Manchester City v Everton predictions: Citizens can rack up another routine win

Free football tips, best bets and analysis for Manchester City v Everton in the Premier League on Sunday.

Where to watch

Sky Sports Premier League & Main Event, 2pm Sunday

Best bet

Manchester City to win to nil
3pts 4-5 Betfair, Paddy Power

Team news

Manchester City
Ferran Torres remains sidelined with a foot injury and Jack Grealish, Phil Foden and Bernardo Silva are doubts. Kevin De Bruyne is out after testing positive for Covid-19.

Everton
Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Andre Gomes, Abdoulaye Doucoure and Tom Davies are injured and Mason Holgate is suspended. Defender Yerry Mina could return.

Match preview

Manchester City suffered a shock 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace in their last Premier League home game but they bounced back with a comfortable derby win at Manchester United and should ease past Everton at the Etihad Stadium.

The Citizens restricted a United attacking unit led by Cristiano Ronaldo to just one shot on target at Old Trafford and their defence should be trusted to stand firm against the Toffees.

City are yet to keep a clean sheet in the Champions League this season, beating RB Leipzig 6-3 before a 2-0 defeat away to Paris St-Germain and 5-1 and 4-1 wins over Club Brugge on matchdays three and four.

However, their defensive standards have been far higher domestically and they look an appealing bet to win to nil against Everton.

Pep Guardiola's men have won seven league matches this season and the only goal they conceded in those victories was an 81st-minute penalty converted by Brighton's Alexis Mac Allister when City were leading 4-0.

They have snuffed out some decent opponents, winning to nil against Arsenal, Chelsea and Leicester as well as derby rivals United, while free-scoring West Ham managed only two shots on target in a 0-0 draw before beating City on penalties in last month's EFL Cup clash at the London Stadium.

Rafael Benitez made a solid start as Everton manager, winning four of their first six matches against Southampton, Brighton, Burnley and Norwich.

The Toffees finished tenth under Carlo Ancelotti last season and they have slipped back into mid-table after a tougher run of fixtures and some significant absentees.

Dominic Calvert-Lewin, who scored 16 of Everton's 47 league goals last season, found the net in each of his first three appearances under Benitez but has not played since the end of August due to a thigh injury.

Influential midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure has also been ruled out of this fixture and defender Mason Holgate is suspended after his late red card against Spurs.

Demarai Gray, Andros Townsend and Richarlison are capable of moments of attacking magic but Everton's last outing was a dour 0-0 draw with Tottenham at Goodison Park, where their only attempts on target came from centre-back Ben Godfrey and second-half substitute Tom Davies.

Benitez's side are unlikely to create a host of goalscoring opportunities against City and their only win in their last eight games in all competitions came against struggling Norwich.

They lost 3-0 at Aston Villa in September and 1-0 at home to West Ham last month, when only two of their 15 shots were on target, so City, with Ruben Dias, Aymeric Laporte and John Stones providing top-class options at centre-back, should keep the visitors quiet.

Key stat

Both teams have scored in only two of Manchester City's 11 Premier League matches.

Inside info

Manchester City

Penalty taker Riyad Mahrez/Ilkay Gundogan
Free-kick wizardRiyad Mahrez
Set-piece aerial threatAymeric Laporte
Card magnetRodri

Everton

Penalty taker Richarlison
Free-kick wizard Lucas Digne/Andros Townsend
Set-piece aerial threat Michael Keane
Card magnet Lucas Digne

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