Premier League’s most experienced performers now, having played 329 times in the division.

He was just one clean sheet away from a share of the Golden Glove last term and continues to perform at a high level.

Head-to-head record

We are unbeaten in our last 16 Premier League meetings with Everton since a 0-4 defeat at Goodison Park in January 2017. That’s a run that’s seen 13 wins and three draws.

We currently only have longer unbeaten runs in the top-flight against Fulham (20), West Brom (19), and West Ham (19).

You have to go back further to get Everton’s last win at the Etihad, way back in December 2010.

Last season they earned a 1-1 draw at our home before we claimed a 2-0 victory in our final visit to Goodison Park towards the end of the campaign.