Manchester City v Everton - The Opposition

Manchester City return from the international break and welcome Everton to the Etihad Stadium as they look to build on their 2-0 derby victory at Old Trafford.

The blues went into the break in second place in the league and face a Toffees side sitting in mid-table but are without a win in five Premier League matches.

Form

Everton go into the match on the back of a five-match winless run, consisted of three draws and two defeats. The Toffees played out a home goalless draw in their final game before the international break and lost their last away match 2-1 at Wolves. Successive home defeats to Watford (2-5) and West Ham (0-1), and a 1-1 draw at Old Trafford has seen them drop down the table.

Prior to that run of form, Everton had lost just one of their opening six matches – a 3-0 beating at Aston Villa, but they were also dumped out of the League Cup by Championship side Queens Park Rangers, losing 8-7 on penalties.

Danger Men

Andros Townsend is Everton’s main threat, having scored five goals from thirteen appearances so far this season. He has attempted 18 shots in those matches, the highest in the Everton team, and has a shot accuracy of 67%, and a goal conversion rate of 28%.

Demarai Gray and Dominic Calvert-Lewin have three goals apiece, while Abdoulaye Doucouré, Richarlison and Alex Iwobi each have two goals.

Doucouré leads the assists chart with four so far and has created six chances from nine matches. Of his 358 passes, Doucouré has completed 298, giving him an impressive pass accuracy of 83%. Townsend has provided three assists, but has created twenty-one chances, again the highest in the Everton team.

But it is Michael Keane who has provided the most passes. Keane has attempted 496 so far, however only 375 have met their target, which gives him a pass accuracy of a disappointing 76% from thirteen matches.

Who’s the Boss?

Rafael Benítez is the man in charge at Goodison Park. The former Liverpool, Chelsea and Newcastle boss was appointed to the Everton hotseat in June this year, replacing Real Madrid-bound Carlo Ancelotti.

After a good start, Benitez’ team has faded slightly, and he has a win ratio of 38.5% from 13 games.

Last Time Out

The last time these two teams met was in May at the end of last season, and it was an emotional day as the City fans said goodbye to their legendary hero, Sergio Aguero.

The Argentine striker emerged from the bench in the 65^th minute with the score at 3-0, before scoring with the outside of his right foot in the 71^st minute. Five minutes later, Aguero made it 5-0 and could have had a final hat-trick later on as the blues thumped the Toffees.