Credit: Imago

James Barker

Sat 2 May 2026 7:40, UK

David Moyes should stick with Everton‘s 4-2-3-1 formation against Man City, as it’s proven to work against Pep Guardiola’s side this season.

Monday night sees Man City travel to Hill Dickinson Stadium for a huge clash on Merseyside.

For Everton, they’re rapidly seeing their chances of European football slip away having won just once in their last five Premier League outings.

As for City, Guardiola’s gang are on a title charge, with three-straight league wins including the monumental victory over Arsenal on 19 April.

Everton face an uphill battle against City, but the Toffees’ recent poor run of form shouldn’t have Moyes scrambling around for a formation change on Monday night.

What is Man City’s record against a 4-2-3-1 this season?

Stopping Man City is a task far easier said than done, as many teams have learned the hard way this season, and indeed, for many years now during the reign of Guardiola.

However, their five Premier League losses in 2025-26 prove that they’re not unbeatable, and if Everton are to get back in the European mix, they’re going to have to put them to the sword at Hill Dickinson Stadium.

Everton have been tipped to play 4-2-3-1 against City, as that is Moyes’ preferred formation and the one they’ve almost exclusively deployed this season.

Thankfully for the Toffees, it’s this formation that has been the kryptonite for Guardiola’s Cityzens in 2025-26, with four out of their five Premier League defeats coming against teams playing that system.

With the help of FotMob, their first came against Tottenham on matchday two, with Spurs winning 2-0 at the Etihad, before losing to Brighton in the very next game 2-1 against that same formation.

City’s next loss against it was against Aston Villa on matchday nine with a 1-0 defeat at Villa Park, before their fourth and final top-flight loss against a 4-2-3-1 was in the Manchester derby at Old Trafford on matchday 22.

Indeed, their only Premier League defeat that hasn’t come against that formation was against Newcastle on matchday 12, where Eddie Howe’s Magpies beat them 2-1 playing out of a 4-3-3.

How Everton can take advantage of City’s 4-2-3-1 weakness

So, why have Man City had a hard time against the 4-2-3-1 this season?

Well, they’re a team that love to press as high up the pitch as possible, with them having the third-highest average in the Premier League for possession won in the final third per match this season with 4.7.

However, that does leave them vulnerable in defence if that press is beaten, and with Everton ranking fifth for the most accurate long balls per game in 2025-26 with 21.8, that’s certainly an avenue they can hurt City with.

On top of that, Guardiola’s side are also one of the worst tackling teams in the top flight, with their 14.8 tackles per game average ranking them 17th in the division.

In Bruno Fernandes, Morgan Rogers, Diego Gomez and Pape Sarr respectively, Man United, Aston Villa, Brighton and Tottenham all had quality number 10s on the pitch when beating City too.

Everton certainly have one of those in Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall, so that bodes well for his prospects of influencing the game, and taking advantage of those gaps left in the City press if/when Everton beat it.

So, whilst Man City are on an 18-game unbeaten run against Everton dating back to 2017, this Toffees team is set up well to finally bring an end to that on Monday night.

Updated 24/7 with expert analysis from the heart of Goodison Park.