Chris Sutton predicts Everton showdown v Manchester City, shares ‘disastrous’ verdict
Chris Sutton is “worried” about Everton and has backed Manchester City to beat the Toffees 5-0 in their Premier League clash at The Etihad on Saturday.
Frank Lampard’s side travel to the Premier League champions off the back of a disastrous 2-1 defeat to relegation rivals Wolves at Goodison Park.
Sutton believes an early goal would be “disastrous” for the Toffees and has predicted a comfortable victory for Pep Guardiola’s side (31 December).
“I really am worried about Everton. They have won only one of their past nine games in all competitions, so a trip to Etihad Stadium is the last thing they need,” said Sutton (BBC Sport predictions, 29 December).
“How do Frank Lampard’s side approach this? Well, they will try to be resilient, to stay in the game for as long as possible and defend deep – but conceding an early goal would be disastrous for them.
“The only question about Manchester City is who will play – the old ‘Pep Roulette’ upsets thousands of Fantasy Football players every week because you never know who will start.
“I don’t think Pep Guardiola’s selection will make much difference to the outcome against Everton, though. City will wipe the floor with them.”
Tough test
It’s clear that the trip to The Etihad is probably going to be the toughest test the Toffees face in the 2022/23 Premier League season and there’s very little expectation for Lampard’s men to go there and pick up a positive result.
The Toffees will be looking frustrate and could potentially look to utilise a more defensive formation to try and reduce the spaces for City and nullify their main threats. Of course, that’s far easier said than done and Everton’s defenders will have to be at their very best if they want to stop goalscoring machine Erling Haaland from continuing his ridiculous scoring record.
It’s hard to envisage anything apart from a comfortable afternoon’s work for City, but Evertonians will be looking for some positive signs from the performance, which the players can look to build on in the second half of the season.
Lampard needs points on the board quickly to kickstart this season and relieve any potential relegation fears. The Everton boss hasn’t been given any positive news on the injury front with Dominic Calvert-Lewin still 50/50 to feature against the Premier League champions (Ben Dinnery, Premier Injuries).