One of the most high-stakes Boxing Day fixtures pits Manchester City and Everton against each other at the Etihad Stadium.
Pep Guardiola is undoubtedly having the worst spell as a manager.
Aston Villa comfortably dispatched his side 2-1 on Saturday afternoon, condemning them to an 11th winless outing from their last 12 (D2, L9).
During his pre-match conference, one of Europe’s most decorated managers insists the Cityzens ‘must find a way’ to overcome this nightmare.
It’s been a while since Man City last didn’t have any player included in the Team of the Year via Football Today, perhaps illustrating the gravity of the crisis at the Etihad.
However, they’re still substantial pre-match favourites, though Everton make this journey in a buoyant mood following back-to-back resilient performances against Arsenal and Chelsea.
Sean Dyche’s side held both title-bidding sides to scoreless draws, building further confidence following last midweek’s heavily anticipated takeover.
Fresh off cooling off red-hot Chelsea, the Toffees come into this match seeking another morale-boosting result as Dyche hopes to steer his team further away from the bottom three.
Impregnable defence
Defensive resilience has been a hallmark of all Dyche-coached teams.
Following an erratic league start, the 53-year-old has instilled his ‘warrior’ mentality at Goodison Park, turning Everton into one of the division’s best-performing defensive sides.
Indeed, the Toffees have racked up a league joint-high seven clean sheets this season, including three in a row after a 4-0 rout at the hands of Manchester United.
Seamus Coleman’s return from injury will reinforce Dyche’s options at the back after his captain made a late cameo appearance against Chelsea on Sunday.
The ex-Burnley manager encouraged the 36-year-old veteran to ‘step up to the plate’ on Thursday during his pre-game conference but admitted ‘scoring goals in the Premier League isn’t an easy task.’
Wasteful attack
Despite Everton’s transformation into a formidable defensive force, Dyche’s men have notoriously struggled in front of goal.
They have failed to find the back of the net more often than any other club in the Premier League this season, drawing a blank nine times in 16 league fixtures.
Sunday’s stalemate against title hopefuls Chelsea marked Everton’s sixth scoreless top-flight outing from their last seven.
Everton’s substandard attacking performances have caused unrest among the Toffees faithful amid reports new owner Dan Friedkin is considering sacking Dyche shortly after acquiring the club.
That doesn’t bode well for the visitors’ quest to arrest a dreadful 15-game winless streak against Man City (D2, L13).
Troubles in paradise
Guardiola’s charges are a shadow of a team that became the first club in Premier League history to win four consecutive titles.
They’ve lost three straight matches in all competitions, including a heart-wrenching 2-1 defeat to Man Utd in their last home outing, conceding multiple goals on each occasion.
As a result, the reigning champions are staring down the barrel of two home league losses on the trot for the first time since May 2021.
In addition, Man City’s inconceivable drop-off culminated in their falling out of the Premier League top six at Christmas.
High stakes
City can’t afford to drop more points if they’re to remain relevant in an intense top-four race.
On the other hand, Everton desperately need every encouragement they can get to avoid another season-long fight against the drop.
The Toffees must aim to take advantage of Man City’s defensive frailties to add to their paltry 14-goal haul.
But that could be easier said than done, considering they’ve not scored across their last four Premier League travels.
In addition, they’ve only bagged one goal on their last four visits to the Etihad.
Nonetheless, they won’t have a better chance to beat Man City than this.