Pranav Shahaney

Sat 22 May 2021 17:30, UK

Sky Sports pundit Lewis Jones has predicted Everton to eke out a 2-1 upset against Manchester City on the final day of the season.

Everton do not have UEFA Conference League qualification in their hands as a win against Manchester City will not guarantee them finishing in 7th.

However, they could qualify for the tournament if they win and Tottenham Hotspur drop points on the final day of the season.

Spurs take on Leicester who are desperately fighting for Champions League football and will make it a tough afternoon for the North London outfit.

Whatever may be their result, Jones is predicting Everton to get the job done and capitalise on Pep Guardiola resting players for Sunday’s game.

In his Sky Sports column, Jones wrote, “Pep Guardiola’s team will be in party mood in front of their own fans. The result will not be as important as making sure fringe players get a run-out and the big guns will not be risked with the biggest game in the club’s history on the horizon.

“Everton’s style of defending deep and playing direct to their front two is exactly the type of team that can cause City issues. I like their chances.

“Guardiola is likely to give the defensive axis of John Stones and Ruben Dias a rest which does significantly weaken them when defending their box. This is an area where Everton are notoriously strong. No team have scored more headed goals than them this season (14).”

Hope for the best

We couldn’t have asked for a better time to play the champions. With a big game on the horizon, one would be surprised if Guardiola played more than two or three outfielders that start the final against Chelsea.

An entire defensive overhaul is in the offing – giving our attackers a chance to get at this City side. If we can be rugged in midfield and possibly start with a diamond we could be able to cope with their quick interchanges and movement all across the field.

Ancelotti is a knowledgeable custodian and has the experience of playing against Pep previously. He’ll know what to expect and will do everything he can to ensure we finish seventh.

Our home form has been wretched but this one is away from Goodison Park so we can take some optimism going into it.

We know it’s not going to be easy, but we’re certainly going to try to win this one!

In other Everton news, Report: Toffees make contact to sign ‘Brilliant’ PL ace for free, Ancelotti ‘really interested’

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