Venue: Etihad Stadium
Date: 27/01/2016
Kick-off: 19:45 (BST)
Match
Everton prepare for arguably the biggest game of their season so far when they travel to the Etihad Stadium to square off against Manchester City in the second leg of the Capital One Cup semi finals and the Toffees’ faithful are certainly expectant ahead of the game due to their advantage from the first leg.
Everton suffered a disappointing 2-1 home defeat at the hands of Swansea City in the Premier League last weekend but manager Roberto Martinez cannot allow his players to feel too down following the game as the Toffees now prepare for a clash against Manchester City away from home in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night.
Everton claimed a 2-1 victory in the first leg at Goodison Park a few weeks ago but despite the advantage, Martinez will be well aware of the fact that his side have it all to do if they are to progress into the final of the competition.
Everton Team News
Martinez fielded a strong side during the 2-1 defeat against Swansea City on Sunday and it looks like the Spanish manager will not make too many changes to the squad despite the disappointing result against the Swans.
Joel Robles should come into goal for Tim Howard while the duo of Ramiro Funes Mori and Bryan Oviedo are expected to make way for Phil Jagielka and the fit again Seamus Coleman respectively at the back.
In midfield, Muhamed Besic was forced off after only 11 minutes against Swansea and with James McCarthy also still ruled out, Tom Cleverley will be taking his place at the middle of the park alongside Gareth Barry.
In the wide positions, Gerard Deulofeu and Kevin Mirallas started and the duo are expected to keep their place ahead of Arouna Kone and Aaron Lennon.
Star duo Ross Barkley and Romelu Lukaku endured disappointing outings in the Premier League last weekend and they will surely be keen on making amends against Manchester City and potentially inspire the Toffees to the final of the Capital One Cup.
Probable Lineups
Manchester City (Probable XI): Caballero; Zabaleta, Otamendi, Demichelis, Clichy; Toure, Fernandinho, David Silva, Sterling, De Bruyne; Aguero
Everton (Probable XI): Robles; Baines, Jagielka, Stones, Coleman; Cleverley, Barry, Deulofeu, Barkley, Mirallas; Lukaku
Last Meeting
13/01/2016 Manchester City 0 – 0 Everton
06/01/2016 Everton 2 – 1 Manchester City
23/08/2015 Everton 0 – 2 Manchester City
Prediction
Everton put in a wonderful performance to claim a victory in the first leg and the display will surely give Martinez’s men a lot of confidence heading into the return leg on Wednesday night as well.
That said, Everton have been struggling since the win against City and their leaky backline has proven to be a huge problem.
City are a completely different proposition at home than on their travels and with the plethora of attacking options at their disposal, they will surely be a huge test for the Everton defence.
The match should be an entertaining affair and while Everton stand a chance of claiming progression into the final, their backline is simply porous and City should be able to overturn the deficit on the night.
Manchester City 3 – 1 Everton
