View: Three things to watch for in Everton clash v Man City
Everton will face their biggest game of the season when they play Manchester City in the FA Cup quarter-finals at Goodison Park on Saturday.
The Cityzens have been on a hot streak since December, having won 24 of their last 25 games in all competitions, while Everton recently lost back-to-back Premier League games.
Everton are just five points away from Chelsea in fourth place in the Premier League table, with the Toffees having a game in hand over everyone above them by the time they next play in the league.
Though the Premier League remains a priority, Carlo Ancelotti will demand a performance against City, and we at Goodison News have picked out three things that fans should watch out for.
Baptism of fire
Though City will actually be Joao Virginia’s second start for Everton, it will be his first against top-tier opposition, and it’ll prove to be a tough test for the Portugal youth international.
Virginia has yet to concede in his two appearances for the Toffees this season, and he’ll need to be at his best if he is to retain that record beyond the weekend.
Back among the goals
Since returning from an injury lay-off last month, Dominic Calvert-Lewin had been suffering from a minor goal drought prior to scoring against Burnley.
The England international could only notch a consolation goal for the Blues against the Clarets, but now back to his goalscoring ways Ancelotti will hope he can continue that run against Pep Guardiola’s side.
He’ll need to be at his best if we’re going to get through to the semis.
Defensive restructure
With Mason Holgate having struggled over the past few games, Ancelotti could look to shuffle his defensive options ahead of facing City.
Seamus Coleman could be in line to return to the line-up, where he will hopefully bring some much needed stability against some of the Premier League’s most dangerous attackers.
In other Everton news, Gylfi Sigurdsson is determined to see out his contract at Goodison Park despite Everton’s desire to sell him this summer.