Game Week 8 Predictions: Straight win City against Everton

Man City host Everton at Etihad, aiming to pressure Arsenal with a big win. Haaland in form, but Everton buoyed by recent victory. City favored to win

Manchester City are the clear favorite for this one, will Everton spring surprises when they visit The Etihad on Saturday? (Photo credit: Opta)

 Manchester City vs Everton

Etihad Stadium

3:00pm

The former champions have a chance to go level on points and even above the Gunners on goal difference if they beat Everton by at least three goals at the Etihad; they can.

The Toffees enjoyed a rare victory over Crystal Palace at their new home ground before the break as a Palace clearance went in off Jack Grealish, giving the hosts a 2-1 victory and thereby condemning Oliver Glasner’s side to their first loss of the season.

The Citizens know that they have a chance to heap pressure on Mikel Arteta’s Arsenal, who don’t play until right after this one, and the only way that can happen is for City to do their job cleanly and then wait to see what happens later in the day.

Everton will be without Grealish for this one, as he cannot play against his parent club; however, Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall is back and available for selection after serving his one-match ban for accumulated yellow cards, which saw him miss the win at home against Palace.

Three points off the pace at this point isn’t what City wants to celebrate. Pep Guardiola sounded confident in his presser about the form of his team, and, despite not knowing what to get after the international break, he expects his lads to get the job done on Saturday.

Many of his players had a stellar international break, with the man leading the line, Erling Haaland, scoring freely for Norway and on the brink of World Cup qualification, which is one Guardiola would hope retains the form when league action resumes shortly.

How will they line up? Jarrod Branthwaite has trained and could be available for selection after a long layoff, while Nathan Patterson has joined the injury list. This could be an opportunity for teenage star Tyler Dibling to start with Grealish unable to play.

The former champions could welcome back the duo of Rayan Cherki and Rayan Ait-Nouri, who have both returned to training, but Rodri would be assessed to see if he’s up for it after missing the international break due to problems in his hamstring.

You can’t look past Haaland to be the player to watch for this one. He’s already shattering records on the international scene, and despite leading the way for the Golden Boot this season, records say it’s his worst start to a season in the Premier League. Pray for Everton.

Verdict: Manchester City to win.