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The next stop on Manchester City’s journey will be against Everton. Guardiola is first in the standings with six points clear of Liverpool, who, however, have one game less. In the last round, they interrupted their long positive streak, losing 3-2 at home to Tottenham.
Everton, on the other hand, are having a nightmare season with 22 points, are only plus four in the relegation zone and have lost four of their last five league games.
Form Guide
Everton LLWLWL
Everton will be trying to improve on their recent performance, which saw them lose 2-0 to Southampton in the Premier League.
In that game, Everton had 44 percent possession and 9 shots on goal, with 0 on target. Southampton had 19 shots on goal, 11 of which were on target. Southampton’s goals came from Stuart Armstrong (52′) and Shane Long (84′).
Everton have only managed to hold out for 90 minutes a few times in recent games. Everton’s defense has been breached in five of their previous six matches, allowing nine goals in the process.
Everton had not won against Manchester City in their previous nine league matches coming into this fixture.
Manchester City DWWWWL
Manchester City and their supporters will be hoping for a better result this time after losing to Tottenham Hotspur last time out in Premier League competition.
In the match, Manchester City had 72 percent possession and 21 shots on goal, four of which were on target.Kay Gündoan (33′) and Riyad Mahrez (92′) scored goals for Manchester City. Tottenham Hotspur had six shots on goal, five of which were on target. Tottenham Hotspur scored with Dejan Kulusevski (4′) and Harry Kane (59′, 95′).
Manchester City have scored 23 goals in their last six games, averaging 3.83 goals per match. The opposition has scored a total of five goals.
Injured and suspended
Everton: (Fabian Delph, Yerry Mina, and Tom Davies)
Manchester City: a clean bill of health
Everton vs Manchester City Predicted XI
Everton Predicted XI: Pickford; Coleman, Holgate, Keane, Kenny; Townsend, Allan, Van de Beek, Gray; Richarlison, Calvert-Lewin
Manchester City Predicted XI: Ederson; Walker, Dias, Laporte, Cancelo; De Bruyne, Rodri, Bernardo; Mahrez, Foden, Sterling
Prediction
The match between Everton and Manchester City will end with at least one goal from both teams. The Liverpool team is experiencing a very difficult season but has a respectable attack with Richarlison and Calvert-Lewin, supported, among other things, by the newcomer Van de Beek. The hosts won both the Leeds 3-0 and the FA Cup 4-1 thanks to pure talent.
The defense of the City is particularly solid, but it could suffer some empty passes given the many commitments in the coming weeks at home and in Europe. Keeping your concentration high is not easy, and against the next attackers, it could prove fatal. On the other hand, it is difficult to imagine the citizens remaining dry. They have not done so since October 30th, a period of 22 consecutive matches.
Matchday 26 of La Liga will have unmissable matches and next Sunday, Barcelona will host the always uncomfortable Athletic Bilbao at the Camp Nou, who knew how to leave the “blaugrana” team empty-handed in the Copa del Rey.
Although it is not a rematch, Barcelona will have the opportunity to redeem itself before its fans and leave behind the bitter pill of having been eliminated against Bilbao in the Copa del Rey. Likewise, the three points will allow Xavi’s team to remain in Champions League positions for next season, as anticipated by the sports forecasts.
For its part, Athletic Bilbao remains expectant in the middle of the standings, although a visitor’s win will allow them to access Conference League positions, as long as Villarreal does not add three.
Form Guide
Barcelona WWDDWW
After a 2-4 Europa League victory over Napoli, Barcelona will be hoping for more of the same.
Barcelona had 56 percent possession and 16 shots on goal, six of which were on target during the game.Jordi Alba (8′), Frenkie de Jong (13′), Gerard Piqué (45′), and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (59′) scored for Barcelona. On the other hand, Napoli had seven shots on goal, three of which were on target. SSC Napoli scored goals through Lorenzo Insigne (23′) and Matteo Politano (87′).
Barcelona haven’t been very good at stopping opponents recently, but they’ve also done enough to score goals.
Athletic Bilbao WWWDLW
Athletic Bilbao come into this match on the back of a 4-0 La Liga victory against Real Sociedad in their previous match.
Athletic Bilbao had 47 percent possession and 18 shots on goal, 8 of which were on target, in the match. Vivian (68′), Oihan Sancet (72′), Iaki Williams (80′), and Iker Muniain (89′) scored for Athletic Bilbao. Real Sociedad, on the other hand, had nine shots on goal, two of which were on target.
Athletic Bilbao have scored 11 goals in their previous six encounters. During those games, they allowed five goals to be scored into their own net.
Injured and suspended
Barcelona: (Memphis Depay, Álex Balde, Clément Lenglet, Ansu Fati, Sergi Roberto, and Samuel Umtiti).
Athletic Bilbao: a clean bill of health
Barcelona vs Athletic Bilbao Predicted XI
Barcelona Predicted XI: ter Stegen; Mingueza, Araujo, Garcia, Alba; Pedri, Busquets, de Jong; Traore, Aubameyang, Torres
Athletic Bilbao Predicted XI: Simon; De Marcos, Alvarez, Martinez, Berchiche; Berenguer, Vencedor, D Garcia, Muniain; Williams, R Garcia.
Prediction
Barcelona are playing with renewed energy at the moment, with new additions making an immediate impact.
The club appears to have regained its confidence, and Bilbao will have to do something spectacular to overcome them once more.
By the time the referee blows the final whistle, we think Barcelona will have a comfortable 2-0 lead.