Venue: Etihad Stadium

Date: 15/10/2016

Kick-off: 15:00 (BST)

Everton will face a difficult task after the international break when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to face early pacesetters Manchester City as the Toffees return to the traditional kick-off time of 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. They will hope to return to winnings ways after coming unstuck in the last two games, with Crystal Palace frustrating Everton with a resilient performance which saw them walk away from Goodison Park with a point. Another goal from Romelu Lukaku, this time a superb free-kick, was not enough as Everton were held to a 1-1 draw, but Ronald Koeman’s team will face arguably the biggest challenge to date when they face Manchester City who won their opening six Premier League games under Pep Guardiola. A 2-0 defeat at Tottenham saw the Citizens lose their 100% record, but although Betway rate Everton as the underdogs, there is a chance that Koeman and his team could capitalise against a Manchester City side that may be still licking its wounds.

History would suggest that Everton will have to be at their very best if they are come away from the blue half of Manchester with anything to show for their efforts, with the Toffees winning just one of the last eight previous meetings in all competitions. That win came in January in the EFL Cup (formerly named the Capital One Cup) Semi-Finals, but although Ramiro Funes Mori and Lukaku were on the scoresheet that night, the 2-1 victory proved to be in vain as Manchester City won the return leg 3-1 to go through 4-2 on aggregate. You have to go back to December 2010 for the last time that Everton beat Manchester City in their own backyard, with goals from Tim Cahill and Leighton Baines securing a 2-1 win under David Moyes; it should be noted that the result was Everton’s fourth straight win at the Etihad Stadium, but Manchester City have since bucked the trend and made themselves much more difficult to beat at home.

Approaching the game with no fear and a ‘have a go’ attitude may the best way forward for Everton, although Koeman may secretly fancy his team’s chances of getting a positive result at Manchester City. Facing a side who, up until recent games against Celtic and Tottenham, had won ten straight games in all competitions is a sign of just how big an impact Guardiola had made, but the performance at White Hart Lane may have highlighted areas which Everton could exploit. Both full-backs, Pablo Zabaleta and Aleksandr Kolarov, struggled to deal with players running at them with pace, while Tottenham had a lot of joy from putting Manchester City under real pressure when they had the ball. Guardiola’s side may be a different animal when playing on home soil, particularly as they have won every game at their own stadium this season, but there is no reason why Everton, given how well they have started the season, can not value the game as a real opportunity to prove they are a club on the up. Fans can choose to log onto online betting and put their faith in the team to come away with what would be a superb victory for everyone connected with the club – one that could potentially lift Everton into second and make any thoughts of finishing in the top four come closer to reality.

Although the result against Crystal Palace may have been disappointing, Koeman will be happy that the game passed by without any fresh injuries concerns ahead of what promises to be a tough test at Manchester City. The international break may have come at a perfect time for Baines (hamstring), James McCarthy and Darron Gibson (both groin) who all have a fighting chance of recovering from their respective injuries, with Baines in particular likely to be imperative in combating the threat of Raheem Sterling and Nolito. Manchester City, on the other hand, may welcome Fabian Delph back to action following a muscular injury, although the game against Everton may come too soon for Kevin De Bruyne and Vincent Kompany. Both players would prove to be big misses as they are integral to the way that Manchester City play, with the former in particular making a superb start to the campaign with a number of eye-catching performances.