Manchester City

Manchester City manager Pep Guardiola speaking to Amazon Prime: "I remind them [of their abilities] every day. We have standards to keep. That makes us have more responsibility so the standards cannot go down.

"I thought the first half was really good. In the second half we had to attack quicker with wingers and runners and we did really well. They showed again how special they are. We know after six games with just one win, the people were asking, which is normal because it is all about results but we are close and so do Arsenal, Tottenham, Liverpool and Aston Villa. We want to be there.

"Our away supporters are always very good. They are sometimes more than at the Etihad I would say! It's nice they travel here to be with us and it's nice to be with them.

"We said we needed to move to structure to play more direct to the wingers. We created 5-10 minutes of chances. Phil Foden in the end just took the ball and put it in the net! We arrived more often in the final third in the second half."

On the penalty decision: "I didn't see the images, sorry, I will let you know. I don't know the rules. It's a penalty here, not a penalty here. If you go to Europe the rules are completely different. Maybe one day they will clarify it. But I didn't see the pictures.

On John Stones' injury: "It doesn't look good but we will see. It's his ankle."

Image source, Getty Images

Manchester City midfielder Phil Foden speaking to Amazon Prime: "I thought we played really well in the first half and it seems to have been the same story as previous games. The manager just said to believe in ourselves at half-time because we're a top team.

"In the second half, wow. I think we blew them away with the way they played. I want to praise Everton because I think they've been doing really well recently and are a top side. They make it difficult. I'm really happy with the result. It's a difficult place to come."

On his goal catching out Jordan Pickford: "Maybe because I hit it so quick, I might have caught him by surprise, yeah. I'll have to see it back but I was delighted to see it hit the back of the net.

"I think we needed that first goal to give us momentum. After that, we blew them away and played tremendous football.

"I've had a good run of games. You know how much I like playing in the middle as well. Long may that continue."

On almost scoring another goal: "Oh my god, yeah, I hit it so well and it was so close. On another day it might have gone in! The most important thing was we won so I'm delighted.

"Bernardo Silva is one of the most tremendous footballers I've seen. He uses his brain in the game and he's someone I always try to learn off.

"We have massive players to come back in with the likes of Erling [Haaland], Jeremy Doku and Kevin [De Bruyne] so three important players. When they come back, hopefully they make the team stronger. I'm looking forward to them coming back."

• Across spells with Burnley and Everton, Sean Dyche has failed to win any of his 14 Premier League games against Pep Guardiola (D1 L13). Only Steve Bruce (P17 D4 L13 vs Alex Ferguson) has faced an opposing manager more often in the competition’s history without ever tasting victory.

• Everton lost a Premier League game in which they went 1-0 up for the first time since January (a 1-2 loss vs Southampton), ending their 17-game unbeaten run when scoring first.

• Manchester City have gone 1-0 down in seven Premier League games this season (doing so in four of their last five games), as many times as they did in the entirety of 2022-23. However, the Citizens have lost just two of their last 12 league games when trailing at half time (W7 D3).

• No Everton player has been involved in more Premier League goals since Sean Dyche's arrival than Dwight McNeil (13 - 7 goals, 6 assists). He has five goal involvements in his last six league games (2 goals, 3 assists).

• Six of Julian Alvarez’s last seven Premier League goals have put Manchester City one goal in the lead, with the other drawing them level against Wolves in September.

Manchester City had to come from behind to beat Everton as the champions kept pace with Premier League leaders Liverpool.

Pep Guardiola's side are aiming to lift the trophy for the fourth consecutive season and had looked like falling eight points behind the Reds, but recovered with three second-half goals to lift themselves to fourth in the table.

In blustery conditions, Everton weathered an early storm from City as Jordan Pickford made crucial saves to twice thwart Julian Alvarez, as well a keeping out Jack Grealish's poked effort at full stretch.

The hosts took the lead with their first meaningful attack of the game when Jack Harrison slotted in from close range and he could have had a second against his former club but was denied by Ederson's stunning save.

But City responded in like champions after the break through Phil Foden, who picked the ball up outside the area and smashed in a low finish past the reach of Pickford.

The visitors turned it around on 64 minutes courtesy of Julian Alvarez's penalty after Amadou Onana handled in the box and Bernardo Silva curled into an open net after Pickford's miscued clearance to leave Everton hovering just one point above the relegation zone.

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Former Chelsea and England striker Chris Sutton is making predictions for all 380 Premier League matches again this season, against a variety of guests.

For the fixtures over the festive period on 26, 27 and 28 December, he takes on Samuel T Herring, frontman of Baltimore-based synth-pop band Future Islands and an Everton fan.

Sutton's prediction: 1-1

I really like what Everton are doing and I can see them giving the world champions a good game here.

Manchester City will kick into gear at some point but I am not sure it will happen at Goodison Park. We do not know if Erling Haaland will be fit to start, and it is probably too soon for Kevin de Bruyne to come back from injury too.

Everton are relentless at the moment, and even against Tottenham they kept going and almost snatched a point at the end. I can see them getting some reward this time.

Samuel's prediction: I am thinking draw but of course I have got to root for my team on this one. 2-1

Read all of Sutton's predictions here

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Manchester City are still the favourites to win the Premier League according to ESPN senior writer Mark Ogden.

Pep Guardiola's return to Premier League action on Wednesday with a trip to Everton following their Club World Cup triumph in Saudi Arabia.

"I think they will come back hungry," Ogden told BBC Radio 5 Live's Football Daily. "I don’t think it will have done them any harm to spend a week in Saudi with the sun on their backs.

"A lot depends on Rodri. I know he went off injured in the final and he may be OK, but if Rodri is missing we know that hurts City. Outside Arsenal or Liverpool, Everton away is probably the worst game they could have picked.

"They are going well, Sean Dyche has got a bit of momentum and this will really test if City are up to it. If Haaland is not fit and if Rodri is not fit, this could be a game where they get a real 'welcome back to the Premier League'.

"[However], I just think City will have come back hoping not to be 10 points adrift and they are not. They are still the favourites and if they get a convincing win at Everton that will be a real marker for everybody else that says 'we are the favourites - stop us if you can'."

Former Premier League defender Stephen Kelly added: "I just can’t bring myself to not put them as favourites.

"With everything we have seen over the last few seasons, you just can’t think they are not going to be there. If they can get Kevin de Bruyne back fit and well for the second half of the season, it will be a gamechanger.

"They are going to be hopeful of that and we know they can spend in the window. They are still within touching distance and none of the teams have really taken advantage of their slip-up."

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Manchester City are close to signing Argentine midfielder Claudio Echeverri from River Plate in a deal that is likely to result in them loaning the 17-year-old back to his current club until the end of the Premier League season. (ESPN), external

Want more transfer stories? Read Wednesday's full gossip column

Image source, Getty Images

Pep Guardiola feels Manchester City's rise to become world champions was inspired by adversity as he tries to inspire a change in the club's Premier League form.

City beat Fluminense on Friday to clinch the Club World Cup in Saudi Arabia but are currently fifth in the top flight, albeit with a game in hand, before Wednesday's trip to Everton.

"I said it to the team and the reason why we are here [Club World Cup winners is not because of [winning the Champions League in] Istanbul and Inter Milan, said Guardiola. "It is because of [defeats against] Monaco, Liverpool, Tottenham, Lyon, the final against Chelsea, the last minute against Madrid... all the Champions League defeats.

"It hurts in the moment. Now it doesn’t but it helped us to beat Inter Milan. It is a process. For clubs who are used to it, it is not a problem, for Madrid, Bayern Munich, Barcelona, for the big, big clubs, they are used to it. But everything for us is new, to feel we can do it, to believe, to know we can win it."

Guardiola also expressed his confidence that City can find their form domestically, particularly given they have still been playing well despite not getting results.

"We played at the best levels we have done in these last eight years but we didn’t win and it is a disaster, a crisis, everything," he said. "Of course, we have bad moments, like Aston Villa, who were better. We have to accept it and move forward.

"People say ‘you don’t accept criticism’. It is part of the job. If you are in the business of being a football manager, you have to accept people will criticise you just because you don’t win. OK, we have to try and win the next game."

• Everton have won just one of their past 20 Premier League games against Manchester City (drawn five, lost 14) and are winless in 12 against them since a 4-0 victory in January 2017.

• Manchester City have won their past six away league games against Everton, scoring at least three times in four of those. It is more victories than they had managed in their previous 26 visits to Goodison Park.

• City have won just one of their past six Premier League games, coming from behind to beat Luton 2-1 earlier this month. It is the first time they have had a run of just one win in six league games since February/March 2016.

• Everton boss Sean Dyche has lost 12 of his 13 Premier League meetings with Man City’s Pep Guardiola, drawing once, including the past nine in a row by an aggregate score of 29-1. Before Guardiola joined the club, Dyche had been unbeaten against the Citizens in the top-flight (won one, drawn one).

• Manchester City have failed to win three Premier League games this season with goals conceded in the 90th minute, drawing with Chelsea (4-4), Tottenham (3-3) and Crystal Palace (2-2).

• Abdoulaye Doucoure has scored in each of his past two Premier League home games. Everton have won all six of their home league games in which he has scored, while he has found the net in all three of their victories at Goodison Park so far this term.

Newcastle and Juventus are the current frontrunners to sign 28-year-old England midfielder Kalvin Phillips from Manchester City next month. (Football Insider, external)

Inter Milan are moving forward in talks to sign Club Bruges' 24-year-old Canada winger Tajon Buchanan who has also attracted interest from Manchester City and Bournemouth. (Fabrizio Romano, external)

Long-time favourites Barcelona could miss out on signing Palmeiras 16-year-old Estevao Willian with Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea and Paris St-Germain all lining up to sign the Brazilian winger. (Mundo Deportivo - in Spanish, external)

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