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2024/25 English Premier League
Matchday 18
Manchester City v Everton
Etihad Stadium
Manchester, England
Thursday, 26 December 2024
Kick-off is at 14h30
Manchester City will be desperate to bounce back from their sixth
Premier League defeat of the season when they host Everton at the Etihad Stadium on Thursday, December 26 in the lunchtime kick-off.
The Citizens were beaten 2-1 by Aston Villa at Villa Park on December 21 and they have now lost six games in a campaign for only the fourth time under Pep Guardiola.
City have now dropped to sixth in the standings and find themselves 12 points adrift of league leaders Liverpool, who dispatched Tottenham 6-3 on December 22 to go four points clear at the summit.
Chelsea remain in second place despite dropping points in a 0-0 draw with Everton on December 22 and Arsenal closed within two points of them in third spot following a 5-1 victory over Crystal Palace.
The Toffees are slowly creeping away from the relegation after the stalemate against the Blues took them four points clear of Wolves (18th) and Ipswich (19th) in 15th spot.
Sean Dyche's side have now picked up six points from their last five outings, losing just once during that run and going above Palace (16th) on goal difference with their third game unbeaten.
The hosts are still without key duo Rodri (knee) and Ruben Dias (calf) as well as John Stones (ankle), Nathan Ake (thigh) and Oscar Bobb (calf). Ederson and Matheus Nunes are both rated doubtful.
Armando Broja is ineligible to face his parent club, while James Garner (back) and Timothy Iroegbunam (ankle) are both ruled out, although Dwight McNeil (knee) could come into contention for the visitors.
Guardiola saw positives in the loss at Villa and is hopeful that the injury problems with subside in the new year to give the team a better chance of recovering from this slump.
"If there is a moment that I cannot overthink, it is right now. [I] try to be simple, stick to my principles and give certainty to the team. Tell them they can do it and how they can give benefit for the team defensively and offensively," the Spaniard said.
"We take the positives and reflect. When I see the players before, during and after and how they behave I feel pride. We have to find the balance to create more chances than we concede.
"We don't have a defence for the results. They are not good. It's about what I can do with my people to get the results back and continue. Hopefully the players will come back step by step then we can continue.
"Then let's go. We will recover and try to see how many players can play against Everton and we will try to do it."
Dyche admitted taking points off high-flying Chelsea was a nice little bonus for the club's new owners following the takeover and revealed he has their backing, but has to start picking up more wins.
"Yeah, it wasn't my only goal for me to do that, but it's a nice add-on," he said. "A very good meeting with them and they seem like really good people. Very serious people, but in a nice, relaxed manner, sharing thoughts, and that's gone well.
"Of course, I said to you the other day, I'm not naive, you've got to win games. If you talk about my own position, win games, and they've made it clear that they're supportive of my role and what I've done here, and what they hope I do."
Head-to-Head (Last Five Premier League Meetings)
Matches - 5
Man City wins - 4
Everton wins - 0
Draws - 1
Premier League Matchday 18 fixtures:
Thursday, December 26
14h30: Manchester City v Everton
17h00: Bournemouth v Crystal Palace
17h00: Chelsea v Fulham
17h00: Newcastle United v Aston Villa
17h00: Nottingham Forest v Tottenham Hotspur
17h00: Southampton v West Ham United
19h30: Wolverhampton Wanderers v Manchester United
22h00: Liverpool v Leicester City
Friday, December 27
21h30: Brighton & Hove Albion v Brentford
22h15: Arsenal v Ipswich Town
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