Mark Lawrenson predicts Everton v Man City clash
Everton travel to face Manchester City on Sunday in the final game of the Premier League season as they look to end the campaign with a victory.
The Toffees prevented a record tenth loss at Goodison Park this season with a 1-0 win over Wolves on Thursday, while Manchester City lost 3-2 to Brighton in their midweek game.
The Blues have a slim chance of qualifying for Europe if they can better City at the Etihad, however Pep Guardiola’s side will want to build momentum before their Champions League final against Chelsea next week.
In his weekly Premier League predictions for BBC Sport, Mark Lawrenson claimed that while Everton’s away record has been impressive this season, City could prove too difficult to overcome.
Lawrenson said: “This is City’s last game before the Champions League final, and I think Pep Guardiola has got to play the team he will use in that game.
“Pep needs to keep his side ticking over and City have to forget about the fact that some of their players might get injured.
“Even a win is unlikely to be enough to earn a Europa League spot for Everton, but they have a chance of seventh place if they get a positive result. I don’t see it though.
“The Toffees have been much better on the road all season, but it is a big ask for them to go to the Etihad and get something.”
The BBC pundit has backed a comfortable 3-0 win for Man City over the Toffees.
Fingers crossed
Everton face some challenge when they travel to the Etihad this weekend, with City welcoming supporters back to their stadium for the first time this season.
All of the pressure will be on Everton’s shoulders and if the club’s past history is anything to go by, they haven’t always been the best team under pressure.
That said Ancelotti has led the club to a number of impressive away victories in the Premier League this season, including wins over Arsenal, Liverpool, Leicester and Tottenham, as well as a 3-3 draw with Manchester United at Old Trafford.
Unfortunately City have shown themselves to be far better than those sides this season, though that doesn’t mean they’re beyond the concept of defeat, and their recent loss to Brighton highlights that.
Ancelotti knows the importance that a win against City could carry and hopefully the players will know that too. If they attack the game from the off and operate as the team that wants the result more, there’s no reason they can’t give themselves a chance at the very least.
In other Everton news, Blues hit with huge injury blow ahead of clash v Man City.
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