In addition to competing against rival Manchester United in the FA Cup final and high-flying Brighton and spending-loving Chelsea in the Premier League, Manchester City is halfway through a Champions League semi-final against the hardest opponent in Europe.
However, Pep Guardiola believes that City’s upcoming match against a struggling Everton will be the most difficult one on their schedule between now and the conclusion of the season. He frequently brought up Goodison Park to highlight the fact that despite much triple hype, Manchester City has yet to win anything.
Guardiola has made reference to the impending match at Goodison Park frequently rather than the upcoming match versus Everton, and considering Guardiola’s track record on the Blue side of Stanley Park, it is clear why he has every cause to be wary of this weekend’s latest visit.
On the one hand, City has gone undefeated in 12 matches against Everton since 2017, winning ten of those games, and has won on all six of those trips to Goodison Park. But the most recent loss marked Guardiola’s lowest moment as City’s manager and his worst defeat ever.
The 4-0 loss in 2017 is obviously still fresh in everyone’s memory, and even if Everton hasn’t lost since, the last several encounters haven’t been easy. City won at the Etihad earlier this season but gave up to Demarai Gray’s stunning goal and surrendered two points on New Year’s Eve.
Liverpool supporters are still incensed that Rodri’s ball control in the area wasn’t flagged as handball earlier in the game when Phil Foden’s winning goal against Everton came in the 82nd minute last year. In the year prior, City’s 2-0 victory was the result of goals in the 84th and 90th minutes, while the 2021 FA Cup quarterfinal victory wasn’t clinched until 77 minutes had passed.
Sean Dyche is attempting to guide Everton to safety, and his uncompromising style of play means that if City wants to win on Saturday, they will have to put up a fight. Guardiola has led the praise for Roberto De Zerbi’s work at the Amex Stadium this year after Everton defeated Arsenal at home earlier in the season and defeated Brighton at the weekend.
At their peril, City will undervalue Everton, and Guardiola’s ongoing worry suggests that he won’t let his team consider the second leg against Real Madrid next week.
Guardiola, though, has alluded to the fatigue in his team, so it’s clear that certain players requested a break against Leeds last weekend. He attributes City’s poor performance in FA Cup semifinals to their annual practise of playing immediately before a significant Champions League quarterfinal. This weekend, some rotation may be reasonable given the similarities between the players’ efforts on Tuesday in Madrid and the effort required in the second leg.
Aymeric Laporte, Rico Lewis, Riyad Mahrez, Phil Foden, and Julian Alvarez could all enter with a week of rest following the Leeds match because there will be no substitutes available off the bench at the Bernabeu. Those who did play 90 minutes may have been in better shape than if there had only been a three-day break because of the unusual five-day gap between games.
These days, Guardiola’s preferred starting lineup for important matches seems to be set, so perhaps those rested players could enter the fray on Sunday, sparing Kyle Walker, John Stones, Ruben Dias, Bernardo Silva, Jack Grealish, Erling Haaland, and Kevin De Bruyne at least a portion of the match.
In order to maintain his lead over Arsenal in the Premier League standings, Guardiola has warned of the dangers of Goodison Park and suggests that he will play against Everton with all of his might. The Real Madrid aspect, together with his selection in Spain this week, suggests that there may be alterations made in order to ensure his fitness for the second leg.