The Premier League is back in full swing, and after over a month, the Etihad will welcome back the defending champions, who will host Everton on New Year’s Eve. City comes into this match in a good mood after seeing off Leeds United on Boxing Day by three goals to one. That win took them back into second place in the league, with 35 points in 15 games, just five points behind league leaders Arsenal who have a tricky fixture against Brighton later in the day. City has been at their impressive best at home this season, with seven wins and just one loss. In that time, they’ve managed 30 goals and conceded just nine, the bulk of which came from their almost unstoppable talisman Erling Haaland. With his brace against Leeds, the Norwegian has taken his tally to 25 goals in all competitions already this season and will be looking to extend his record-breaking run against an Everton side that has been poor defensively.
Everton isn’t in a good place coming into this match. They are currently in 17th place in the league, with 14 points in 16 matches and are just two points above Southampton, who are last in the league. The Toffees suffered yet another loss in their last match at home to Wolves. After taking an early lead, Everton lost control of the match in the second half and was made to pay for it in the very last minute of stoppage time and eventually lost 2-1. That has become an all too familiar site for Everton this season, who has only managed just three wins so far this season and is currently on a three-game losing streak. The pressure is mounting on Frank Lampard, and going up against City would not have been what the club were hoping for in their final game of the year. It’s going to take a massive effort from Lampard’s men to come away with anything from this one.