This is the predicted lineup for Manchester City’s Premier League game against Everton. After emerging victorious in a seven-goal thriller against Crystal Palace last time out, Pep Guardiola’s men will be looking for a slightly more routine victory on Saturday. The appointment of David Moyes as Everton manager has seen the Toffees move well clear of the relegation zone as they currently sit in 13th place, though they have only won once since mid-February
Manchester City Predicted Lineup vs Everton
How Manchester City Have Lined-up Recently
Ederson had played every minute since the March international break until mid-way through the Palace game. The Brazilian was substituted after 71 minutes with a groin injury and looks to be a huge doubt for Saturday’s match.
Guardiola made one change to the back four that had started City’s last two games as Rico Lewis replaced Matheus Nunes at right-back. The central defensive pairing comprised Ruben Dias and Josko Gvardiol, whilst Lewis’ fellow City Football Academy graduate Nico O’Reilly retained his place on the left of defence.
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Mateo Kovacic and Ilkay Gundogan retained their places in midfield, and they were joined by Nico Gonzalez, who came back into the team after missing the Manchester Derby. Kevin de Bruyne occupied the most advanced of the midfield roles.
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Another CFA graduate, James McAtee, came into the starting lineup against the Eagles to make his full Premier League debut for his boyhood club. He was joined up front by Egyptian superstar Omar Marmoush.
Manchester City’s Recent Form and Tactics
The Sky Blues have by no means been at their free-flowing best since returning from the international break, but they are consistently winning matches, the most important thing at this stage of the season. The last time Guardiola’s men lost a game was in early March.
This means City sit in fifth place in the Premier League, with 55 points from 32 games. Thanks to the recent good form of Aston Villa and Newcastle, and a slight blip from Nottingham Forest, the battle for Champions League qualification is as close as ever. There is a gap of just five points between the teams in third and seventh place.
Despite his team having much less fixture congestion than in recent years, Guardiola has been rotating his lineup a lot recently. Over the last couple of games, he has been insistent on not using the raw, explosive power of Jeremy Doku and Savinho from the start and favouring the technical excellence of the likes of McAtee and Kovacic.
Manchester City Injuries to Consider
As previously mentioned, it looks like Ederson will miss Saturday’s game through the recurrence of a groin injury which has plagued him for months.
Guardiola did offer good news on Phil Foden, who missed the game against Crystal Palace, and Manuel Akanji, who has not played since the first leg of the Champions League knockout tie against Real Madrid. Both players have been training this week and will be returning to action imminently, though Saturday may be one game too soon for both men.
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Oscar Bobb, who has missed almost the entire season after picking up a leg injury at the start of the campaign, continued his road to recovery against Palace as he played 10 minutes against the London club.
John Stones, Nathan Ake, Erling Haaland and Rodri all remain unavailable.
Manchester City Predicted Lineup
GK: Stefan Ortega Moreno
RB: Abdukodir Khusanov
CB: Ruben Dias
CB: Josko Gvardiol
LB: Rico Lewis
DM: Nico Gonzalez
CM: Kevin De Bruyne
CM: Matteo Kovacic
RW: Bernardo Silva
LW: Savinho
ST: Omar Marmoush
