Everton: Martin Keown in ‘huge red flag’ warning for Manchester City after ‘incredible’ Toffees exploitation he saw
Martin Keown believes the stunning 5-1 victory over Brighton is a “huge red flag” for Manchester City ahead of their Premier League clash against Everton at Goodison Park on Sunday (14 May).
Sean Dyche’s side turned on the style at the AMEX Stadium as they claimed three points that has left them one point above the relegation zone with three games of their season remaining.
Writing for the Daily Mail (12 May), Keown predicted that the Toffees’ “incredible” success on the counter-attack could pose the Premier League champions a threat in a similar style to how Brighton were exposed.
“Their 2-2 draw at Leicester was encouraging, but the 5-1 win at Brighton stunned the football world,” he wrote.
“That was a huge red flag for Manchester City ahead of this weekend to see how Everton scored five goals from counter-attacks, and surely it is too much to believe that Pep Guardiola’s team will allow themselves to be as vulnerable to breakaways tomorrow.
“There are similarities between Brighton and City in how they build up play through midfield by using their full backs or centre halves to outnumber the opponent in central areas.
“That was a tactic which Everton exploited to incredible effect with their five goals on the break, including two from Abdoulaye Doucoure, who was making lung-busting runs from deep midfield.”
As good a time as ever.
Although Manchester City are an unstoppable juggernaut right now, this is as good a time as ever to face them from an Everton point of view.
The Toffees are arriving into the clash bang in form and full of confidence, and with the Goodison Park crowd behind them, anything is possible.
Pep Guardiola’s side also had an extremely tricky match against Real Madrid in the Champions League in midweek, and the fact he didn’t make a single substitution all game long suggests that he could ring the changes for this clash.
If the likes of Erling Haaland and Kevin De Bruyne are rested, it could well open the door for Everton to barge it down and claim a famous underdog victory.
By no means is this going to be a straightforward match, even if Manchester City do play a weaker starting lineup, and Dyche’s side will need to replicate their performance from the south coast to even stand a chance.