Manchester City vs Everton (Premier League): Match Preview, Team News, Head to Head, How to Watch | OneFootball

Manchester City return from the latest international break on Saturday afternoon as they prepare to host Everton in a bid to maintain their unbeaten run.

Running out as deserved winners against Brentford in the last match before the second interval of the season, City capped off a remarkable run of results spanning between the two international breaks of the season so far.

Manchester City put out a marvellous performance in West London, with the Bees failing to register even a touch in the Blues’ box in the first-half, despite Rodri once more being forced off through injury prior to the break.

The contest went on to even out however, and Pep Guardiola had Erling Haaland to thank once again as the Norwegian’s early strike was the telling touch to deliver the Catalan’s 250th Premier League win.

The Norwegian’s form in front of goal did not dwindle in his country’s colours either, as he grabbed three goals against Israel, while in-form Nico O’Reilly will be on cloud nine looking to City’s next affair at home to Everton as he comes off the back of a first senior England call up.

The Toffees will be looking to move further up the standings after Manchester City loanee and legend Jack Grealish’s stoppage time winner last time out halted Crystal Palace’s impressive 19-game unbeaten record in a 2-1 home win.

Everton’s visit this weekend gets the Premier League campaign back underway, and here’s everything you need to know ahead of this North-West clash!

Match Details

Manchester City will face Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Saturday 18th October, with kick-off scheduled at 15:00 GMT.

Match Officials

Tony Harrington has been confirmed as the match referee for this Saturday’s clash between Manchester City and Everton.

Catch up on the full list of Match officials ahead of the match below!

Team News

Manchester City reluctantly add another big name to their injury list following Rodri’s hamstring problem at the Gtech Community Stadium last time out, seeing him join Abdukodir Khusanov on the treatment table.

While both players were absent from Thursday afternoon’s training session at the City Football Academy and are expected to be unavailable this weekend, Rayan Ait-Nouri and Omar Marmoush returned to work alongside their teammates, putting themselves into contention.

The prospect of a return to action could also be on the cards for Rayan Cherki, whose recovery work from a hamstring strain over the past six weeks saw him make the matchday squad in the Brentford match, much like Mateo Kovacic – who started for Croatia over the last fortnight.

Everton’s situation will see them operate without the Premier League’s top assist provider and August Player of the Month award winner Jack Grealish, who is unable to face his parent club after his summer loan move to Merseyside due to competition rules.

Defensive issues may go hand in hand with both Michael Keane and Jarrad Branthwaite’s knocks, which could keep them both out of contention for Saturday’s trip to the Etihad Stadium. Although, the latter alongside Merlin Rohl both returned to training ahead of the game.

There is some positivity for Everton however, as Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall returns to action from a one-match suspension sustained after picking up a fifth league yellow card of the season at home to West Ham.

Finally, Nathan Patterson picked up a knock during Everton Under-21s’ EFL Trophy match against Bradford City in midweek.

Press Conference Quotes

Rodri will be unavailable for Manchester City against Everton this weekend, Pep Guardiola confirmed to journalists.

On Mateo Kovacic’s return to Croatia action during the international break: “It’s a good news, starting for 50, 60 minutes. Step by step; he has to now give us quality moments, quality time, quality minutes. But step by step, it’s important that he’s back.”

On Omar Marmoush and Rayan Ait-Nouri’s returns to training this week: “They trained yesterday, they are much, much better, they are close to coming back.”

On Jack Grealish’s Everton impact: “His impact has been massive since day one, starting playing to take back minutes and minutes, and this is what he wanted. The appreciation that we have with him, because he’s a lovely, lovely guy. But for different reasons he didn’t play much minutes [with Manchester City], and he’s back to the real business, playing every game.”

On whether he has spoken to Jack Grealish since he left Manchester City: “Not yet, when he left, but since then, no. Hopefully tomorrow, if he comes to the Etihad, I can see him.”

Head to Head

In the last meeting between the two sides, late finishes from Nico O’Reilly and Mateo Kovacic saw Manchester City earn a vital three points in their final visit to Goodison Park after a splendid array of stops by Jordan Pickford, as the Sky Blues ran out 0-2 victors.

A historical match-up spanning from 1899, the Etihad stadium will play host to a landmark occasion on Saturday, as the affair marks the 200th meeting between the two clubs in all competitions.

Across this period, City have amassed 82 wins, boasting an unbeaten record against the Toffees spanning back to January 2017. Goals from Romelu Lukaku, Kevin Mirallas, Tom Davies and Ademola Lookman underlined a dismal day for the Blues, as they fell to a 4-0 defeat.

Statistics

The Merseyside club have failed to pick up a maximum set of points against Manchester City for the past 16 Premier League meetings, boasting three draws and 13 defeats in that time since a 4-0 rout over the blues.

In the past 39 editions of this fixture, Manchester City hold an aggregate winning score of 62-38, a goal difference of +24.

The Blues have been inevitable on the goalscoring front this season, sitting at the top of the tree in goals scored with 15 strikes to their name – only Liverpool and Chelsea have a higher average goals per match (both 3.14) than City (3.00).

Everton have picked up five points from the last five games, (1.00 average points per game), including a tight 2-1 defeat to Merseyside rivals Liverpool.

Both sides have failed to score in a third (33%) of their seven Premier League matches so far, with City’s netting predominantly rippling after the half-time break, with an average of two goals per game, in comparison to 0.67 in first-half action.

How to Watch

For those in the United Kingdom, Manchester City against Everton will not be broadcast live on TV due to the traditional 3PM blackout, although radio coverage will be available regionally on BBC Radio Manchester.

As for those in the United States, City’s latest Premier League clash will be available on Peacock.

You can find full global TV listings for Manchester City against Everton HERE!

City Xtra will have full live coverage available on our X (formerly Twitter), Facebook, and Instagram channels throughout matchday, with content also provided on cityxtra.co.uk and YouTube!